13-27-202. Recommendations -- approval of form required. (1) Before submission of a sample sheet to the secretary of state pursuant to subsection (3), the following requirements must be fulfilled:
     (a) The text of the proposed measure must be submitted to the legislative services division for review.
     (b) The legislative services division staff shall review the text for clarity, consistency, and any other factors that the staff considers when drafting proposed legislation.
     (c) Within 14 days after submission of the text, the legislative services division staff shall make to the person submitting the text written recommendations for changes in the text or a statement that no changes are recommended.
     (d) The person submitting the text shall consider the recommendations and respond in writing to the legislative services division, accepting, rejecting, or modifying each of the recommended changes. If no changes are recommended, no response is required.
     (2) The legislative services division shall furnish a copy of the correspondence provided for in subsection (1) to the secretary of state, who shall make a copy of the correspondence available to any person upon request.
     (3) Before a petition may be circulated for signatures, a sample sheet containing the text of the proposed measure must be submitted to the secretary of state in the form in which it will be circulated. The sample petition may not be submitted to the secretary of state more than 1 year prior to the final date for filing the signed petition with the county election administrator. The secretary of state shall refer a copy of the petition sheet to the attorney general for approval. The secretary of state and attorney general shall each review the petition for sufficiency as to form and approve or reject the form of the petition, stating the reasons for rejection, if any. The attorney general shall also review the petition as to its legal sufficiency. If the attorney general determines that the petition is legally deficient, the attorney general shall notify the secretary of state of that fact and provide a copy of the determination to the secretary of state and to the petitioner within the time provided in 13-27-312(8). The petition may not be given final approval by the secretary of state unless the attorney general's determination is overruled pursuant to 13-27-316. As used in this section, "legal sufficiency" means that the petition complies with the statutory prerequisites to submission of the proposed measure to the electors and that the text of the proposed measure complies with constitutional requirements governing submission of ballot measures to the electorate. Review of a petition for legal sufficiency does not include consideration of the merits or application of the measure if adopted by the voters. The secretary of state or the attorney general may not reject the petition solely because the text contains material not submitted to the legislative services division unless the material not submitted to the legislative services division is a substantive change not suggested by the legislative services division.
     (4) (a) The secretary of state shall review the comments and statements of the attorney general received pursuant to 13-27-312 and make a final decision as to the approval or rejection of the petition.
     (b) The secretary of state shall send written notice to the person who submitted the petition sheet of the approval or rejection of the form of the petition within 28 days after submission of the petition sheet.
     (c) If an action is filed challenging the validity of the petition, the secretary of state shall immediately notify the person who submitted the petition sheet.
     (5) A petition with technical defects in form may be approved with the condition that those defects will be corrected before the petition is circulated for signatures.
     (6) The secretary of state shall upon request provide the person submitting the petition with a sample petition form, including the text of the proposed measure, the statement of purpose, and the statements of implications, all as approved by the secretary of state and the attorney general. The petition may be circulated in the form of the sample prepared by the secretary of state. The petition may be circulated upon approval of the form of the petition by the secretary of state and the attorney general pending a final determination of its legal sufficiency.

     History: En. 37-117 by Sec. 3, Ch. 342, L. 1977; R.C.M. 1947, 37-117(3); amd. Sec. 2, Ch. 400, L. 1979; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 488, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 4, L. 1983; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 359, L. 1991; amd. Sec. 54, Ch. 545, L. 1995; amd. Sec. 51, Ch. 42, L. 1997; amd. Sec. 1, Ch. 191, L. 1999; amd. Sec. 6, Ch. 537, L. 2001.