Opinion ID: 2632217
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Circulation of Petition for Signatures

Text: Under the relevant statutes in Title 1, Article 40, a petition may be circulated once the titles and summary for an initiative have been fixed and determined. Specifically, section 1-40-107(4) provides: No petition for any initiative measure shall be circulated nor any signature thereto have any force or effect which has been signed before the titles and submission clause have been fixed and determined as provided in section 1-40-106 and this section. (Emphasis added.) Section 1-40-106(1), 1 C.R.S. (2000) provides that the Title Board shall designate and fix a proper fair title for each proposed law or constitutional amendment. Taken together, these provisions clarify that the Title Board, not this court, fixes and determines the titles and summary. Proponents and opponents of an initiative, however, may petition the Title Board for a reconsideration of its determination. § 1-40-107. Therefore, the fixing and determining of titles and summary is not final until the Title Board has denied the petition for rehearing, or when the time for filing of the petition for rehearing under section 1-40-107 expires. Accordingly, we hold that a proponent may circulate a petition once (1) the Title Board has denied the petition for rehearing, or (2) the time for filing a petition for rehearing under section 1-40-107(1) expires. At this point, the titles and summary have been finally fixed and determined. This conclusion is supported by the absence of a provision in Title 1, Article 40, for a stay or postponement of the Title Board's action. Specifically, the Initiative and Referendum statutes do not contain any provision prohibiting a proponent from circulating a petition in reliance on the Title Board's action while an opponent is pursuing appellate review. In contrast, the State Administrative Procedure Act provides that the Title Board or the reviewing court may extend the effective date of the Title Board's action, pending judicial review, upon a finding that irreparable injury would otherwise result. [4] See § 24-4-106(5), 7 C.R.S. (2000). In addition, the General Assembly's intent to advance the right of initiative is furthered by this conclusion. No prejudice to the electorate results from circulating a petition after the Title Board has taken its final action in fixing and determining the titles and summary. If an appeal occurs and we affirm, we necessarily acknowledge the validity of the Title Board's language on the petition. If we reverse, the proponent bears the consequence of circulating a faulty petition instead of waiting for our decision. See generally § 1-40-111, 1 C.R.S. (2000). In this case, proponents did not begin circulating their petition until the Title Board had denied the petitions for rehearing. We affirmed the Title Board's action, with the result that the petition signed by registered electors needed no alteration.