COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AMENDMENTS TO S.B. 1236
(Reference to Senate engrossed bill)
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert:
"Section 1. Section 16-925, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
16-925. Advertising and fund-raising disclosure statements
A. A person that makes an expenditure for an advertisement or fund‑raising solicitation, other than an individual, shall include the following disclosures in the advertisement or solicitation:
1. The words "paid for by", followed by the name of the person making the expenditure for the advertisement or fund-raising solicitation.
2. Whether the expenditure was authorized by any candidate, followed by the identity of the authorizing candidate, if any.
B. In addition to the disclosure required by subsection A of this section, a political action committee that makes an expenditure for an advertisement shall include a disclosure stating the names of the three political action committees making the largest aggregate contributions to the political action committee making the expenditure, and that which aggregate contributions exceed twenty thousand dollars during the election cycle, as calculated at the time the advertisement was distributed for publication, display, delivery or broadcast.
C. In addition to the disclosures required pursuant to subsections A and B of this section, for any ballot measure expenditure that is made for a state statutory measure, the advertisement or fund‑raising solicitation shall also include the following statement: "notice: pursuant to Proposition 105 (1998), this measure cannot be changed in the future if approved on the ballot except by a three‑fourths vote of the legislature and if the change furthers the purpose of the original ballot measure, or by referring the change to the ballot." Notwithstanding subsection E of this section, the statement prescribed by this subsection is not required for advertisements that are broadcast on radio or television.
C. D. If a disclosure contains any acronym or nickname that is not commonly known, the disclosure shall also spell out the acronym or provide the full name.
D. E. If the advertisement is:
1. Broadcast on radio, the disclosure shall be clearly spoken at the beginning or end of the advertisement.
2. Delivered by hand, or by mail or electronically, the disclosure shall be clearly readable.
3. Displayed on a sign or billboard, the disclosure shall be displayed in a height that is at least four percent of the vertical height of the sign or billboard.
4. Broadcast on television or in a video or film, both of the following requirements apply:
(a) The disclosure shall be both written and spoken at the beginning or end of the advertisement, except that if the written disclosure statement is displayed for the greater of at least one‑sixth of the broadcast duration or four seconds, a spoken disclosure statement is not required.
(b) The written disclosure statement shall be printed in letters that are displayed in a height that is at least four percent of the vertical picture height.
E. F. This section does not apply to:
1. Social media messages, text messages or messages sent by a short message service.
2. Advertisements that are placed as a paid link on a website, if the message is not more than two hundred characters in length and the link directs the user to another website that complies with this section.
3. Advertisements that are placed as a graphic or picture link, if the statements required in this section cannot be conveniently printed due to the size of the graphic or picture and the link directs the user to another website that complies with this section.
4. Bumper stickers, pins, buttons, pens and similar small items on which the statements required in this section cannot be conveniently printed.
5. A solicitation of contributions by a separate segregated fund.
6. A communication by a tax-exempt organization solely to its members.
7. A published book or a documentary film or video.
Sec. 2. Section 19-111, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
19-111. Official serial number for petitions; training materials; civil penalty
A. A person or organization intending to propose a law or constitutional amendment by initiative petition or to file a referendum petition against a measure, item, section or part of a measure, before causing the petition to be printed and circulated, shall file with the secretary of state:
1. An application, on a form to be provided by the secretary of state, setting forth the person's name or, if an organization, its name and the names and titles of its officers, the person's or organization's address, the person's or organization's intention to circulate and file a petition, a description of no more than one hundred words of the principal provisions of the proposed law, constitutional amendment or measure and the text of the proposed law, constitutional amendment or measure to be initiated or referred in no less than eight point eight‑point type, and applying for issuance of an official serial number.
2. At the same time as the person or organization files its application, the person or organization shall file with the secretary of state its statement of organization as prescribed by section 16-906. The secretary of state shall not accept an application for initiative or referendum without an accompanying statement of organization as prescribed by this subsection paragraph.
3. For statewide initiative or referendum petitions that use paid CIRCULATORS, all of the following before the person or ORGANIZATION obtains signatures with paid CIRCULATORS:
(a) A statement that one or more persons will be paid money or other compensation to collect petition signatures and that those persons will comply with all state laws relating to elections and initiative and referendum.
