Source: https://www.direct-democracy-navigator.org/legal_designs/lower-austria-austria-local-agenda-setting-initiative-pax-initiativrecht
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 07:02:59+00:00

Document:
(1) The right of initiative shall include the request that tasks falling within the scope of execution of the state be dealt with and measures taken insofar as they are in the interest of the entire state or at least of regional importance. The initiative may be limited to a basic suggestion or contain a specific request.
(2) An initiative must be subject to deliberation and decision-making by the State Government if it emanates from the majority of the locally and objectively affected municipalities or from the majority of the citizens entitled to vote in Parliament who have their normal place of residence in these municipalities. The decision of the State Government shall be made public.
(3) More detailed provisions concerning the exercise of the right of initiative shall be laid down in a State law.
(1) The initiation of proceedings to exercise the right of initiative pursuant to Art. 46 NÖ LV 1979 shall be requested in writing from the State Electoral Authority.
(2) The application must be supported by at least 10% of the persons who, at the time of receipt of the application by the State Electoral Authority, are registered in the electoral register of the municipalities locally and objectively affected by the request (§ 62 para. 3), have reached the age of 16 and are entitled to vote in the State Parliament. The declarations of support required for this purpose must have been submitted within one year prior to filing the application.
(3) The application shall contain the express request for consultation and decision-making by the State Government on administrative acts of the State either in the form of a fundamental suggestion or a specific administrative act. The request shall be substantiated.
(4) The deliberation and adoption of resolutions on individual administrative acts requiring a motion as well as on administrative acts which affect only one local authority locally and objectively may not be demanded.
(5) The application shall state which municipalities in the opinion of the applicant will be affected by the request in terms of location and subject matter.
(6) In the application, one person who supports the application shall be named as the authorised representative and another as his deputy. If no authorised representative is named in the application, the person named on the first declaration of support attached to the application shall be deemed to be the authorised representative and the following person shall be deemed to be his deputy.
(1) A request for initiation shall be accompanied by the completed and personally signed declarations of support. The declarations of support and the request for initiation shall contain the same request.
(2) The declaration of support shall contain the confirmation of the municipality that the person named in the declaration is registered as a voter at the time the confirmation is issued. In all other respects § 6 paragraph 2 is to be applied.
(3) Signatures on declarations of support on which the municipality has confirmed registration in the electoral register in accordance with subsection 2 shall be deemed valid entries in the registration procedure.
The deliberation and adoption of resolutions on individual administrative acts requiring a motion as well as on administrative acts which affect only one local authority locally and objectively may not be demanded.
If the state election authority has determined in accordance with § 66 that an initiative is based on the majority of voters of the locally and factually affected municipalities, it shall submit the initiative to the state government within 2 weeks.
(1) Within 8 weeks of the submission of an initiative by the State electoral authority in accordance with § 69 or of notification of the approval of an application by the State electoral authority in accordance with § 68, the Sate Government shall discuss the request and take a decision thereon.
(2) The State Government shall notify the authorised representative (§ 60, Sub-Clause 6) or the applicant municipalities in writing of the content of its decision. The rights of the applicant shall not be affected by the notification.
(3) The Sate Government shall publish the content of its decision in the official notices of the Lower Austrian State Government and on the official boards of those district governors in whose area municipalities locally and factually affected by the initiative (§ 62 para. 3) are located, or in the locally and factually affected cities with their own statutes.
(1) The State Government shall determine by ordinance one week (registration period) within which the citizens entitled to vote in Parliament may support the initiative by entering their signature on the registration lists held by the registration authority. The ordinance shall also contain the reference date. The deadline shall be set between the date of the decision and the beginning of the registration period.
(2) The registration period shall be fixed so that it begins at the earliest 4 weeks after the decision on the application (§ 7) and ends at the latest 6 months after the decision.
If the State Electoral Authority has granted an application pursuant to § 62 (3), the State Government shall, in those municipalities which have been determined by the State Electoral Authority to be locally and objectively affected by the requested request, determine the registration procedure by ordinance. Section 8 shall apply.
Sections 22 and 23 shall apply to the investigation procedure. Section 23 shall be applied in such a way that the State Election Authority shall determine the figures specified in subsection 1 for the municipalities locally and objectively affected by the initiative (section 62 subsection 3) and also whether the initiative is based on the majority of the voters entitled to vote in accordance with section 64.

References: Art. 46
 § 6
 § 66
 § 69
 § 68
 § 62