ARTICLE XII. RECALL, INITIATIVE, AND REFERENDUM12
(Ed. note: Former article XIV dealt solely with the recall of elective officers. The initiative provisions were set forth in former article XV, with former article XVI dealing with the referendum. The 1979 amendment repealed articles XV and XVI, and combined the recall, initiative, and referendum provisions under article XIV. The amendment also substantially revised the recall, initiative, and referendum sections so as to ensure their compliance with the Colorado Constitution. Because the revision was so extensive, no attempt was made to conform to the former numbering system and no reference is made to the number of former sections dealing with similar provisions.)
12-10.General Authority.
(a)Recall. Any officer having held an elective office for at least six (6) consecutive months may be removed by both petition and vote of the electors of the City. Electors who are entitled to sign the petition and to vote in the recall election are those persons who are entitled to vote for a successor to the incumbent sought to be recalled. (1979; 1985)
(b)Initiative. The electors of the City shall have power to propose ordinances to the Council, and if the Council fails to adopt an ordinance so proposed, to adopt or reject such ordinance at a City election. (1979; 1985)
(c)Referendum. The electors of the City shall have power to recommend reconsideration by the Council of any adopted ordinance and, if the Council fails to repeal an ordinance so reconsidered, to approve or reject such ordinance at a City election, provided that such power shall not extend to ordinances making tax levy or appropriation or establishing special improvement districts.13 (1979; 1985)
(d)Repeal of Initiated Ordinance. The Council may, on its own motion, submit any ordinance adopted by an initiative to a vote of the electors at any succeeding general municipal election for repeal or amendment of the initiated ordinance. An ordinance so adopted by a vote of the electors cannot be repealed or amended except by a vote of the electors.14 (1979; 1985)
(e)Reference by the Council. Subject to the provisions of section 12-10(d), the Council may, of its own motion, submit to electoral vote for adoption or rejection at a general or special municipal election any proposed ordinance or measure in the same manner and with the same force and effect as is provided for initiated ordinances.15 (1979; 1985)
(f)Further Regulations. The Council may, by ordinance, make such further regulations as it may deem necessary to carry out the provisions of the initiative and referendum powers, except as limited by this Charter and the Colorado Constitution. (1979; 1985)
12-20.Commencement of Proceedings; Petitioner's Committee; Affidavit. Any three (3) electors may commence recall, initiative, or referendum proceedings by filing with the City Clerk an affidavit stating they will constitute a Petitioner's Committee and be responsible for circulating the petition and filing it in proper form, stating their names and addresses and specifying the address to which all notices to the Committee are to be sent, and setting out either: (1979; 1985)
(a)The name of the officer or officers sought to be removed and a general statement in not more than two hundred (200) words on the ground or grounds upon which removal is sought; or
(b)The full text of the proposed initiative ordinance; or
(c)The full text of the ordinance sought to be reconsidered.
As soon as possible after the affidavit of the Petitioner's Committee is filed, the Clerk shall issue the appropriate petition blanks to the Petitioner's Committee. (1979; 1985)
12-30.Petitions.
(a)Form and Content.
(1)Uniform Petition Blanks. The City Clerk shall issue appropriate petition blanks consisting of sheets having such general form printed at the top as designated by the City Clerk, for either recall, initiative, or referendum. The Clerk, upon issuing such forms to any persons, shall enter in a permanent record to be kept in such office for this purpose the name of the persons to whom issued, the date of such issuance, and the number of such forms issued, and shall certify on each of said forms under the Clerk's seal, the name of at least one of the persons to whom issued and the date of the issuance. No referendum, initiative, or recall petition shall be filed unless it shall bear such Certificate of the Clerk. The uniform petition blanks shall be furnished without charge. (1979; 1985)
(2)Statement of Purpose.
(i)Recall. The petition shall contain a general statement, in not more than two hundred (200) words, of the ground or grounds on which such recall is sought, which statement is intended for the information of the electors, and the electors shall be the sole and exclusive judges of the legality, reasonableness, and sufficiency of such ground or grounds assigned for such recall, and said ground or grounds shall not be open to review. (1979; 1985)
(ii)Initiative. The petition shall contain or have attached thereto throughout its circulation the full text of the ordinance proposed. The City Council shall by ordinance prescribe the method for setting the title of the initiated ordinance. (1979; 1985)
(iii)Referendum. The petition shall contain or have attached throughout its circulation the full text of the ordinance sought to be referred. (1979; 1985)
(3)Signatures. Each signer must sign his/her own proper signature, the date of signing said petition, and his/her place of residence, giving his/her street and number. The signatures to the petition need not all be on one sheet of paper. The petition may be circulated and signed in sections with each section consisting of one or more sheets, provided that each section shall contain a full and accurate copy of the title and text of the petition. All sheets and sections shall be filed as one instrument. (1979; 1985)
(b)Affidavit of Circulator. To each section of a petition, which section may consist of one or more sheets, shall be attached an affidavit by the Circulator, signed under oath before a Notary Public, stating that the Circulator is a registered elector of the City of Colorado Springs, and that the Circulator personally circulated the paper, the number of signatures thereon, that all the signatures were affixed in the Circulator's presence, that to the best of the Circulator's knowledge each signature appended to the paper is the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be, that each signer had an opportunity before signing to read the full text of the matter proposed or sought to be reconsidered, and that to the best of the Circulator's knowledge each signer is an elector of the City of Colorado Springs. (1979; 1985; 1993)
Such petition so verified shall be prima facie evidence that the signatures thereon are genuine and true and that the persons signing the same are electors. (1979; 1985)
(c)Number of Signatures.
(1)Recall.
(i)For the recall of Mayor or a Councilmember at large, the petition must be signed by electors entitled to vote for a successor of the incumbent sought to be recalled and such signatures must be equal in number to at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the total ballots cast for the office of Mayor in the last preceding election for such office. (1979; 1993)
(ii)For the recall of a district Councilmember, the petition must be signed by electors entitled to vote for a successor of the incumbent sought to be recalled and such signatures must be equal in number to at least twenty-five percent (25%) of the total ballots cast in the last preceding election for the office of such Councilmember. (1979; 1993)
(2)Referendum. The petition must be signed by electors of the City equal in number to at least fifteen percent (15%) of the total ballots cast for the office of Mayor in the last preceding election for such office. (1979; 1985; 1993)
(3)Initiative. The petition must be signed by electors of the City equal in number to at least twenty percent (20%) of the total ballots cast for the office of Mayor in the last preceding election for such office. (1979; 1985; 1993)
(4)Signature Requirements. If the signatures required by this section 12-30(c) violate any provisions of the Colorado Constitution, then such signature requirements would be reduced to the number which complies with the Colorado Constitution. (1993)
(d)Time for Filing Petitions. Days shall be calendar days starting the day following the date of filing of the affidavit and including the last date only. Holidays and weekends shall be counted; however, when the last date falls on a day when the City Clerk's office is closed, then the next following business day shall be the last day for filing. (1979; 1985)
(1)Recall. All petitions shall be returned and filed with the Clerk within sixty (60) days from the issuance of such blank petition forms. (1979; 1985)
(2)Referendum. Within ten (10) days of final reading by the City Council of the ordinance sought to be reconsidered, Petitioners' Committee must file its Affidavit of Intent; and, within thirty (30) days from the date of final reading, the completed petition must be filed. (1979; 1985)
(3)Initiative. All petitions shall be returned and filed with the Clerk within one hundred eighty (180) days from the issuance of such blank petition forms. (1979; 1985)
