13-28-201. Procedure for election on local government petition. (1) Except as provided in 7-5-131, the electors of a local government may, by petition, request an election on whether to enact, repeal, or amend an ordinance.

(2) Except as provided in 13-28-206(3), a petition under this part signed by at least 15% of the local government's qualified electors is sufficient to require an election. In order to determine the number of signatures needed on a petition to meet the percentage requirements of this subsection, the number of electors must be the number of individuals registered to vote at the preceding general election for the local government.

(3) (a) Before a petition may be circulated for signatures, a sample petition must be submitted in the form in which it will be circulated to the county election administrator. On receiving the sample petition, the county election administrator shall designate a ballot issue and its number pursuant to subsection (3)(b) and then promptly refer a copy of the sample petition to the attorney for the relevant local government unit.

(b) The election administrator shall serially number all submitted petitions that are approved as to form continuously from year to year. The numbering system must distinguish the different types of petitions received and include provisions for numbering measures referred to the people by a governing body. The election administrator may distinguish the numbering system for each local government unit.

(4) (a) The local government attorney shall review the sample petition for proper form and compliance with 7-5-131 and this chapter.

(b) If the sample petition is rejected as to form, within 21 days after submission of the sample petition, the local government attorney shall send written notice and a statement of the reasons for rejection to the person who submitted the sample petition and the county election administrator.

(c) If the sample petition is approved as to form, within 21 days after submission of the sample petition, the local government attorney shall send written notice to the person who submitted the sample petition and the county election administrator. This notice must include the statement of purpose and implication and the yes and no statement prepared by the local government attorney pursuant to subsections (5) and (6) of this section.

(5) If the sample petition is approved as to form, the local government attorney shall prepare a concise statement of purpose and implication not exceeding 135 words. The statement of purpose and implication must be an accurate and impartial explanation of the purpose of the proposed ballot issue in plain, easily understood language. The statement may not be an argument and may not be written so as to create prejudice for or against the issue. The statement prepared pursuant to this subsection, unless altered by court order, must be used as the petition title and the ballot statement if the issue is placed on the ballot. For the purposes of this subsection, the word limit does not apply to additional statements required on the ballot by law, including those provided in 7-7-111 and 15-10-425(3).

(6) (a) At the time the statement of purpose and implication is prepared, the local government attorney shall prepare a yes and no statement. A yes and no statement specifies that a positive vote indicates support for the issue and a negative vote indicates opposition to the issue.

(b) The yes and no statement must be placed beside the diagram provided for marking of the ballot in a manner similar to the following:

☐ YES on (insert the type of ballot issue and its number)

☐ NO on (insert the type of ballot issue and its number)

(c) The type of ballot issue and its number required by subsection (6)(b) must be designated by the election administrator at the time the petition is sent to the local government attorney for review as provided in subsection (3).

(d) The yes and no statement may not include additional material beyond the requirements of subsection (6)(b).