FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 12, 2002
Contact:  Adam Radinsky, Deputy City Attorney, (310) 458-88327

The Santa Monica City Attorney’s Office is enforcing a new ordinance that was designed to prevent confusion among prospective signers of initiative petitions in the city.

Municipal Code Section 11.04.175(c), enacted by the City Council in July 2001, requires that persons gathering signatures for initiative petitions must give an “Initiative Information Sheet” to each person who signs the petition. The law also requires signature gatherers to make extra copies of the information sheet “readily available” to prospective signers. The Initiative Information Sheet is prepared by the City Clerk and the City Attorney. It includes a summary of the initiative; notification that the signature gatherer may be paid for signatures; and notification that it is a crime for gatherers to misrepresent the contents of the proposed measure.

In recent weeks, the City Attorney’s Office learned that some signature gatherers in Santa Monica were not making copies of the Initiative Information Sheet available to prospective signers. In late August, the city’s Consumer Protection Unit contacted the organization that is currently seeking a special election on the landmark status designation issue, and informed them of the requirements of the information sheet law. (The proposed landmark status measure is the only initiative for which signatures currently are being collected in Santa Monica.) 

This week, the City Attorney’s Office began undercover checks to verify compliance with the law. The investigation has revealed that most signature gatherers are complying with the law. Violators are being given criminal citations.

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This page was last updated on 08/01/05.