(b) An acknowledgement that the person or organization is liable for any violation COMMITTED by a paid CIRCULATOR who collects signatures on BEHALF of the person or organization and that the person or ORGANIZATION may be subject to a civil penalty as prescribed by subsection F of this section or to some other enforcement action.
(c) A list of the names and addresses of the paid circulators used for that petition. The person or organization that uses one or more paid circulators shall amend monthly the person's or ORGANIZATION'S list of paid circulators to add or remove the information regarding any paid circulators. the amended list shall include the signature of the person's or organization's chairman or treasurer.
B. On receipt of the application, the secretary of state shall assign an official serial number to the petition, which number shall appear in the lower right‑hand corner of each side of each copy thereof, and issue that number to the applicant. The secretary of state shall assign numbers to petitions in numerical sequence, and a record shall be maintained in the secretary of state's office of each application received and of the numbers assigned and issued to the applicant.
C. The secretary of state shall make available to each applicant by electronic means a copy of the text of this article governing the initiative and referendum and all rules adopted by the secretary of state pursuant to this title. The secretary of state shall make available by electronic means a copy of the text of this article governing the initiative and referendum and all rules adopted by the secretary of state pursuant to this title to the county, city and town clerks who shall similarly furnish a copy to each applicant by electronic means. If a member of the public so requests, the secretary of state and the county, city and town clerks shall provide a copy in pamphlet form.
D. The secretary of state shall make available to each person or organization circulating a statewide initiative, referendum or recall petition a copy of circulator training materials created by the secretary of state. Circulator training materials may be provided on paper or in an electronic format and shall also be available on the secretary of state's website. A person or organization circulating a statewide petition shall provide each circulator with the secretary of state's circulator training materials and shall collect and submit to the secretary of state each of its circulators' training materials receipts before the filing of completed petitions. Each person who is a statewide circulator shall acknowledge in writing receipt of the training materials before circulating a petition for signatures. Failure to provide circulator training materials or failure to submit circulators' training materials receipts is not grounds for removal of signatures or signature sheets. Notwithstanding section 19‑141, this subsection does not apply to initiative, referendum or recall petitions for cities, towns and counties.
E. The eight point eight‑point type required by subsection A, paragraph 1 of this section shall not apply to maps, charts or other graphics.
F. For statewide initiative and referendum petitions only, if a court determines that a paid circulator has committed a civil or criminal violation relating to the registration, circulation or collection of signatures or petitions pursuant to this title on behalf of a person or organization that is circulating a statewide initiative or referendum petition, any violation by the paid circulator is deemed a violation by the person or organization and the person or organization is liable for a civil penalty of not to exceed one thousand dollars for each violation by the paid circulator.
Sec. 3. Section 19-118, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
19-118. Registered circulators; requirements; violation; classification; definition
A. All circulators who are not residents of this state and, For statewide ballot initiative and referendum measures only, all paid circulators must register as circulators with the secretary of state before circulating petitions pursuant to this title. The political committee that is circulating the petition shall collect and submit the registrations completed circulator registration application to the secretary of state. The secretary of state shall establish in the instructions and procedures manual issued pursuant to section 16‑452 a procedure for registering circulators, including a circulator registration application, and shall publish on a website maintained by the secretary of state all information regarding circulators that is required pursuant to this section. The secretary of state shall disqualify all signatures collected by a circulator who fails to register pursuant to this subsection as provided for in section 19‑121.01, subsection A.
B. The circulator registration application required by subsection A of this section shall include the following provisions:
1. The paid CIRCULATOR'S full name and address.
2. the INITIATIVE or referendum petition on which the paid CIRCULATOR will gather signatures, if known.
1. 3. A statement that the paid circulator consents to the jurisdiction of the courts of this state in resolving any disputes concerning the circulation of petitions by that circulator.
2. 4. The circulator shall designate an address of the committee in this state for which the paid circulator is gathering signatures and at which the paid circulator will accept service of process related to disputes concerning circulation of that paid circulator's petitions. Service of process is effected under this section paragraph by delivering a copy of the subpoena to that person individually, or by leaving a copy of the subpoena at the address designated by the paid circulator with a person of suitable age or by mailing a copy of the subpoena to the committee by certified mail to the address provided.
