California Restrictions on Emergency Orders Initiative (2022)
| California Restrictions on Emergency Orders Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2022 | |
| Topic State executive official measures | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The California Restrictions on Emergency Orders Initiative (#21-0018) was not on the ballot in California as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022.
The ballot measure would have added provisions to the California Constitution related to emergency orders, including:[1]
- requiring information, such as data or modeling, to be posted online to show justification for the emergency order;
- prohibiting emergency orders from treating businesses differently based on their size, number of employees, or market share;
- declare public elementary and high schools to be essential services and deem in-person instruction to be maintained to the maximum extent possible; and
- providing that emergency orders expire within 30 days unless the legislative body extends the order by a two-thirds vote for an additional 30 days.
Text of the measure
Ballot title
The ballot title would have been as follows:[2]
| “ |
Limits State and Local Officials’ Authority to Respond to Public-health and Other Emergencies. Initiative Constitutional Amendment.[3] |
” |
Petition summary
The summary provided for inclusion on signature petition sheets was as follows:[2]
| “ |
Restricts state and local officials’ authority to issue orders restricting business or school operations during public-health and certain other emergencies, including storm, drought, energy shortage, or cyberterrorism. Limits orders’ duration to 30 days, unless extended by Legislature or local governing body. Prohibits orders from distinguishing between businesses based on size. Requires orders to permit schools to remain open to maximum extent possible. Requires online publication of information justifying orders; prohibits officials from relying on other information to defend orders against legal challenge.[3] |
” |
Fiscal impact
The fiscal impact statement was as follows:[2]
| “ |
Unknown fiscal effect on the state and local governments due to requirements that could change the use of shutdown orders during emergencies.[3] |
” |
Full text
The full text is available here.
Path to the ballot
Process in California
In California, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 8 percent of the votes cast in the preceding gubernatorial election. Petitions are allowed to circulate for 180 days from the date the attorney general prepares the petition language. Signatures need to be certified at least 131 days before the general election. As the verification process can take multiple months, the secretary of state provides suggested deadlines for ballot initiatives.
The requirements to get initiated constitutional amendments certified for the 2022 ballot:
- Signatures: 997,139 valid signatures were required.
- Deadline: The deadline for signature verification was 131 days before the general election, which was around June 30, 2022. However, the process of verifying signatures can take multiple months and proponents are recommended to file signatures at least two months before the verification deadline.
Signatures are first filed with local election officials, who determine the total number of signatures submitted. If the total number is equal to at least 100 percent of the required signatures, then local election officials perform a random check of signatures submitted in their counties. If the random sample estimates that more than 110 percent of the required number of signatures are valid, the initiative is eligible for the ballot. If the random sample estimates that between 95 and 110 percent of the required number of signatures are valid, a full check of signatures is done to determine the total number of valid signatures. If less than 95 percent are estimated to be valid, the initiative does not make the ballot.
Initiative #21-0018
John B. Estill and Richard C. Altmaier filed the ballot initiative on August 31, 2021.[4] The Attorney General of California issued ballot language for the initiative on November 4, 2021, allowing a signature drive to begin. Signatures were due on May 3, 2022.
On May 19, 2022, the secretary of state reported that the initiative did not qualify for the ballot.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ California Attorney General, "Initiative 21-0018," August 31, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 California Secretary of State, "Initiatives and Referenda Cleared for Circulation," accessed October 20, 2021
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Initiatives," accessed August 31, 2021
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