Article 12 Section 5 – Charter committee; charter preparation; approval

5. Charter committee; charter preparation; approval

Section 5. A. The board of supervisors of any county with a population of more than five hundred thousand persons as determined by the most recent United States decennial or special census may call for an election to cause a charter committee to be elected by the qualified electors of that county at any time. Alternatively, the board of supervisors of any county with a population of more than five hundred thousand persons as determined by the most recent United States decennial or special census shall call for the election of the charter committee within ten days after receipt by the clerk of the board of supervisors of a petition that demands the election and that is signed by a number of qualified electors of the county at least equal to ten per cent of the total number of ballots cast for all candidates for governor or presidential electors in the county at the last preceding general election. The election shall be held at least one hundred days but not more than one hundred twenty days after the call for the election. Except as otherwise provided in this section, for elections held under this section or section 6 of this article, the manner of conducting and voting at an election, contesting an election, canvassing votes and certifying returns shall be the same, as nearly as practicable, as in elections for county officers.

B. At the election a vote shall be taken to elect members of the charter committee who will function if further proceedings are authorized and the ballot shall contain the question of whether further proceedings toward adopting a charter shall be authorized pursuant to the call for the election. Unless a majority of the qualified electors voting on the question votes to authorize further proceedings, the election of members of the charter committee shall be invalidated and no further proceedings may be had except pursuant to a subsequent call pursuant to subsection A.

C. The charter committee shall be composed of fifteen qualified electors of the county elected by supervisorial district with the same number serving from each district. A nomination petition for election to the charter committee shall be made available by the clerk of the board of supervisors and shall be signed by a number of qualified electors of the supervisorial district who are eligible to vote for the nominee at least equal to one per cent of the total number of ballots cast for all candidates for governor or presidential electors in the supervisorial district at the last preceding general election, and filed with the clerk not later than sixty days before the election. All qualified electors of the county, including all elected public officials, are eligible to seek election to the charter committee.

D. Within one hundred eighty days after the election the charter committee shall prepare and submit a proposed charter for the county. The proposed charter shall be signed by a majority of the members of the committee and filed with the clerk of the board of supervisors, after which the charter committee shall be dissolved. The county shall then publish the proposed charter in the official newspaper of the county at least once a week for three consecutive weeks. The first publication shall be made within twenty days after the proposed charter is filed with the clerk of the board of supervisors.

E. At least forty-five days but not more than sixty days after final publication, the proposed charter shall be submitted to the vote of the qualified electors of the county at a general or special election. If a general election will be held within ninety days after final publication, the charter shall be submitted at that general election. The full text of the proposed charter shall be printed in a publicity pamphlet and mailed to each household containing a registered voter at least eleven days before the charter election and the ballot may contain only a summary of the proposed charter provisions. The ballot shall contain a question regarding approval of the proposed charter and the questions pertaining to taxation authority and appointment of officers, if any, provided for in sections 7 and 8 of this article.

F. If a majority of the qualified electors voting ratifies the proposed charter, a copy of the charter, together with a statement setting forth the submission of the charter to the qualified electors and its ratification by them, shall be certified by the clerk of the board of supervisors and shall be submitted to the governor for approval. The governor shall approve the charter within thirty days after its submission if it is not in conflict with, or states that in the event of a conflict is subject to, this constitution and the laws of this state. On approval, the charter becomes the organic law of the county, and certified copies of the charter shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state and with the clerk of the board of supervisors after being recorded in the office of the county recorder. Thereafter all courts shall take judicial notice of the charter.