5. The signature of the paid CIRCULATOR.
C. Within five business days after SUBMISSION of a complete and correct CIRCULATOR registration application that complies with this section, the secretary of state shall register and assign the paid circulator a paid CIRCULATOR REGISTRATION number.
D. A person may not register as a paid CIRCULATOR PURSUANT to this section if the person:
1. Has had a civil or criminal penalty imposed for a violation of title 16 or this title within the last five years.
2. Has been convicted of a felony and has not had the person's civil rights restored as required by law.
C. E. If a registered circulator is properly served with a subpoena to provide evidence in an action regarding circulation of petitions and fails to appear or produce documents as provided for in the subpoena, all signatures collected by that circulator are deemed invalid. The party serving the subpoena may request an order from the court directing the secretary of state to remove any signatures collected by the circulator as provided for in section 19‑121.01, subsection A.
D. F. Any person may challenge the lawful registration of circulators in the superior court of the county in which the circulator is registered. A challenge may not be commenced more than five ten business days after the date on which the petitions for which the circulator is required to be registered are filed with the secretary of state. The person challenging signatures may amend that complaint after the secretary of state has removed signatures and signature sheets as prescribed in section 19‑121.01. An action pursuant to this section shall be advanced on the calendar and decided by the court as soon as possible. Either party may appeal to the supreme court within five calendar days after entry of judgment. The prevailing party in an action to challenge the registration of a circulator under this section is entitled to reasonable attorney fees.
E. G. The removal or disqualification of any one or more circulators does not invalidate the random sample of signatures made pursuant to section 19‑121.01, and the secretary of state shall not be required to conduct any additional random sampling of signatures.
H. A person who knowingly omits or MISREPRESENTS information or provides false information on the CIRCULATOR registration application or who registers in violation of subsection D of this section is guilty of a class 1 misdemeanor.
F. I. For the purposes of this title, "paid circulator":
1. Means a natural person who receives monetary or other compensation that is based on the number of signatures obtained on a petition or on the number of petitions circulated that contain signatures to obtain signatures on a statewide initiative or referendum petition.
2. Does not include a paid employee of any political committee organized pursuant to title 16, chapter 6, unless that employee's primary responsibility is circulating petitions to obtain signatures.
Sec. 4. Section 19-121, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
19-121. Signature sheets; petitions; form; procedure for filing
A. Signature sheets filed shall:
1. Be in the form prescribed by law.
2. Have printed in their lower right‑hand corner, on each side of such sheets, the official serial number assigned to the petition by the secretary of state and, if applicable, the registration number assigned to the paid CIRCULATOR.
3. Be attached to a full and correct copy of the title and text of the measure, or amendment to the constitution, proposed or referred by the petition.
4. Be printed in at least eight‑point type.
5. Be printed in black ink on white or recycled white pages fourteen inches in width by eight and one‑half inches in length, with a margin of at least one‑half inch at the top and one‑fourth inch at the bottom of each page. Notwithstanding this subsection paragraph, the secretary of state may prescribe an alternative page width and length in the election instructions and procedures manual adopted pursuant to section 16‑452.
B. For the purposes of this chapter, a petition is filed when the petition sheets are tendered to the secretary of state, who shall issue a receipt based on an estimate made to the secretary of state of the purported number of sheets and signatures filed. A receipt may be electronically issued. After the issuance of the receipt, no additional petition sheets may be accepted for filing.
C. Petitions may be filed with the secretary of state in numbered sections for convenience in handling. The secretary of state may prescribe the method of filing, including electronic filing. Not more than fifteen signatures on one sheet shall be counted. For petitions filed regarding statewide initiatives and city, town or county matters, the political committee that is the proponent of the petition and that files the petitions shall organize the signature sheets and group them by circulator and is solely responsible for compliance with this subsection. The local filing officer may return as unfiled any signature sheets that are not so organized and grouped.
D. Initiative petitions that have not been filed with the secretary of state as of 5:00 p.m. on the day required by the constitution before the ensuing general election after their issuance shall be null and void, but in no event shall the secretary of state accept an initiative petition that was issued for circulation more than twenty‑four months before the general election at which the measure is to be included on the ballot. Within five business days after the filing date prescribed by this subsection, the secretary of state shall make available on request electronic copies of all signature sheets filed.
