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H0647......................................................by STATE AFFAIRS TERM LIMITS - Amends existing law to provide for submission to the electors of a school district the question of retaining term limits for the office of school district trustee for that school district upon a petition of the electors of the district, to provide for an initiative process for a school district, to provide that a board of school district trustees may adopt a resolution to submit the question of retaining term limits for the office of school districts for that district at the election of school district trustees in 1999 and to provide the form of the question; to delete term limits for members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives, to provide for submission to the electors of the county at a general election the question of retaining term limits for the office of county commissioner or the question of retaining term limits for all other county elected offices, or both, upon a petition of the electors of the county, to provide that a board of county commissioners may adopt a resolution to submit either or both questions at the 1998 general election and to provide the form of the questions; to provide for submission to the electors of the city at a city general election the question of retaining term limits for all elected offices of that city upon a petition of the electors of the city, to provide that a city council may adopt a resolution to submit the question of retaining term limits for city elected offices at the city general election in 1999 and to provide the form of the question. 02/09 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing 02/10 Rpt prt - to St Aff
H0647|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO |||| Fifty-fourth Legislature Second Regular Session - 1998IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HOUSE BILL NO. 647 BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE 1 AN ACT 2 RELATING TO TERM LIMITATIONS; AMENDING SECTION 33-443, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE 3 FOR SUBMISSION TO THE ELECTORS OF A SCHOOL DISTRICT THE QUESTION OF 4 RETAINING LIMITATIONS ON THE NUMBER OF TERMS A PERSON MAY SERVE IN THE 5 OFFICE OF SCHOOL DISTRICT TRUSTEE FOR THAT SCHOOL DISTRICT UPON A PETITION 6 OF THE ELECTORS OF THE DISTRICT, TO PROVIDE FOR AN INITIATIVE PROCESS FOR 7 A SCHOOL DISTRICT, TO PROVIDE THAT A BOARD OF SCHOOL DISTRICT TRUSTEES MAY 8 ADOPT A RESOLUTION TO SUBMIT THE QUESTION OF RETAINING LIMITATIONS ON THE 9 NUMBER OF TERMS A PERSON MAY SERVE IN THE OFFICE OF SCHOOL DISTRICT 10 TRUSTEE FOR THAT DISTRICT AT THE ELECTION OF SCHOOL DISTRICT TRUSTEES IN 11 1999, AND TO PROVIDE THE FORM OF THE QUESTION; AMENDING SECTION 34-907, 12 IDAHO CODE, TO DELETE TERM LIMITS FOR MEMBERS OF THE UNITED STATES SENATE 13 AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, TO PROVIDE FOR SUBMISSION TO THE ELECTORS OF 14 THE COUNTY AT A GENERAL ELECTION THE QUESTION OF RETAINING LIMITATIONS ON 15 THE NUMBER OF TERMS A PERSON MAY SERVE IN THE OFFICE OF COUNTY COMMIS- 16 SIONER OR THE QUESTION OF RETAINING LIMITATIONS ON THE NUMBER OF TERMS A 17 PERSON MAY SERVE IN ANY OTHER COUNTY ELECTED OFFICE, OR BOTH, UPON A PETI- 18 TION OF THE ELECTORS OF THE COUNTY, TO PROVIDE THAT A BOARD OF COUNTY COM- 19 MISSIONERS MAY ADOPT A RESOLUTION TO SUBMIT THE QUESTION OF RETAINING TERM 20 LIMITATIONS FOR THE OFFICE OF COUNTY COMMISSIONER OR THE QUESTION OF 21 RETAINING TERM LIMITATIONS FOR OTHER COUNTY ELECTED OFFICES, OR BOTH, AT 22 THE 1998 GENERAL ELECTION, TO PROVIDE THE FORM OF THE QUESTIONS AND TO 23 MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS; AMENDING SECTION 50-478, IDAHO CODE, TO PRO- 24 VIDE FOR SUBMISSION TO THE ELECTORS OF THE CITY AT A CITY GENERAL ELECTION 25 THE QUESTION OF RETAINING LIMITATIONS ON THE NUMBER OF TERMS A PERSON MAY 26 SERVE IN AN ELECTED OFFICE OF THAT CITY UPON A PETITION OF THE ELECTORS OF 27 THE CITY, TO PROVIDE THAT A CITY COUNCIL MAY ADOPT A RESOLUTION TO SUBMIT 28 THE QUESTION OF RETAINING TERM LIMITATIONS FOR CITY ELECTED OFFICES OF 29 THAT CITY AT THE CITY GENERAL ELECTION IN 1999 AND TO PROVIDE THE FORM OF 30 THE QUESTION; PROVIDING SEVERABILITY; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY. 31 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho: 32 SECTION 1. That Section 33-443, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 33 amended to read as follows: 34 33-443. LIMITATION OF BALLOT ACCESS FOR MULTI-TERM INCUMBENTS. (1) A per- 35 son shall not be eligible to have his or her name placed upon the school elec- 36 tion ballot for the office of school district trustee which they have previ- 37 ously held if they have served, will serve or but for resignation would have 38 served, in that same office by the end of their current term of office, repre- 39 senting any zone of the district, during six (6) or more of the previous 40 eleven (11) years. 