STATUS UPDATE; INITIATIVE/REFER. PETITIONS                                    H.B. 5252 (S-3):

                                                                                  SUMMARY OF SUBSTITUTE BILL

                                                                                                         IN COMMITTEE

House Bill 5252 (Substitute S-3)

Sponsor:  Representative Bradley Slagh

House Committee:  Elections and Ethics

Senate Committee:  Elections

Date Completed:  2-9-22

CONTENT

The bill would amend Chapter 22 (Initiative and Referendum) of the Michigan Election Law to require the Secretary of State (SOS), within two days after an initiative or referendum petition was filed, to post on the Department of State's website a summary of the proposed amendment or question and the date the petition was filed with the SOS and to update the state of the petition on the website at least once every 30 days.

Currently, once an initiative or referendum petition is filed, the SOS must immediately notify the Board of State Canvassers of the petition's filing. The notification must be by first-class mail. After the day on which a petition is filed, the SOS may not accept further filings of that petition to supplement the original filing.

Under the bill, in addition to the above requirements, within two days after the filing of a petition, the SOS would have to post on the Department's website a summary of the proposed amendment or question proposed and the date the petition was filed with the SOS. If a summary of the purpose of the proposed amendment or question presented were submitted to and approved by the Board of State Canvassers, that approved summary would have to be used as the summary posted on the website. At least once every 30 days after the date the petition was filed, the SOS would have to post on the Department's website an update on the status of that petition.

MCL 168.475                                                              Legislative Analyst:  Dana Adams

FISCAL IMPACT

The bill would have no fiscal impact on State or local government. The requirement for the Department to post all petitions filed and to update them at least once every 30 days likely would be absorbed within the Department's annual appropriation.

                                                                                      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.