Bill Text: HI SB330 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Recall
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-05-11 - Carried over to 2010 Regular Session. [SB330 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2010-SB330-Introduced.html
Report Title:
Recall
Description:
Amends article II of the state constitution to provide for recall.
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
330 |
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TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
proposing an amendment to article ii of the constitution of the state of hawaii to provide for recall.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The purpose of this Act is to propose an amendment to article II of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii to provide for recall. The legislature finds that no method exists for the recall of state elected officials in Hawaii and that such a political mechanism would be in the best interest of the citizenry.
SECTION 2. Article II of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
"RECALL
Section . Every elected public officer of the State may be removed from office by the electors entitled to vote for a successor of the incumbent, through the procedure and in the manner set forth in this section. This procedure shall be known as recall and it exists in addition to any other method of removal provided by law. This section is self-executing, but the legislature may enact legislation to facilitate its operation, including the timing and manner of a recall election; provided that the legislation may not restrict or limit the provisions of this section or the powers reserved in this section.
A recall measure shall be submitted to the people for a recall vote with the signatures of registered voters of not less than twenty-five percent of all votes cast for all candidates for the office subject to recall at the general election preceding the filing of the recall petition.
In districts in which the people cast their votes for multiple representation in a particular office in that district, the total votes cast for all candidates for that office in the last general election shall be divided by the number of persons in that particular office to obtain the number of signatures needed.
Only those registered voters who are entitled to cast votes for the officer named on the recall petition shall be qualified to sign the recall petition and to vote in the recall election.
The recall petition shall state the reason for the recall vote. Unresponsiveness to the needs of the officer's constituents shall be adequate reason for the recall of any elected state officer.
No recall petition shall be filed against any elected state officer unless the officer has served more than one hundred eighty days of the officer's term of office. No recall petition shall be filed within one hundred eighty days of the end of an elected state officer's term of office. Upon receipt of a properly filed recall petition, the chief election officer shall proclaim a recall special election within thirty days after the petition has been certified to be sufficient.
A recall shall be approved by the majority of the votes cast indicating "yes" or "no" thereon but not including blank ballots. Any vacancy that may be created shall be filled as prescribed by law.
If a recall vote fails to recall the affected officer, the affected officer shall not be subject to another recall vote for the remainder of the term of office to which the officer was elected to serve.
Prior to the circulation of any recall petition for signature, a copy shall be submitted to the attorney general who shall prepare a title and summary of the chief purpose and aim of the proposed measure within seven business days. The title shall not exceed ten words and the summary shall not exceed fifty words.
All recall petitions shall be submitted for certification to the chief election officer. Every sheet of the petition containing signatures shall be attached to the title, summary and text of the recall petition. No laws shall be enacted limiting the number of copies of a petition which may be circulated. Any registered voter of this State shall be competent to solicit signatures. No person circulating a petition shall be eligible to receive any compensation for services as a petition circulator. All signers shall add their name and address as shown on their voter registration form, and the date upon which they signed the petition.
When fewer than five thousand signatures are required on a petition, the petition circulators shall have sixty days in which to obtain the required number of signatures of qualified voters. When between five thousand and ten thousand signatures are required on a petition, the petition circulators shall have ninety days in which to obtain the required number of signatures of qualified voters. When between ten thousand and fifty thousand signatures are required on a petition, the petition circulators shall have one hundred twenty days in which to obtain the required number of signatures of qualified voters. When between fifty thousand and one hundred thousand signatures are required on a petition, the petition circulators shall have one hundred sixty days in which to obtain the required number of signatures of qualified voters. When more than one hundred thousand signatures are required on a petition, the petition circulators shall have one hundred eighty days in which to obtain the required number of signatures of qualified voters.
Every sheet of the petition containing signatures shall be verified by affidavit of the petition circulator that each name on the sheet was signed in the presence of the affiant and that in the belief of the affiant each signer is a registered voter of the State, and of the affected district in the case of a recall petition so limited. The chief election officer shall certify that the signers are registered voters of this State, and of the affected district in the case of a recall petition so limited.
The chief election officer shall not release a petition for inspection by the public or any governmental agency, except where the supreme court orders inspection of the petition, when a question has been raised regarding the sufficiency of the petition. If any petition under this section has been determined to be insufficient, the petition shall be returned to the circulators within sixty days of its filing with a statement of the specific insufficiencies. Petition circulators shall have additional time in which to correct the specific insufficiencies of a petition, in accordance with the provisions of this section governing the amount of time allowed to obtain petitioners' signatures.
Any measure under this section shall be presented to the people in such a form that a "yes" vote, on a yes or no ballot, shall indicate an affirmative vote for the measure as the measure is written.
The recall measure shall be effective, if approved, one day after the election results are announced unless otherwise provided for in the measure.
The petitioners shall bear all costs of the preparation and circulation of the petition, except for the services performed by the attorney general under this section. After the petition has been filed with the chief election officer, all further costs shall be part of the usual expenditures of the State."
SECTION 3. The question to be printed on the ballot shall be as follows:
"Shall the State Constitution be amended to provide for the recall of state elected officials?"
SECTION 4. New constitutional material is underscored.
SECTION 5. This amendment shall take effect upon compliance with article XVII, section 3, of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii.
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INTRODUCED BY: |
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