SUBMISSION OF MEASURES TO THE VOTERS

SF-ELECTIONS art. III

in effect

SF Municipal Elections Code § 300 DEADLINES FOR SUBMISSION OF MEASURES.

SEC. 300. DEADLINES FOR SUBMISSION OF MEASURES. (a) Charter Amendments and Bond Measures. Except as provided in Subsection (c) of this Section, proposed Charter amendments and bond measures shall be submitted to the voters at the next election held no fewer than 102 days after the date said measure is received by the Director of Elections. The Board of Supervisors may submit, and the Director of Elections shall have the discretion to accept, one proposed Charter amendment or bond measure per election that is received fewer than 102 days before the date of the election, provided that said measure is received no fewer than 95 days before the date of the election. (b) Measures Submitted by the Mayor, Board of Supervisors, or Four or More Supervisors. Ordinances and declarations of policy proposed by a majority of the Board of Supervisors or by four or more Supervisors pursuant to Charter Section 2.113, or by the Mayor pursuant to Charter Section 3.100(16), shall be submitted to the voters at the next election held no fewer than 95 days after the date said measure is transmitted to the Director of Elections. (c) Measures Proposed by Initiative Petition. Measures proposed by initiative petition pursuant to Charter Sections 14.101 or 9.110 and Charter amendments proposed by initiative petition shall be submitted to the voters upon certification of the sufficiency of the petition signatures by the Director of Elections. An initiative petition shall be submitted to the Director of Elections no fewer than 120 days before the date of the election for which the initiative is intended. The Director of Elections shall certify the sufficiency of the petition signatures, or determine the insufficiency of the signatures, no later than 30 days after the date the petition is received. (1) Except as provided in Subdivisions (2) and (3) of this subsection, a vote on an initiative shall occur at the next general municipal or Statewide election occurring no fewer than 90 days from the date of the certificate of sufficiency executed by the Director of Elections. Any initiative petition that is certified by the Director of Elections to contain the requisite number of valid signatures, but that is certified within 90 days of an election, shall not be placed on the ballot for that election but shall be placed on the ballot at the next general municipal or Statewide election. (2) The Director of Elections shall call for a special municipal election on an initiative if the initiative petition complies with the requirements of Charter Section 14.101. (3) The Board of Supervisors may call for a special municipal election on an initiative pursuant to Charter Section 14.101, provided that the special election occurs no fewer than 90 days from the date the certificate of sufficiency is executed by the Director of Elections. (Added by Ord. 429-97, App. 11/17/97; amended by Ord. 183-03, File No. 030652, App. 7/25/2003; Ord. 291-06, File No. 061375, App. 11/29/2006; Ord. 75-14 , File No. 140226, App. 5/28/2014, Eff. 6/27/2014)

SF Municipal Elections Code § 305 RULES FOR SUBMISSION OF ORDINANCES AND CHARTER AMENDMENTS BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.

SEC. 305. RULES FOR SUBMISSION OF ORDINANCES AND CHARTER AMENDMENTS BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS. (a) When the Board of Supervisors considers whether to submit an ordinance or Charter amendment to the voters, the following rules shall apply: (1) The Board of Supervisors shall be prohibited from considering or deciding whether to submit an ordinance or Charter amendment to the voters unless, at least 30 days before the date of the first committee hearing concerning the proposed ordinance or Charter amendment, the following materials are delivered to the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors and available for public review: (A) A draft of the proposed ordinance or Charter amendment that is approved as to form by the City Attorney; and (B) A legislative digest prepared by the City Attorney. (2) Upon receipt of the materials described in Subsection (a)(1) of this Section, the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors shall transmit a copy of the proposed ordinance or Charter amendment to the Controller. The Controller shall prepare a financial analysis of the proposed measure and deliver the analysis to the Clerk no later than the first committee hearing concerning the proposed ordinance or Charter amendment. The Board of Supervisors shall be prohibited from considering or deciding whether to submit the measure to the voters unless the Controller has provided the Board with the financial analysis required by this subsection. (3) Any amendments to a proposed ordinance or Charter amendment shall be noticed for an additional public hearing by the Board committee designated to consider the measure. The proposed amendments shall be submitted in writing to the clerk of the designated committee and shall be available for public review no later than the time that notice of the additional hearing is published. (Added by Ord. 429-97, App. 11/17/97)

SF Municipal Elections Code § 310 INITIATIVE MEASURES AND REFERENDA; INCORPORATION OF STATE LAW.

