Opinion No. (2000)

BILL LOCKYER Attorney General CLAYTON P. ROCHE Deputy Attorney General THE HONORABLE ADAM B. SCHIFF, MEMBER OF THE STATE SENATE, has requested an opinion on the following question: Where a city charter requires city initiative petitions to be submitted in a form that complies with state law, may the city clerk reject a petition that does not contain a notice of intent with the name or names of the proponents of the initiative? CONCLUSION Where a city charter requires city initiative petitions to be submitted in a form that complies with state law, the city clerk is required to reject a petition that does not contain a notice of intent with the name or names of the proponents of the initiative. ANALYSIS In this opinion we deal with a proposed city initiative in a charter city. The city charter provides that city initiative petitions shall be submitted in a form that complies with state law. (See Cal. Const., art. II , § 11 , art. XI, § 5.) The Legislature has enacted a comprehensive statutory scheme (Elec. Code, §§ 9200 - 9295 ) 1 covering municipal elections in general, including the approval of initiative measures submitted by the electorate (§§ 9200…