41 (2) Nothing in the section shall be construed as prohibiting any quali- 42 fied voter of the school district from casting a ballot for any person by 43 writing the name of that person on any ballot, or as prohibiting such a prop- 2 1 erly marked ballot from being counted or tabulated, nor shall any provision of 2 this section be construed as preventing or prohibiting any person from stand- 3 ing or campaigning for any elective office by means of a "write-in" campaign. 4 (3) The qualified electors of a school district shall have the 5 right through the initiative process to submit to the electors of the district 6 the question of whether the limitations on the number of terms which a person 7 may serve as school district trustee as provided in this section should con- 8 tinue to apply to the office of school district trustee for that district. The 9 board of school district trustees of each school district shall provide for an 10 initiative process whereby the qualified electors of the school district may 11 petition for submission of the question to the electors of the district. Min- 12 imum requirements of the adopted initiative process shall be as follows: 13 (a) Petitioners for the initiative shall be equal to twenty percent (20%) 14 of the total number of electors who cast votes at the last election for 15 school district trustees in the district; 16 (b) The question shall be submitted to the electors of the school dis- 17 trict at a regular election of school district trustees, as provided in 18 section 33-503, Idaho Code; 19 (c) Completed petitions, with the requisite number of signatures shall be 20 filed with the clerk of the school district; 21 (d) Except as expressly modified herein, the requirements for the form of 22 the petition, signatures, verification of valid petitions, printing of 23 petitions, review of petitions and time limits, shall be as nearly as 24 practicable as provided for county initiatives in section 31-717, Idaho 25 Code. 26 (i) Before beginning to circulate any petition the person or per- 27 sons or organization or organizations under whose authority the peti- 28 tion is to be initiated shall send or deliver to the clerk of the 29 school district a copy of the petition duly signed by at least twenty 30 (20) qualified electors of the school district which the clerk shall 31 file in his office. The clerk of the school district shall transmit a 32 copy of the petition to the attorney for the school district for the 33 issuance of the certificate of review as provided in section 34 31-717(6), Idaho Code. 35 (ii) After receiving a copy of the petition, the attorney for the 36 school district shall proceed to review the petition and issue a cer- 37 tificate of review to the clerk of the school district in the same 38 manner as provided for a county initiative under section 39 31-717(6)(b), Idaho Code. Within fifteen (15) working days after 40 issuance of a certificate of review, the petitioner, if he desires to 41 proceed with his sponsorship, shall file the petition with the clerk 42 of the school district who shall assign a ballot title and be respon- 43 sible for other matters required with respect thereto as provided in 44 section 34-1809, Idaho Code. 45 (iii) The attorney conducting the review of the petition as herein 46 provided shall be responsible for preparation of the ballot title as 47 prescribed in section 34-1809, Idaho Code. 48 (iv) The verification of signatures shall be conducted by the clerk 49 of the school district as provided in section 34-1807, Idaho Code. 50 (v) After the form of the petition has been approved by the clerk 51 of the school district the petition shall be printed by the person or 52 persons or organization or organizations under whose authority the 53 measure is to be initiated and circulated in the school district for 54 the signatures of qualified electors. Completed petitions, with the 55 requisite number of signatures for the initiative, shall be filed 3 1 with the clerk of the school district not more than one hundred 2 eighty (180) days after the date of approval of the form. 3 (vi) The provisions of section 31-717(6)(g) and (h), Idaho Code, 4 shall apply to petitions provided for in this section. 