SEC. 310. INITIATIVE MEASURES AND REFERENDA; INCORPORATION OF STATE LAW. Except as otherwise provided by the Charter or this Municipal Elections Code, the circulation and qualification of initiative petitions and referenda is governed by California Elections Code Sections 100 and 101, and Section 9200 et seq. (Added by Ord. 429-97, App. 11/17/97)

SF Municipal Elections Code § 320 NOTICE OF INTENTION TO CIRCULATE INITIATIVE PETITION; FILING FEE; SIGNATURES IN LIEU OF FILING FEE.

SEC. 320. NOTICE OF INTENTION TO CIRCULATE INITIATIVE PETITION; FILING FEE; SIGNATURES IN LIEU OF FILING FEE. (a) At the time the proponent files a notice of intention to circulate an initiative petition, the proponent shall pay a fee, the amount of which is specified in Section 820 of this Code, to the Director of Elections. The fee shall be used to defray the costs incurred by the City Attorney to prepare the ballot title and summary as required by California Elections Code Section 9203. The fee shall be refunded by the Director of Elections to the proponent if, within one year of the date of filing the notice of intention, the Director of Elections certifies the sufficiency of the petition. (b) At the time the proponent files a notice of intention to circulate an initiative petition, the proponent may submit a petition containing signatures in lieu of part or all of the filing fee required under Subsection (a). Any registered voter of the City and County may sign an in-lieu petition. Each valid signature contained in the in-lieu petition shall reduce the filing fee by the amount specified in Section 840 of this Code. (c) Each in-lieu petition shall include a complete and accurate copy of the notice of intention to circulate an initiative petition. Each petition shall also include spaces for the voter's signature, printed name and residence address. The residence address shall include street and number within the City and County, or other adequate designation of residence so that the location may be readily ascertained. Across the top of each printed page there shall be printed in 12-point boldface type the following: "Petition in Lieu of Filing Fee for Notice of Intention to Circulate Initiative Petition." (d) Each in-lieu petition shall include an affidavit signed by the circulator in substantially the same form as set forth in California Elections Code Section 9022 except that the affidavit shall declare that the circulator is a voter of the City and County and shall state the address at which the circulator is registered to vote at the time of execution of the affidavit. (Added by Ord. 429-97, App. 11/17/97)

SF Municipal Elections Code § 330 SIGNATURES IN LIEU OF FILING FEE; PROCEDURES FOR SUBMISSION.

SEC. 330. SIGNATURES IN LIEU OF FILING FEE; PROCEDURES FOR SUBMISSION. (a) Upon receipt of the minimum number of signatures in lieu of filing fee required by Section 820 of this Code, or a sufficient combination of such signatures and pro rata filing fee, the Director of Elections shall provisionally accept for filing the notice of intention to circulate an initiative petition. Within seven days after the receipt of the petition, the Director of Elections shall notify the proponent of the petition of any deficiency in the in-lieu signatures submitted. The proponent may then, within seven days of notification, submit additional signatures in the same manner as provided in Section 320 of this Code or pay a pro rata portion of the filing fee to cover the deficiency. If the deficiency is not remedied by either method within seven days, the notice of intention shall not be accepted and any filing fee paid by the proponent shall be forfeited. (b) The notice of intention to circulate an initiative petition shall be deemed filed upon the date that a sufficient number of signatures submitted in lieu of the filing fee have been verified, or the date upon which any deficiency has been cured. (c) The proponent of an in-lieu petition may submit a greater number of signatures than required by Section 320(b) of this Code. The Director of Elections shall not be required to determine the validity of a greater number of signatures than that required to reduce the filing fee to zero. If the number of signatures affixed to an in-lieu petition is 100 or more, the Director of Elections may use a random sampling technique for verification of the signatures. The random sampling shall include an examination of 100 signatures, or three percent of the total number of signatures submitted, whichever is greater. Upon completion of the verification of signatures in the sample, the percentage of signatures which are valid shall be applied and projected to the total number of signatures submitted. (Added by Ord. 429-97, App. 11/17/97)

SF Municipal Elections Code § 335 CIRCULATOR IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.

