Time Line to Repeal an Ordinance
- Council approves an Ordinance.
- The Committee of 5 Petitioners must within 20 days from approval of an Ordinance gather signatures from 15% of the total votes that was cast in the last General Assembly Election and submit the Petition forms to the Township Clerk.
- The Clerk has 20 days to review the Petition and certify it to the Council at their next regular meeting if the Petition is sufficient.
a) If the Petition is insufficient the Committee of Petitioners will have an additional 10
days to file a supplementary Petition to correct it.
b) Then the Clerk within 5 days will notify the Committee of the results.
c) If it is still insufficient no further action can be taken regarding this petition.
d) But the Committee of Petitioners may file a new Petition for the same purpose.
- If the Council does not repeal the Petition within 20 days of certification it will automatically go to Referendum.
- Then the Committee of Petitioners has 10 days to decide to withdraw the Petition against the adoption of the Ordinance.
- The Referendum will be scheduled at a special election on a Tuesday not less then 40 days nor more then 60 days from the date of the last day of possible withdraw from the Committee of Petitioners if there is no such regular election scheduled within 90 days.
Summarized by Petition Organizer, Jesse Wolosky
But always follow N.J.S.A.
40:69A-184. Petition; percentage of legal voters required
The voters of any municipality 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 municipal council by a petition signed by a number of the legal voters of the municipality equal in number to at least 15% of the total votes cast in the municipality at the last election at which members of the General Assembly were elected. An initiated ordinance may be submitted to the municipal council by a number of the legal voters of the municipality equal in number to at least 10% but less than 15% of the total votes cast in the municipality at the last election at which members of the General Assembly were elected, subject to the restrictions set forth in section 17-43 (C. 40:69A-192) of this act.
L.1950, c. 210, p. 515, s. 17-35. Amended by L.1951, c. 306, p. 1107, s. 1, eff. July 13, 1951; L.1982, c. 145, s. 1, eff. Sept. 28, 1982.
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40:69A-185. Power of referendum; time for filing petition
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 municipal council, except when otherwise required by general law or permitted by the provisions of section 17-32(b) of this act, shall take effect before twenty days from the time of its final passage and its approval by the mayor where such approval is required. If within twenty days after such final passage and approval of such ordinance a petition protesting against the passage of such ordinance shall be filed with the municipal clerk and if the petition shall be signed by a number of the legal voters of the municipality equal in number to at least 15% of the total votes cast in the municipality at the last election at which members of the General Assembly were elected, the ordinance shall be suspended from taking effect until proceedings are had as herein provided.
The provisions of this section shall not apply to any ordinance which by its terms or by law cannot become effective in the municipality unless submitted to the voters, or which by its terms authorizes a referendum in the municipality concerning the subject matter thereof.
L.1950, c. 210, p. 516, s. 17-36. Amended by L.1951, c. 306, p. 1107, s. 2, eff. July 13, 1951; L.1979, c. 278, s. 2; L.1982, c. 145, s. 2, eff. Sept. 28, 1982.
40:69A-186. Petition papers; affidavits
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 there of 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.
L.1950, c. 210, p. 516, s. 17-37, eff. June 8, 1950.
40:69A-187. Filing of petition papers; examination; certification of result
All petition papers comprising an initiative or referendum petition shall be assembled and filed with the municipal clerk as one instrument. Within twenty days after a petition is filed, the municipal clerk shall determine whether each paper of the petition 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 municipal 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.
L.1950, c. 210, p. 517, s. 17-38, eff. June 8, 1950.
40:69A-188. Amendment of initiative or referendum petition
An initiative or referendum petition may be amended at any time within ten days after the notification of insufficiency has been served by the municipal clerk, by filing a supplementary petition upon additional papers signed and filed as provided in case of an original petition. The municipal 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.
L.1950, c. 210, p. 517, s. 17-39, eff. June 8, 1950.
40:69A-189. Suspension of ordinance
Upon the filing of a referendum petition with the municipal clerk, the ordinance shall be suspended until ten days following a finding by the municipal 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 be 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.
L.1950, c. 210, p. 518, s. 17-40, eff. June 8, 1950.
40:69A-190. Submission to municipal council
Upon a finding by the municipal clerk that any petition or amended petition filed with him in accordance with this act is sufficient, the clerk shall submit the same to the municipal 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.
L.1950, c. 210, p. 518, s. 17-41, eff. June 8, 1950.
40:69A-191. Submission of ordinance to voters; withdrawal of petition
If within 20 days of the submission of a certified petition by the municipal clerk the 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 municipal clerk shall submit the ordinance to the voters unless, within 10 days after final adverse action by the 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 municipal 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.
L.1950, c. 210, p. 518, s. 17-42, eff. June 8, 1950. Amended by L.1982, c. 145, s. 3, eff. Sept. 28, 1982.
40:69A-192. Timing of election at which submitted to voters
17-43. a. Any ordinance to be voted on by the voters in accordance with section 17-36 or section 17-42 of this act (C.40:69A-185 or C.40:69A-191) shall be submitted at the next general or regular municipal election occurring not less than 40 days after the final date for withdrawal of the petition as provided for in section 17-42 of this act (C.40:69A-191), provided that if no such election is to be held within 90 days the council shall provide for a special election to be held not less than 40 nor more than 60 days from the final date for withdrawal of the petition as provided for in section 17-42 (C.40:69A-191) of this act.
b. In the case of an initiated petition signed by not less than 10% nor more than 15% of the legal voters, the ordinance shall be submitted at the next general or regular municipal election occurring not less than 40 days after the final date of withdrawal of the petition as provided for in section 17-42 (C.40:69A-191) of this act.
c. In any instance where a referendum election is to be held as a result of an ordinance of the council which by its terms or by law cannot become effective in the municipality unless submitted to the voters, or which by its terms authorizes a referendum in the municipality concerning the subject matter thereof, the time for submission of the question to the voters shall be at the next general or regular municipal election occurring not less than 40 days from the date of final passage and approval of the ordinance. Referenda held on ordinances adopted pursuant to sections 7 through 11 of P.L.1981, c.465 (C.40:69A-25.1 through 40:69A-25.5) shall be governed by this subsection, except that if the referendum is held pursuant to those sections as the result of the report of a charter study commission, the time for submission of the question shall be calculated from the date of that report.
L.1950,c.210,s.17-43; amended 1982,c.145,s.4; 1991,c.430,s.5.
40:69A-193. Number of proposed ordinances voted upon; time between special elections
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 6 months for such purpose.
During that 6 month period, any ordinance which would otherwise be submitted to the voters at a special election if one were not already scheduled, shall be submitted at the scheduled special election if at least 30 days shall remain prior thereto from the final date for withdrawal of the petition, otherwise, the ordinance shall be submitted at the next general election or regular municipal election, whichever shall first occur.
L.1950, c. 210, p. 519, s. 17-44, eff. June 8, 1950. Amended by L.1982, c. 145, s. 5, eff. Sept. 28, 1982.
40:69A-194. Publication of ordinance
Whenever an ordinance is to be submitted to the voters of the municipality at any election in accordance with this article, the clerk shall cause the ordinance to be published in at least two of the newspapers published or circulated in the municipality. The publication shall be neither more than twenty nor less than five days before the submission of the ordinance or proposition to be voted on.
L.1950, c. 210, p. 519, s. 17-45, eff. June 8, 1950.
