PETITION SIGNATURES                                                                        H.B. 6595 (S-1):

                                                                                                    SUMMARY OF BILL

                                                                                      REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE

House Bill 6595 (Substitute S-1 as reported)

Sponsor:  Representative James A. Lower

House Committee:  Elections and Ethics

Senate Committee:  Elections and Government Reform

CONTENT

The bill would amend the Michigan Election Law to do the following:

-- Specify that not more than 15% of the signatures used to determine the validity of a petition could be registered voters from any one congressional district.

-- Require a person who filed a petition with the Secretary of State (SOS) to sort the petition so that signatures were categorized by congressional district.

-- Specify that any signature obtained above the 15% limit would be invalid and not counted.

-- Require the Board of State Canvassers to make an official declaration of the sufficiency or insufficiency of a petition no later than 100 days before the election at which the proposal was to be submitted.

-- Require a person who felt aggrieved by a determination made by the Board regarding the sufficiency of an initiative petition to file a challenge to the Board's determination in the Michigan Supreme Court within seven business days after the date of the official declaration or within 60 days before the election.

-- Require a petition to have a summary of that proposal that was not more than 100 words.

-- Require the Director of Elections, if a person submitted a summary of that proposal to the Board of State Canvassers for approval, to prepare a summary of it.

-- Require each petition to indicate at the top of the page whether the circulator of the petition was a paid signature gatherer or a volunteer signature gatherer.

-- Specify that any signature obtained on a circulated petition that failed to meet all of the requirements regarding its size and format would be invalid.

-- Require a petition circulator who was a paid signature gatherer to file an affidavit with the SOS that indicated as such before circulating a petition.

-- Specify that any signature obtained by a petition circulator on a petition would be invalid and could not be counted if the circulator provided or used a false address or provided any fraudulent information on the certificate of circulator.

-- Specify that any signature obtained on a petition that was not signed in the circulator's presence would be invalid and could not be counted.

-- Prescribed a misdemeanor penalty for a circulator who knowingly made a false statement concerning his or her status as a paid signature gatherer or volunteer signature gatherer.

MCL 168.471 et al.                                                    Legislative Analyst:  Nathan Leaman

FISCAL IMPACT

The bill would have no fiscal impact on State or local government.

Date Completed:  12-20-18                                                  Fiscal Analyst:  Joe Carrasco

This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.