E. For the purposes of this article and article 4 of this chapter, the measure to be attached to the petition as enacted by the legislative body of an incorporated city, town or county means the adopted ordinance or resolution signed by the mayor or the chairman of the board of supervisors, as appropriate, and signed by the clerk of the municipality or the clerk of the board, as appropriate, or, in the absence of a written ordinance or resolution, that portion of the minutes of the legislative body that is approved by the governing body and filed with the clerk of the governing body and that reflects the action taken by that body when adopting the measure. In the case of zoning measures, the measure shall also include a legal description of the property and any amendments made to the ordinance by the legislative body.
Sec. 5. Section 19-121.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
19-121.01. Secretary of state; removal of petition and ineligible signatures; sheets copies; random sample; presumption
A. Within twenty days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and other legal holidays, after the date of filing of an initiative or referendum petition and issuance of the receipt, the secretary of state shall:
1. Remove the following:
(a) Those sheets not attached to a copy of the complete title and text of the measure as prescribed in this chapter.
(b) The copy of the title and text from the remaining petition sheets.
(c) Those sheets not bearing the correct petition serial number and, if applicable, the paid CIRCULATOR registration number in the lower right‑hand corner of each side.
(d) Those sheets containing a circulator's affidavit that is not completed or signed or that has been modified.
(e) Those sheets on which the affidavit of the circulator is not notarized, the notary's signature is missing, the notary's commission has expired or the notary's seal is not affixed.
(f) Those sheets on which the signatures of the circulator or the notary are dated earlier than the dates on which the electors signed the face of the petition sheet.
(g) Those sheets that are circulated by a circulator who is prohibited from participating in any election, initiative, referendum or recall campaign pursuant to section 19‑119.01.
(h) Those sheets on which the circulator is required to be registered with the secretary of state pursuant to section 19‑118 and the circulator is not properly registered at the time the petitions were circulated.
(i) Those sheets on statewide initiatives that are not properly sorted pursuant to section 19-121.
2. After completing the steps in paragraph 1 of this subsection, review each sheet to determine the county of the majority of the signers and shall:
(a) Place a three or four letter abbreviation designating that county on the face of the petition.
(b) Remove all signatures of those not in the county of the majority on each sheet by placing an adjacent mark or striking through the signature line.
(c) Cause all signature sheets to be grouped together by county of registration of the majority of those signing. The detached copies of the title and text of the measure shall be made available to the applicant but may be disposed of after a reasonable period of time.
3. After completing the steps in paragraph 2 of this subsection, remove the following signatures that are not eligible for verification by placing an adjacent mark or striking through the signature line:
(a) If the signature of the qualified elector is missing.
(b) If the residence address or the description of residence location is missing.
(c) If the date on which the petitioner signed is missing, if the date on which the petitioner signed the petition is before the date that the serial number was assigned to the political committee that is filing the petition or if the date on which the petitioner signed the petition is after the date on which the affidavit was completed by the circulator and notarized.
(d) Signatures in excess of the fifteen signatures permitted per petition.
(e) Signatures withdrawn pursuant to section 19‑113.
(f) Signatures for which the secretary of state determines that the petition circulator has printed the elector's first and last names or other information in violation of section 19‑112.
4. After the removal of petition sheets and signatures, count the number of signatures for verification on the remaining petition sheets and note that number on the face of each petition sheet.
5. Number the remaining petition sheets that were not previously removed and that contain signatures eligible for verification in consecutive order on the front side of each petition sheet.
6. Count all remaining petition sheets and signatures not previously removed and notify the applicant of this total number eligible for verification.
B. If the total number of signatures for verification as determined pursuant to subsection A, paragraph 6 of this section equals or exceeds the constitutional minimum, during the same twenty day twenty‑day period provided in subsection A of this section, the secretary of state shall select, at random, five percent of the total signatures eligible for verification by the county recorders of the counties in which the persons signing the petition claim to be qualified electors. The random sample of signatures to be verified shall be drawn in such a manner that every signature eligible for verification has an equal chance of being included in the sample. The random sample produced shall identify each signature selected by petition page and line number. The signatures selected shall be marked in a clear manner.