SEC. 335. CIRCULATOR IDENTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS. (a) Any person having charge or control of the circulation of, or obtaining signatures to, any City initiative, referendum or recall petition, shall request circulator identification badge templates from the Department of Elections. Upon request, the Department of Elections shall provide one badge template containing the words "VOLUNTEER CIRCULATOR" and a second badge template containing the words "PAID CIRCULATOR." The badge templates shall specify a font and size that will be clearly legible to the intended public. When the Department of Elections provides badge templates to any person pursuant to this subsection, the Department of Elections also shall provide written notice to that person describing the requirements set forth in subsection (b). (b) Every person is guilty of an infraction, punishable by the maximum fine allowed under state law, who, circulating, as a principal or agent, or obtaining signatures to, any City initiative, referendum or recall petition, intentionally fails to display an identification badge provided by the Department of Elections pursuant to subsection (a) on his or her outermost piece of clothing that includes the words "VOLUNTEER CIRCULATOR" if the person is not being paid to circulate the petition or "PAID CIRCULATOR" if the person is being paid to circulate the petition. (c) The person having charge or control of the circulation of or obtaining signatures to, any petition shall provide every person circulating the petition with a badge stating whether that person is a paid or volunteer circulator. Each badge shall be printed in the font and size specified in the badge template provided by the Department of Elections. The person having charge or control of the circulation of, or obtaining signatures to, any petition shall also provide an exact copy of the written notice described in subsection (b) to every person to whom the person distributes a badge. Any person who fails to provide an exact copy of the written notice as required under this subsection shall be guilty of an infraction, punishable by the maximum fine allowed under State law. (d) Upon request by any person, a person circulating, as a principal or agent, or having charge or control of the circulation of, or obtaining signatures to, any City initiative, referendum or recall petition shall disclose the name(s) of the proponents of the petition. Any person who intentionally fails to make such disclosure shall be guilty of an infraction, punishable by the maximum fine allowed under State law. (Added by Ord. 267-07, File No. 070672, App. 11/21/2007; amended by Ord. 50-13 , File No. 120899, App. 3/28/2013, Eff. 4/27/2013)

SF Municipal Elections Code § 340 ENACTING CLAUSE.

SEC. 340. ENACTING CLAUSE. The enacting clause of all ordinances submitted to the voters shall be "Be it ordained by the people of the City and County of San Francisco." The failure to include this language in an initiative petition shall not be fatal to the petition. (Added by Ord. 429-97, App. 11/17/97; Ord. 291-06, File No. 061375, App. 11/29/2006)

SF Municipal Elections Code § 350 TRANSMISSION OF INITIATIVE MEASURES TO AFFECTED DEPARTMENTS.

SEC. 350. TRANSMISSION OF INITIATIVE MEASURES TO AFFECTED DEPARTMENTS. No later than two working days after receipt of an initiative petition for certification, the Director of Elections, in consultation with the Office of the City Attorney, shall forward the initiative measure to those departments which the Director of Elections believes are the most appropriate for determining the effect of the measure on current law and practices. Those departments shall transmit an analysis of the measure to the Ballot Simplification Committee no later than three days prior to the first date the Committee will meet to prepare a digest of the measure, as provided in Article VI of this Code. (Added by Ord. 429-97, App. 11/17/97)

SF Municipal Elections Code § 360 MEASURES CONCERNING THE SAME SUBJECT MATTER; COMPETING AND CONFLICTING MEASURES; COMPLEMENTARY MEASURES.

