AP15:086
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 30, 2015
CONTACT: Sam Mahood
(916) 653-6575
Proposed Initiative Enters Circulation
Electricity. Initiative Statute.
SACRAMENTO – Secretary of State Alex Padilla announced the proponent of a new initiative was cleared to begin collecting petition signatures yesterday.
The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponent and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative 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:
ELECTRICITY. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Establishes publicly-owned California Electrical Utility District to provide electric service, replacing most investor-owned utilities, such as PG&E, Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric, and Bear Valley Electric. Exempts publicly-owned electric utilities, unless they voluntarily elect to join. Requires the District be divided into 11 wards, approximately equal in population. Establishes an 11 member board of directors—one member per ward—each elected for 4-year terms. Grants the District the power to acquire property, construct facilities necessary to supply electricity, set electricity rates, impose taxes, and issue bonds. Fiscal impact: It is the opinion of the Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance that the measure would result in a substantial net change in state and local finances. (15-0056.)
The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1718 and the Attorney General’s tracking number is 15-0056.
The proponent of the measure, Ben Davis, Jr., must collect the 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 proponent has 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials by April 26, 2016. The proponent can be reached at (916) 833-7894.
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