Press Release - Constitutional Initiative Submitted to Secretary of State

[McMerty, Sandra L.]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                    Media Contact:

June 28, 2024                                                                                             Sandra McMerty, Media Contact

                                                                                                                        701-328-3660  |  slmc...@nd.gov

 

 

 

CONSTITUTIONAL INITIATIVE SUBMITTED TO SECRETARY OF STATE

 

BISMARCK, ND – Secretary of State Michael Howe announced today that the sponsoring committee proposing the constitutional initiative related to prohibiting all political subdivisions from levying any tax on real or personal property except for bonded indebtedness until paid, along with certain debt limitations on other indebtedness was submitted to the Office of the Secretary of State for review and approval for the ballot.

 

Ricky Becker, Bismarck, North Dakota, is the chairperson of the sponsoring committee.

 

The sponsoring committee delivered 1,107 petitions to the Secretary of State’s office, which the committee stated contained approximately 40,759 signatures.

 

The Secretary of State has thirty-five days, or until Friday, August 2, 2024, to pass upon the sufficiency of the number of signatures to determine whether the measure will be placed on the ballot. The applicable state law that applies is as follows:

N.D.C.C. § 16.1-01-10-Secretary of state to pass upon sufficiency of petitions-Method-Time limit

 

The secretary of state shall have a reasonable period, not to exceed thirty-five days, in which to pass upon the sufficiency of any petition mentioned in section 16.1-01-09. The secretary of state shall conduct a representative random sampling of the signatures contained in the petitions by the use of questionnaires, postcards, telephone calls, personal interviews, or other accepted information gathering techniques, or any combinations thereof, to determine the validity of the signatures. Signatures determined by the secretary of state to be invalid may not be counted and all violations of law discovered by the secretary of state must be reported to the attorney general for prosecution.

 

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The Office of Secretary of State oversees a variety of functions, including elections,

business registrations, licensing for certain occupations, Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) lien filings,

and combative sports, as well as serving as the custodian of the Great Seal, and

attesting official documents and acts of the Governor.