The voters of the City may propose any ordinance and may adopt or reject the same at the polls, such power being known as the initiative. Any initiated ordinance may be submitted to the City Council by a written petition delivered to the City Clerk and signed by qualified voters equal in number to at least 15% of the persons registered to vote at the last preceding general election.
The voters shall also have the power of referendum, which is the power to approve or reject at the polls any ordinance submitted by the Council to the voters or any ordinance passed by the Council against which a referendum petition has been filed as herein provided. No ordinance passed by the City Council other than the local budget ordinance, except when otherwise required by general law or passed following the adoption of a resolution on the affirmative vote of two-thirds (2/3) of the number of members of the City Council then in office and not disqualified by law from voting thereon, shall take effect before 20 days from the time of its final passage and its approval by the Mayor. If within 20 days after such final passage and approval of such ordinance a written petition signed by qualified voters equal in number to at least 15% of the persons registered to vote at the last preceding general election, protesting against the passage of such ordinance, shall be filed with the City Clerk, the ordinance shall be suspended from taking effect until proceedings are had as herein provided.
All petition papers circulated for the purposes of an initiative or referendum shall be uniform in size and style. Initiative petition papers shall contain the full text of the proposed ordinance. The signatures to initiative or referendum petitions need not all be appended to one paper, but to each separate petition there shall be attached a statement of the circulator thereof as provided by this section. Each signer of any such petition paper shall sign his name in ink or indelible pencil and shall indicate after his name his place of residence by street and number or other description sufficient to identify the place. There shall appear on each petition paper the names and addresses of five voters, designated as the "Committee of the Petitioners," who shall be regarded as responsible for the circulation and filing of the petition and for its possible withdrawal as hereinafter provided. Attached to each separate petition paper there shall be an affidavit of the circulator thereof that he, and he only, personally circulated the foregoing paper, that all the signatures appended thereto were made in his presence, and that he believes them to be the genuine signatures of the persons whose names they purport to be.
All petition papers comprising an initiative or referendum petition shall be assembled and filed with the City Clerk as one instrument. Within 20 days after a petition is filed, the City Clerk shall determine whether each paper of the petitioner has a proper statement of the circulator and whether the petition is signed by a sufficient number of qualified voters. After completing his examination of the petition, the City Clerk shall certify the result thereof to the Council at its next regular meeting. If he shall certify that the petition is insufficient, he shall set forth in his certificate the particulars in which it is defective and shall at once notify at least two members of the Committee of the Petitioners of his findings.
An initiative or referendum petition may be amended at any time within 10 days after the notification of insufficiency has been served by the City Clerk by filing a supplementary petition upon additional papers signed and filed as provided in case of an original petition. The City Clerk shall, within five days after such an amendment is filed, examine the amended petition and, if the petition be still insufficient, he shall file his certificate to that effect in his office and notify the Committee of the Petitioners of his findings, and no further action shall be had on such insufficient petition. The finding of the insufficiency of a petition shall not prejudice the filing of a new petition for the same purpose.
Upon the filing of a referendum petition with the City Clerk, the ordinance shall be suspended until 10 days following a finding by the City Clerk that the petition is insufficient or, if an amended petition be filed, until five days thereafter, or, if the petition or amended petition be found to be sufficient, until it is withdrawn by the Committee of the Petitioners or until repeal of the ordinance by vote of the Council or approval or disapproval of the ordinance by the voters.
Upon a finding by the City Clerk that any petition or amended petition filed with him in accordance with this Act is sufficient, the City Clerk shall submit the same to the City Council without delay. An initiative ordinance so submitted shall be deemed to have had first reading, and provision shall be made for a public hearing.
If within 60 days of the submission of a certified petition by the City Clerk the City Council shall fail to pass an ordinance requested by an initiative petition in substantially the form requested or to repeal an ordinance as requested by a referendum petition, the City Clerk shall submit the ordinance to the voters unless, within 10 days after final adverse action by the City Council or after the expiration of the time allowed for such action, as the case may be, a paper signed by at least four of the five members of the Committee of the Petitioners shall be filed with the City Clerk requesting that the petition be withdrawn. Upon the filing of such a request, the original petition shall cease to have any force or effect.
Any ordinance to be voted on by the voters in accordance with this article shall be submitted at the next general election occurring not less than 60 days after the date of final action by the City Council or the expiration of the time allowed for action by the City Council in this article, as the case may be, provided that if no such election is to be held within 90 days the City Council may in its discretion provide for a special election.
Any number of proposed ordinances may be voted upon at the same election in accordance with the provisions of this article, but there shall not be more than one special election in any period of six months for such purpose.
Whenever an ordinance is to be submitted to the voters of the City at any election in accordance with this article, the City Clerk shall cause the ordinance to be publicized and advertised as hereinafter provided in this Act.
The ballots to be used at such election shall be in substantially the following form:
"To vote upon the public question printed below, if in favor thereof mark a cross (X) or plus (+) or check ( Checkmark.tif) in the square at the left of the word 'Yes,' and if opposed thereto mark a cross (X) or plus (+) or a check ( Checkmark.tif) in the square to the left of the word 'No.'"
□ Yes
"Shall the ordinance (indicate whether submitted by the City Council or initiative or referendum petition) providing for (here state nature of proposed ordinance or proposition) be adopted?"
□ No
If a majority of the qualified electors voting on the proposed ordinance shall vote in favor thereof, such ordinance shall thereupon become a valid and binding ordinance of the City and be published as in the case of other ordinances. If the provisions of two or more measures approved or adopted at the same election conflict, then the measure receiving the greatest affirmative vote shall control.