5 (4) By resolution adopted by the board of school district trustees, a 6 board of school district trustees may submit to the qualified electors of the 7 district at the election of school district trustees on the third Tuesday in 8 May 1999, the question of whether the limitations on the number of terms which 9 a person may serve in the office of school district trustee as provided in 10 this section should continue to apply to the office of school district trustee 11 for that district. 12 (5) The form of the question to be submitted by petition through the ini- 13 tiative process or by resolution of a board of school district trustees shall 14 be as follows: 15 Vote for one: 16 In favor of retaining term limits for the office of school district 17 trustee of (name of district). 18 In favor of eliminating term limits for the office of school district 19 trustees of (name of school district). 20 If a majority of the votes cast are in favor of eliminating term limits, the 21 term limits provided in this section shall not be applicable to the office of 22 school district trustee for the identified district from and after the date 23 the election results are certified. 24 SECTION 2. That Section 34-907, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 25 amended to read as follows: 26 34-907. LIMITATION OF BALLOT ACCESS FOR MULTI-TERM INCUMBENTS. (1) A per- 27 son shall not be eligible to have his or her name placed upon the primary or 28 general election ballot for a county,or state29or federaloffice which they have previously held if they have served, 30 will serve or but for resignation would have served, in that same office by 31 the end of the current term of office for a length of time as follows: 32 a.As a member of the U.S. House of Representatives representing33any district within the state, during six (6) or more of the previous34eleven (11) years.35b. As a member of the U.S. Senate, during twelve (12) or more of the pre-36vious twenty three (23) years.37c.As a state elected official, during eight (8) or more of the 38 previous fifteen (15) years. 39db . As a state legislator, representing any 40 district within the state, including all House seats within the same dis- 41 trict, during eight (8) or more of the previous fifteen (15) years. 42ec . As a county commissioner, representing any 43 district within the county, during six (6) or more of the previous eleven 44 (11) years. 45fd . As any other county elected official, dur- 46 ing eight (8) or more of the previous fifteen (15) years. 47 (2) Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting any quali- 48 fied voter of this state from casting a ballot in a general election for any 49 person by writing the name of that person on any ballot, or as prohibiting 50 such a properly marked general election ballot from being counted or tabu- 51 lated, nor shall any provision of this section be construed as preventing or 52 prohibiting any person from standing or campaigning for any elective office by 53 means of a "write-in" campaign in a general election. 4 1 (3) (a) The qualified electors of the county shall have the right 2 through the county initiative process provided in section 31-717, Idaho 3 Code, to submit to the electors of the county the question of whether the 4 limitations on the number of terms which a person may serve in the office 5 of county commissioner should be retained for that county or whether the 6 limitations on the number of terms which a person may serve in any other 7 county elected office as provided in this section should be retained for 8 that county. The question of retaining or eliminating term limits as pro- 9 vided in this subsection shall be submitted at a general election. Either 10 question or both questions may be submitted at a given election. 11 (b) The board of county commissioners of any county may by resolution 12 submit to the electors of the county at the general election in November 13 1998, the question of whether limitations on the number of terms which a 14 person may serve in the office of county commissioner should be retained 15 for that county and whether limitations on the number of terms which a 16 person may serve in any other county elected office should be retained for 17 that county. The board may submit either or both questions. 18 (c) The form of the question(s) to be submitted upon a petition of quali- 19 fied electors or by resolution of the board of county commissioners shall 20 be as follows: 21 Vote for one: 22 In favor of retaining term limits for the office of county commis- 23 sioner of (name of county). 24 In favor of eliminating term limits for the office of county commis- 25 sioner of (name of county). 