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Secs. 1800 General Provisions 1801 Commencement of Charter Amending Process 1802 Preparation of Short Title and Summary Statement 1803 Elector Review 1804 Certification of Proposed Amendment for the Ballot 1805 Date of Election 1806 Certification of Election Results 1800 GENERAL PROVISIONS1800.1 The District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics is vested with the authority to administer generally the provisions of the "Charter Amending Procedures Act" ["Title III, District Charter Preamble Legislative Power and Charter Amending Procedure," §303, District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act (hereinafter referred to as the "D.C. Self Government Act"), P.L. 93-198, 87 Stat. 774, December 24, 1973.] 1800.2 The District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics shall be responsible for the conduct of elections to amend "Title IV, The District Charter" (hereinafter referred to as the "Charter"), of the D.C. Self-Government Act. 1800.3 The District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics shall be authorized to promulgate rules and regulations for the implementation of the "Charter Amending Procedures Act" of the D.C. Self-Government Act, under D.C. Code §1-1306(14) (1992 Repl. Vol.). 1800.4 In accordance with the provisions of the D.C. Self-Government Act, the Charter may be amended by an act passed by the Council of the District of Columbia and ratified by a majority of the registered qualified electors of the District voting in the election held for ratification. 1800.5 Any political committee organized in support of, or in opposition to, a proposed Charter amendment shall file a verified statement of contributions with the Office of Campaign Finance. AUTHORITY: Unless otherwise noted, the
authority for this chapter is §303(c) of the District of Columbia Self-Government and
Governmental Reorganization Act, P.L. 93-198, D.C. Code §1-205(c) (1992 Repl. Vol.). 1801 COMMENCEMENT OF CHARTER AMENDING PROCESS1801.1 In order to commence the Charter amending process, the Council of the District of Columbia shall pass an Act. 1801.2 Following approval of the Act by the Mayor or, in the event of a veto by the Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto, the Chairman of the Council shall transmit the Act to the Board of Elections. 1801.3 The Board shall identify each Act transmitted as a proposed Charter amendment. 1801.4 The first proposed Charter amendment shall be numbered "I" in Roman numerals. Succeeding proposed Charter amendments shall be numbered "II, III, IV," and so on ad infinitum. 1801.5 Once assigned a serial number, a proposed Charter amendment shall be known and designated on all election ballots, and throughout all proceedings as "Proposed Charter Amendment " 1801.6 Within five (5) days after the Board receives the proposed Charter amendment, the Board shall submit for publication in the D.C. Register a "Notice of Public Hearing: Receipt and Intent to Formulate Proposed Ballot Language." 1801.7 The "Notice of Public Hearing: Receipt and Intent to Formulate Proposed Ballot Language" shall include the proposed Charter amendment act in its entirety. SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at
40 DCR 7083, 7084 (October 8, 1993). 1802 PREPARATION OF SHORT TITLE AND SUMMARY STATEMENT1802.1 Within twenty (20) calendar days after receipt of the proposed Charter amendment, the Board shall conduct a public meeting to formulate the following proposed ballot language: (a) An abbreviated and impartial summary statement not exceeding one hundred and fifty (150) words in length, which expresses the chief purpose of the proposed Charter amendment; and (b) A short title for the proposed Charter
amendment not exceeding twenty (20) words in length by which it will be readily
identifiable and 1802.2 The summary statement and short title formulated by the Board shall accurately and impartially reflect the meaning and intent of the proposed Charter amendment and shall not intentionally create prejudice for or against the measure. 