SEC. 360. MEASURES CONCERNING THE SAME SUBJECT MATTER; COMPETING AND CONFLICTING MEASURES; COMPLEMENTARY MEASURES. When two or more proposed measures concern the same subject matter, the Director of Elections shall publish in the Voter Information Pamphlet the following statement on the ballot measure title page for each of the measures: Propositions () and () concern the same subject matter. If both measures are adopted by the voters, and if there is a conflict between provisions of the two measures, then some or all of the measure approved by fewer votes would not go into effect. In case two or more measures adopted at the same election have conflicting provisions and are tied for the highest vote, they shall be resubmitted at the next ensuing general election. (Added by Ord. 429-97, App. 11/17/97; amended by Ord. 183-03, File No. 030652, App. 7/25/2003)

SF Municipal Elections Code § 370 WITHDRAWAL OF MEASURES.

SEC. 370. WITHDRAWAL OF MEASURES. (a) Measures Proposed by the Mayor or Board of Supervisors. Measures proposed by the Mayor or Board of Supervisors pursuant to Section 300(a) or (b) of this Article may be withdrawn at any time up until and including the legal deadline for submission of the measure to the Director of Elections. The Mayor or Board of Supervisors cannot withdraw measures after the legal deadline for submission of the measure to the Director of Elections. (b) Measures Proposed by Four or More Supervisors. (1) Unanimous Withdrawal. Measures proposed by four or more members of the Board of Supervisors pursuant to Section 300(b) of this Article may be withdrawn at any time up until and including the legal deadline for submission of the measure to the Director of Elections if each of the Supervisors who submitted the measure files with the Director of Elections a signed and sworn statement of withdrawal before the legal deadline for submission of the measure. The four or more Supervisors who submitted the measure cannot withdraw the measure after the legal deadline for submission of the measure to the Director of Elections. (2) Withdrawal of Support by One or More Supervisors. Measures proposed by four or more members of the Board of Supervisors pursuant to Section 300(b) of this Article shall be withdrawn if one or more of the Supervisors withdraw their support for the proposed measure, and following this withdrawal fewer than four Supervisors continue to support the proposed measure. For purposes of this subsection, a Supervisor may withdraw his or her support for a measure by filing with the Director of Elections a signed and sworn statement of withdrawal at any time up until 72 hours before the legal deadline for submission of the measure to the Director of Elections. Following such a withdrawal, additional members of the Board of Supervisors may join in support of the proposed measure provided that they do so in writing before the legal deadline for submission of the measure to the Director of Elections. No Supervisor may withdraw his or her support for a measure pursuant to this subsection if fewer than 72 hours remain before the legal deadline for submission of the measure to the Director of Elections. (c) Initiatives. Once submitted to the Department of Elections, measures proposed by initiative petition may not be withdrawn. (Added by Ord. 429-97, App. 11/17/97; amended by Ord. 183-03, File No. 030652, App. 7/25/2003)

SF Municipal Elections Code § 380 EFFECTIVE DATE OF MEASURES.

SEC. 380. EFFECTIVE DATE OF MEASURES. Unless otherwise provided in the text of a proposed ballot measure, other than a Charter amendment, if a majority of the registered San Francisco voters voting on the measure vote in favor thereof, the measure shall go into effect 10 days after the date the official vote count is declared by the Board of Supervisors. If a majority of the registered San Francisco voters voting on a Charter amendment vote in favor thereof, the Charter amendment shall go into effect once the amendment is accepted and filed by the Secretary of State pursuant to Government Code Section 34450, et seq. (Added by Ord. 429-97, App. 11/17/97)

SF Municipal Elections Code § 390 REPEAL.

SEC. 390. REPEAL. No measure approved by the electorate under the provisions of the Charter or this Code shall be subject to veto, amendment or repeal except by vote of the electorate, unless the measure otherwise provides. (Added by Ord. 429-97, App. 11/17/97)

Source: City and County of San Francisco, Charter and Municipal Codes (American Legal Publishing, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/san_francisco/latest/sf_elections/0-0-0-69Fetched: 11/1/2026