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AP15:077

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 19, 2015

CONTACT: Sam Mahood

(916) 653-6575

 

Proposed Referendum Enters Circulation

Referendum to Overturn Aid-in-Dying Law.

 

SACRAMENTO – Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced the proponents of a new referendum may begin collecting petition signatures.  

The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on referendum petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponent and to the Secretary of State, and the referendum may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides calendar deadlines to the proponent and to county elections officials. The Attorney General’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows: 

REFERENDUM TO OVERTURN AID-IN-DYING LAW. If signed by the required number of registered voters and timely filed with the Secretary of State, this petition will place on the statewide ballot a challenge to a state law previously approved by the Legislature and the Governor. The challenged law must then be approved by a majority of voters at the next statewide election to go into effect. The law allows a terminally ill, mentally competent adult to obtain a prescription for a life-ending drug, provided two doctors confirm the diagnosis and prognosis, and other safeguards are met. (15-0080.) 

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1709 and the Attorney General’s tracking number is 15-0080. 

The proponents for the measure, Mark Hoffman and Stephanie Packer, must collect signatures of 365,880 registered voters (five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2014 general election) in order to qualify it for the November 2016 ballot. The proponents have 90 days from the date the bill is chaptered to request and receive a title and summary from the Attorney General, and gather petition signatures for the referendum. ABX2-15 (Chapter 1, Statutes of 2015-2016 Second Extraordinary Session) was chaptered on October 5, 2015. The proponents have until January 4, 2016 to submit petition signatures to county election officials. The referendum proponents can be reached at (916) 952-3656. 

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