C. If a signature line selected for the random sample is found to be blank or was removed from the verification process pursuant to subsection A of this section then the next line down, even if that requires going to the next petition sheet in sequence, on which an eligible signature appears shall be selected as a substitute if that line has not already been selected for the random sample. If the next eligible line is already being used in the random sample, the secretary of state shall proceed back up the page from the signature line originally selected for the random sample to the next previous signature line eligible for verification. If that line is already being used in the random sample, the secretary of state shall continue moving down the page or to the next page from the line originally selected for the random sample and shall select the next eligible signature as its substitute for the random sample. The secretary of state shall use this process of alternately moving forward and backward until a signature eligible for verification and not already included in the random sample can be selected and substituted.
D. After the selection of the random sample and the marking of the signatures selected on the petition sheets pursuant to subsection B of this section, the secretary of state shall transmit a copy of the front of each signature sheet on which a signature included in the random sample appears. The secretary of state shall clearly identify those signatures marked for verification and shall transmit by personal delivery, certified mail, electronic mail e-mail or other another electronic transfer method to each county recorder a copy of each signature sheet on which a signature appears of any individual who claims to be a qualified elector of that county and whose signature was selected for verification as part of the random sample.
E. The secretary of state shall presume that the date noted on the petition for a petitioner's signature is the date on which the petitioner signed the petition, and any person seeking to establish a different date for the signature bears the burden of proof in overcoming the presumption.
F. The secretary of state shall retain an electronic copy of all signature sheets except as otherwise prescribed in this title. After the time period for legal challenges has elapsed, the original sheets shall be made available to the applicant but may be disposed of after a reasonable period of time.
Sec. 6. Section 19-123, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
19-123. Publicity pamphlet; printing; distribution; public hearings
A. When the secretary of state is ordered by the legislature, or by petition under the initiative and referendum provisions of the constitution, to submit to the people a measure or proposed amendment to the constitution, the secretary of state shall cause to be printed, at the expense of the state, except as otherwise provided in this article, a publicity pamphlet, which shall contain:
1. A true copy of the title and text of the measure or proposed amendment. Such text shall indicate material deleted, if any, by printing such material with a line drawn through the center of the letters of such material and shall indicate material added or new material by printing the letters of such material in capital letters.
2. The form in which the measure or proposed amendment will appear on the ballot, the official title, the descriptive title prepared by the secretary of state and the number by which it will be designated.
3. The arguments for and against the measure or amendment.
4. For any measure or proposed amendment, a legislative council analysis of the ballot proposal as prescribed by section 19‑124.
5. The report of the commission on judicial performance review for any justices of the supreme court, judges of the court of appeals and judges of the superior court who are subject to retention.
6. The summary of a fiscal impact statement prepared by the joint legislative budget committee staff pursuant to subsection D of this section.
7. Immediately below the legislative council analysis, for any statutory measure, the following statement in bold‑faced type: "Notice: pursuant to Proposition 105 (1998), this measure cannot be changed in the future if approved on the ballot except by a three-fourths vote of the legislature and if the change furthers the purpose of the original ballot measure, or by referring the change to the ballot."
B. The secretary of state shall post the publicity pamphlet on the secretary of state's website as soon as is practicable after the pamphlet is printed and shall mail one copy of the publicity pamphlet to every household that contains a registered voter. The mailings may be made over a period of days but shall be mailed in order to be delivered to households before the earliest date for receipt by registered voters of any requested early ballots for the general election.
C. Sample ballots for both the primary and general elections shall include a statement that information on how to obtain a publicity pamphlet for the general election ballot propositions is available by calling the secretary of state. The statement shall include a telephone number and mailing address of the secretary of state.
D. On certification of an initiative measure as qualified for the ballot, the secretary of state shall hold or cause to be held at least three public meetings on the ballot measure. Hearings shall be held in at least three different counties and shall be held before the date of the election on the measure. The hearings shall provide an opportunity for proponents, opponents and the general public to provide testimony and request information. Hearings may be scheduled to include more than one qualified ballot measure and shall include a fiscal impact presentation on the measure by the joint legislative budget committee staff. The joint legislative budget committee staff shall prepare a summary of the fiscal impact for each ballot measure, not to exceed three hundred words, for publication in the publicity pamphlet.
Sec. 7. Severability
If a provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this act are severable."
Amend title to conform