26 Vote for one: 27 In favor of retaining term limits for all other county elected offi- 28 ces of (name of county). 29 In favor of eliminating term limits for all other county elected 30 offices of (name of county). 31 If a majority of the votes cast are in favor of eliminating term limits for 32 the office of county commissioner of the identified county, the provisions of 33 subsection (1) of this section shall not apply to that office in the identi- 34 fied county from and after the date the election results are certified. If a 35 majority of the votes cast are in favor of eliminating term limits for all 36 other county elected offices of the identified county, the provisions of sub- 37 section (1) of this section shall not apply to those offices in that county 38 from and after the date the election results are certified. 39 SECTION 3. That Section 50-478, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby 40 amended to read as follows: 41 50-478. LIMITATION OF BALLOT ACCESS FOR MULTI-TERM INCUMBENTS. (1) A per- 42 son shall not be eligible to have his or her name placed upon a special or 43 general election ballot for a city office which they have previously held if 44 they have served, will serve or but for resignation would have served, in that 45 same office by the end of their current term of office for a length of time as 46 follows: 47 a. As mayor during eight (8) or more of the previous fifteen (15) years. 48 b. As a member of city council representing any district or assigned mem- 49 ber council seat during eight (8) or more of the previous fifteen (15) 50 years. 51 (2) Nothing in this section shall be construed as prohibiting any quali- 52 fied voter of the city from casting a ballot for any person by writing the 53 name of that person on any ballot, or as prohibiting such a properly marked 5 1 ballot from being counted or tabulated, nor shall any provision of this sec- 2 tion be construed as preventing or prohibiting any person from standing or 3 campaigning for any elective office by means of a "write-in" campaign. 4 (3) The qualified electors of the city shall have the right through 5 the initiative process provided in section 50-501, Idaho Code, to submit to 6 the electors of the city the question of whether the limitations on the number 7 of terms which a person may serve in a city elected office as provided in this 8 section should be retained for that city. The question of retaining or elimi- 9 nating term limits as provided in this subsection shall be submitted only at a 10 city general election held in November of an odd-numbered year, as provided in 11 section 50-402, Idaho Code. 12 (4) The city council of any city may by resolution submit to the quali- 13 fied electors of the city at the city general election in November 1999, the 14 question of whether limitations on the number of terms which a person may 15 serve in a city elected office as provided in this section should be retained 16 for that city. 17 (5) The form of the question to be submitted by petition through the ini- 18 tiative process or by resolution of the city council shall be as follows: 19 Vote for one: 20 In favor of retaining term limits for all elected offices of (name of 21 city). 22 In favor of eliminating term limits for all elected offices of (name 23 of city). 24 If a majority of the votes cast are in favor of eliminating term limits, the 25 provisions of this section shall not apply to elected offices of the identi- 26 fied city from and after the date the election results are certified. 27 SECTION 4. SEVERABILITY. The provisions of this act are hereby declared 28 to be severable and if any provision of this act or the application of such 29 provision to any person or circumstance is declared invalid for any reason, 30 such declaration shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of 31 this act. 32 SECTION 5. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby 33 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after its 34 passage and approval.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS07967C1
In 1994, term limits were not approved in nine Idaho counties.
This bill allows school board members, city elected officials and
county elected officials to place the question on the November
1998 ballot whether to remove term limits for those positions, by
vote of the people. It further allows the voters the ability to
revote on local term limits by use of the initiative process.
FI SCAL NOTE
There could be a small additional cost for ballots if the term
limits questions means an additional page.
CONTACT: Jeff Alltus 332-1000
H 647