A guideline prepared by the Office of the City Clerk

The following information is intended as a preliminary guide for those interested in charter amendment petition. The City of San Diego, as a charter city, has its election processes, including initiative, referendum and recall, detailed in both its Charter and City Election Code.

Procedures to amend the City's Charter, however, are dictated by state law.

The following is only a summary of state law provisions governing Charter amendments using the initiative petition process. Proponents should research the California State Elections Code and other applicable laws and regulations for further detail.

This information is intended to provide guidelines only. These guidelines are not legal advice and it is not meant to serve as a substitute for the actual provisions in state or local law. 

LANGUAGE OF PROPOSED AMENDMENT

The first step for consideration in the Charter amendment initiative process is to develop the precise language of the proposed amendment.

You are advised to seek legal counsel in this matter to ensure that the intended outcome is accurately and comprehensively reflected in the language of your proposal. 

NOTE: THE CITY OF SAN DIEGO DOES NOT PROVIDE LEGAL SERVICES AND CANNOT PROVIDE INTERPRETATION OF APPLICABLE LAWS. PROPONENTS SHOULD RETAIN THEIR OWN ATTORNEYS.

NOTICE OF INTENT TO CIRCULATE AND TITLE & SUMMARY

(Legal references: California Elections Code Sections 9202-9206, 9256)

Before circulating an initiative petition in any city, the proponents of the matter shall file with the City Clerk a notice of intention to do so, which shall be accompanied by the written text of the initiative and may be accompanied by a written statement not in excess of 500 words, not to exceed 500 words, stating the reasons for the amendment. The notice shall be signed by at least one, but not more than three, proponents and shall be in substantially the following form:

Notice of Intent to Circulate Petition

Notice is hereby given by the persons whose names appear hereon of their intention to circulate the petition within the City of San Diego for the purpose of ____________________. A statement of the reasons of the proposed action as contemplated in the petition is as follows:

The proponents must also file a written request that a ballot title and summary be prepared. This request shall be accompanied by the address of the person proposing the measure. The City Clerk shall immediately transmit a copy of the proposed measure to the City Attorney. Within 15 days after the proposed measure is filed, the City Attorney shall provide and return to the City Clerk a ballot title for and summary of the proposed measure. The ballot title may differ from any other title of the proposed measure and shall express in 500 words or less the purpose of the proposed measure. In providing the ballot title, the City Attorney shall give a true and impartial statement of the purpose of the proposed measure in such language that the ballot title shall neither be an argument, nor be likely to create prejudice, for or against the proposed measure.  

Proponents must then publish once in a newspaper of general circulation in the City of San Diego the notice of intent accompanied by the title and summary of the proposed amendment as prepared by the City Attorney to be amended. This notice shall be signed by at least one but not more than three proponents, and shall be substantially in the form shown in California Elections Code Section 9202. Within 10 days of publication, proponents must file with the City Clerk the notice as published, along with an affidavit from the publisher certifying publication.{

PETITION FORM, WORDING AND CIRCULATION

(Legal references: California Elections Code Sections 101, 104, 9020, 9022, 9207, 9209 and 9257-9264)

Prior to its circulation, place upon each section of the petition, above the text of the proposed measure and across the top of each page of the petition on which signatures are to appear, in roman type not smaller than 11 point, the ballot title prepared by the city attorney. The text of the measure shall be printed in type not smaller than 8 point. The heading of the proposed measure shall be in a boldface type in substantially the following form:

INITIATIVE MEASURE TO BE DIRECTLY SUBMITTED TO THE VOTERS

The city attorney has prepared the following title and summary of the chief purpose and points of the proposed measure:

The petition signed by registered voters of the city proposing an amendment to a charter shall set forth in full the text of the proposed amendment, in no less than 10-point type. 

Each signer of the petition shall sign it as prescribed in California Elections Code Section 9020.

The petition form shall be substantially as shown in Section 9260, and shall include the specific notice contained in Section 101, along with a circulator's affidavit attached to each section in the form set forth in ELEC Sections 104, 9022 and 9209. 

Each petition section shall consist of sheets of white paper, uniform in size, with dimensions no smaller than 8 1/2 by 11 inches or greater than 8 1/2 by 14 inches. The sheets comprising each petition section shall be fastened together securely and remain so during circulation and filing. EC 9262; EC 9263

Once the Notice of Intent is published, proponents may immediately begin circulating the petition for signatures. Only the signatures of registered voters of the City of San Diego shall be valid.

PETITION FILING AND QUALIFYING

(Legal references: California Elections Code Sections 9114-9115, 9255, and 9265-9267)

Amending the Charter is a right reserved exclusively to the electorate. In order for a Charter amendment initiative petition to qualify for submittal to the voters, it must be signed by 15 percent (15%) of the total number of registered voters in the City of San Diego as of the County Registrar of Voters' last official report of registration to the Secretary of State. Proponents should check with the City Clerk, Elections Section, at (619) 533-4000  or CityClerk@sandiego.gov for the latest figures, or see Current Signature Requirements.

The petition must be filed within 180 days following the date of receipt of the title and summary, and must be filed by the proponents, or by any person or persons authorized in writing by the proponents. All sections of the petition must be filed with the City Clerk at one time. Once the petition is filed, no additional petition sections shall be accepted.

Once the petition has been filed, the City Clerk has up to 60 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, in which to determine from voter registration records whether or not the petition is signed by the requisite number of voters. The City Clerk shall then notify the proponents as to the sufficiency or insufficiency of the petition. If the petition is found to be sufficient, it is presented to the City Council.