P R E S S   R E L E A S E

Secretary of State BEV CLARNO The State of Oregon

CONTACT: Rich Vial | 503-986-2209 | rich.vial@oregon.gov

DATE: October 22, 2019

Secretary Clarno Rules on IP 43

SALEM, OR — Secretary of State Bev Claro has ruled that the proposed Initiative Petition to Repeal the Equal Access to Roads Act (formerly HB 2015), also known as Initiative Petition 43, does not comply with the requirements of Article IV, Section 1(2)(d) of the Oregon Constitution. That provision requires that an initiative petition “include the full text of the proposed law.” By contrast, IP 43 demands that an existing law be repealed.

The referendum process is governed by Article IV, Section 1(3), which allows repeal of a law adopted by the legislature so long as the law does not become effective earlier than the 90th day following adjournment. Thus, bills containing an emergency clause, as did HB 2015, must be addressed by an initiative petition that sets out the specific language of the proposed amendment.

Decisions regarding the constitutionality of an initiative petition must be made without regard to the petition’s subject. Secretary Clarno is committed to avoiding partisanship in carrying out all of the responsibilities of her office, including ensuring that our initiative and elections processes are fair and impartial.

“The initiative petition process is very important in giving Oregonians an opportunity to directly participate in our government,” said Secretary Clarno. “It is my sincere hope that the proponents of this ballot measure will take my ruling as an opportunity to improve their proposal. I will always support the presentation of ballot measures that meet constitutional requirements.”

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