1802.3 The following shall apply to the counting of words in the summary statement prepared by the Board under §1802.1: (a) Punctuation is not counted; (b) Each word shall be counted as one word except as specified in this subsection; (c) All geographical names shall be considered as one word; for example, "District of Columbia" shall be counted as one word; (d) Each abbreviation for a word, phrase, or expression shall be counted as one word; (e) Hyphenated words that appear in any generally available dictionary shall be considered as one word. Each part of all other hyphenated words shall be counted as a separate word; (f) Dates consisting of a combination of words and digits shall be counted as two (2) words. Dates consisting only of a combination of digits shall be counted as one word; and (g) Any number consisting of a digit or digits shall be considered as one word. Any number which is spelled, such as "one," shall be considered as a separate word or words. "One" shall be counted as one word whereas "one hundred" shall be counted as two (2) words. The number "100" shall be counted as one word. 1802.4 Within five (5) working days of formulating the proposed short title and summary statement, the Board shall submit the following to the D.C. Register for publication: (a) The proposed Charter amendment act in its entirety: (b) The proposed short title; and (c) The proposed summary statement. 1802.5 Within five (5) working days of formulating the proposed short title and summary statement, the Board shall also notify the Mayor and the Chairman of the Council, either by personal delivery or by certified mail, of the exact wording of the proposed short title and summary statement. 1802.6 Copies of the following shall be made available to the public by the Board at no charge: (a) The proposed Charter amendment act in its entirety; (b) The proposed short title; and (c) The proposed summary statement. SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at
40 DCR 7083,7084 (October 8, 1993). 1803 ELECTOR REVIEW1803.1 Within ten (10) days of publication in the D.C Register, any registered qualified elector who objects to the proposed short title or summary statement as formulated by the Board may request a hearing before the Board, pursuant to Chapter 4 of this title, to raise any objections and to correct any alleged inaccurate or prejudicial short title or summary statement. 1803.2 If no hearing is requested, the proposed short title and summary statement, as published by the Board in the D.C. Register, shall be considered to be accepted at the expiration of the ten (10) day period for review. SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at
40 OCR 7083, 7088 (October 8, 1993). 1804 CERTIFICATION OF PROPOSED AMENDMENT FOR THE BALLOT1804.1 Following the expiration of the ten (10) day review period or the resolution of any objections to the proposed short title or summary statement, the Board shall hold a public meeting for the following purposes: (a) To certify the summary statement and short title of the proposed Charter amendment act; and (b) To announce that the proposed Charter amendment will be brought before voters in an election conducted under §1805.1 of this chapter. 1804.2 The short title and summary statement certified by the Board under §1804.1 shall be the short title and summary statement printed on the ballot and used in all proceedings of the Board relating to this proposed Charter amendment. 1804.3 Within thirty (30) days of the certification, the Board of Elections and Ethics shall publish the following in the D.C. Register, and in at least two (Z) newspapers of general circulation: (a) The proposed Charter amendment act in its entirety; (b) The short title of the proposed Charter amendment as certified by the Board; (c) The summary statement as certified by the Board; and (d) A statement that the proposed Charter amendment will be presented to voters in an election conducted under §1805 of this chapter. 1804.4 Copies of the following shall be made available to the public at no expense: (a) The proposed Charter amendment act in its entirety; (b) The short title as certified by the Board; and (c) The summary statement as certified by the Board. SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at 40 DCR 7083, 7086 (October 8, 1993). 1805 DATE OF ELECTION1805.1 The proposed Charter amendment shall be presented to voters at the next primary, general, or citywide special election conducted at least fifty-four (54) days after the Board of Elections and Ethics certifies the proposed amendment for the ballot. 1805.2 The serial number, short title, and summary statement of each proposed Charter amendment shall appear on the election ballot in substantially the following form:
SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at
40 DCR 7083, 7087 (October d, 1993). 1806 CERTIFICATION OF ELECTION RESULTS1806.1 The Board shall certify the results of the election on the proposed Charter amendment pursuant to §815.1 of this title. 1806.2 Upon certification, the Board shall transmit, either by personal delivery or by certified mail, the certified results to the Chairman of the Council. SOURCE: Final Rulemaking published at 40 DCR 7083, 7087 (October 8, 1993). |
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