HP0056, LD 59, item 1, An Act To Establish a Recall Process for Elected Officials in Plantations

An Act To Establish a Recall Process for Elected Officials in Plantations

Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and

Whereas, plantations conduct official business that must be attended to on a daily basis, mostly by a small group of officials; and

Whereas, the inability to remove officials from office in plantations when those officials either fail to perform the duties required of the office or engage in misconduct directly affects the ability of the plantation to conduct its official business, which has a negative effect on the public interest and is of a direct concern to the State; and

Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore,

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 30-A MRSA §7011 is enacted to read:

§ 7011. Recall of plantation officials

An elected official of a plantation may be recalled from office pursuant to this section.

1. Petition for recall. On the written petition pursuant to subsection 5 of a number of voters equal to at least 10% of the number of votes cast in the plantation at the last gubernatorial election, an election must be held to determine the recall of an elected official of that plantation.

2. Notice of intention. In order to initiate a recall election under subsection 1, the initiator of the petition shall file a notice of intention of recall with the clerk of the plantation. A notice of intention of recall under this subsection must include the name, address and contact information of the person filing the notice and the name and position of the official subject to recall under this section. Only a person registered to vote in the plantation may file a notice of intention of recall under this subsection.

3. Petition forms. Within 3 business days of receipt of a notice of intention of recall under subsection 2, the clerk of the plantation shall prepare petition forms for the collection of signatures under subsection 4 and send notice to the initiator of the petition under subsection 2 that the petition forms are available. The plantation may charge the initiator of the petition a reasonable fee for preparing and providing the petition forms under this subsection. A petition form under this subsection must include:

A. At the top of the form, the name and position of the official subject to recall, the name and contact information of the initiator of the petition and the date by which the signatures must be submitted to the clerk of the plantation under subsection 4;

B. Spaces for each voter's signature, actual street address and printed name; and

C. Space at the bottom of the form for the name, address and signature of the person circulating the petition form.

4. Collection and submission of signatures. A petition form under subsection 3 may be circulated or signed only by a registered voter of the plantation. A circulator of a petition form shall fill in the information required under subsection 3, paragraph C and sign the form prior to submission of the form to the clerk of the plantation. The initiator of the petition under subsection 2 shall collect the petition forms from all circulators and submit the signed petition forms to the clerk within 14 days of receipt of notice from the clerk that the petition forms are available under subsection 3. A clerk may not accept a petition form submitted more than 14 days after sending notice of availability to the initiator under subsection 3, and any voter signatures on that form are invalid.

5. Petition certification and notification. Within 7 business days of receiving petition forms under subsection 4, the clerk of the plantation shall determine whether the petition forms meet the criteria under subsection 4 and certify the validity of any signatures on the petition forms. If the clerk finds that the number of valid signatures submitted under subsection 4 meets or exceeds the requirements under subsection 1, the clerk shall certify the petition and immediately send notification of the certification to the officers of the plantation, the initiator of the petition and the official subject to the recall. If the clerk finds the number of valid signatures submitted under subsection 4 does not meet the requirements for a petition under subsection 1, the clerk shall file the petition and the petition forms in the clerk's office and notify the initiator of the petition.

6. Scheduling recall election. Within 10 business days of certification of the petition under subsection 5, the officers of the plantation shall schedule a recall election to determine whether the official subject to the recall petition should be recalled. The election must be held no less than 45 days nor more than 75 days after certification of the petition under subsection 5 unless an annual meeting under section 7004 is scheduled to be held within 90 days of the certification of the petition under subsection 5, in which case the recall election must be held on the date of the annual meeting. If the officers of the plantation fail to schedule a recall election within 10 days of certification of the recall petition under subsection 5, the clerk of the plantation shall schedule the recall election pursuant to the date requirements of this subsection.

7. Ballots for recall election. If the official subject to the recall does not resign from office within 10 business days of certification of the recall petition under subsection 5, the ballots for the recall election under subsection 6 must be printed. A ballot for a recall election under this section must read:

"Do you authorize the recall of (name of official) from the position of (name of office)?

( ) Yes ( ) No"

8. Results of recall election. Within 2 business days of a recall election under subsection 6, the clerk of the plantation shall certify and record the election results and notify the officers of the plantation of those results. If a majority of voters vote to remove the official, the recall takes effect on the date the election results are recorded pursuant to this subsection.

9. Limitation of recall. An elected official may be the subject of a recall petition under this section only for neglect of duty or misconduct in office and after being given a written statement of the charges.

Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation takes effect when approved.

SUMMARY

This bill establishes a procedure to recall an elected official of a plantation based on the elected official's neglect of duty or misconduct.

HP0056 LD 59	Session - 129th Maine Legislature		LR 634 Item 1
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