1888510 DC Board of Elections & Ethics Notice of Emergency and Proposed Rulemaking, Chapter 9 (Filling Vacancies) and Chapter 18 (Charter Amending Procedures)
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DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
BOARD OF ELECTIONS AND ETHICS
NOTICE OF EMERGENCY AND PROPOSED RULEMAKING
The District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics, pursuant to the
authority set forth in D.C. Official Code § 1-1001.05(a)(14) (2011 Repl.), hereby gives notice of the adoption of the following amendments to 3 DCMR chapter 9, “Filling Vacancies,” and 3 DCMR chapter 18, “Charter Amending Procedures,” on an emergency basis, with intent to take final rulemaking action to adopt these amendments in not less than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice in the D.C. Register.
These amendments require that the date chosen for special elections to fill vacancies conforms to the District’s Charter and establish that when a Charter amendment act makes multiple amendments to the Charter each amendment shall be subjected to a separate referendum vote.
This emergency rulemaking is necessary for the immediate preservation of the
public peace and welfare of District residents in light of the conflict between the Charter and the Board’s regulations, as well as the imminent submission of the “Board of Ethics and Government Accountability Establishment and Comprehensive Ethics Reform Amendment Act of 2011,” which amends the Charter.
The emergency rulemaking was adopted during the Board’s special meeting on Tuesday, January 17, 2012, and took effect at that time. The rulemaking will expire on May 16, 2012, one hundred twenty (120) days after the date of adoption, or upon publication of a Notice of Final Rulemaking in the D.C. Register, whichever occurs first.
Section 910, Special Elections, subsection 910.3 of chapter 9, Filling Vacancies, of 3 DCMR, shall be amended to read as follows:
910.3 A special election held pursuant to this chapter shall be held on the first Tuesday occurring more than one hundred fourteen (114) days after the date the Board certifies the office vacant or the date on which the vacancy becomes effective, whichever is later; provided, that the Board determines that the vacancy could not be more practicably filled in a special election held on the same day as the next general election occurring within sixty (60) days of the date on which a special election would otherwise be held.
Section 1801, Commencement of Charter Amending Process, of chapter 18, Charter Amending Procedures, of 3 DCMR, shall be amended to read as follows:
1801 COMMENCEMENT OF CHARTER AMENDING PROCESS
1801.1 In order to commence the Charter amending process, the Council of the District of Columbia shall pass an Act that:
(a) Constitutes the proposed Charter amendment in its entirety; or
(b) Contains one (1) or more provisions that would amend the Charter.
1801.2 Following approval of the Act by the Mayor or, in the event of a veto by the Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto, the Chairman of the Council shall transmit the Act to the Board.
1801.3 If the Act makes multiple amendments to the Charter, each amendment shall be identified as a proposed Charter amendment and subjected to a separate referendum.
1801.4 The first proposed Charter amendment shall be numbered "I" in Roman numerals. Succeeding proposed Charter amendments shall be numbered "II, III, IV," and so on ad infinitum.
1801.5 Once assigned a serial number, a proposed Charter amendment shall be known and designated on all election ballots, and throughout all proceedings, as "Proposed Charter Amendment ."
1801.6 Within five (5) days after the Board receives the proposed Charter amendment(s), the Board shall submit for publication in the D.C. Register a "Notice of Public Hearing: Receipt and Intent to Formulate Proposed Ballot Language."
1801.7 The "Notice of Public Hearing: Receipt and Intent to Formulate Proposed Ballot Language" shall include either the entire Act or the provisions of the Act that would amend the Charter.
Section 1802, Preparation of Short Title and Summary Statement, of chapter 18, Charter Amending Procedures, of 3 DCMR, shall be amended to read as follows:
1802 PREPARATION OF SHORT TITLE AND SUMMARY STATEMENT
1802.1 Within twenty (20) calendar days after receipt of the proposed Charter amendment, the Board shall conduct a public meeting to formulate for each proposed Charter amendment:
(a) An abbreviated and impartial summary statement of no
more than one hundred fifty (150) words, which expresses
the chief purpose of the amendment; and
(b) A short title of no more than twenty (20) words by which the amendment will be readily identifiable and distinguishable from other measures which may appear on the ballot.
1802.2 The summary statement and short title formulated by the Board shall accurately and impartially reflect the meaning and intent of the proposed Charter amendment and shall not intentionally create prejudice for or against the measure.
1802.3 The following shall apply to the counting of words in the summary statement prepared by the Board pursuant to § 1802.1:
(a) Punctuation is not counted;
(b) Each word shall be counted as one (1) word except as specified in this subsection;
(c) All geographical names shall be considered as one (1) word; for example, "District of Columbia" shall be counted as one (1) word;
(d) Each abbreviation for a word, phrase, or expression shall be counted as one (1) word;
(e) Hyphenated words that appear in any generally available dictionary shall be considered as one (1) word. Each part of all other hyphenated words shall be counted as a separate word;
(f) Dates consisting of a combination of words and digits shall be counted as two (2) words. Dates consisting only of combination of digits shall be counted as one (1) word; and
(g) Any number consisting of a digit or digits shall be considered as one (1) word. Any number which is spelled, such as "one," shall be considered as a separate word or words. "One" shall be counted as one (1) word whereas "one hundred" shall be counted as two (2) words. The number "100" shall be counted as one (1) word.
1802.4 Within five (5) working days of formulating the proposed summary statement(s) and short title(s), the Board shall submit the formulations to the D.C. Register for publication, along with either the entire Act or the provisions of the Act that would amend the Charter.
1802.5 Within five (5) working days of formulating the proposed summary statement(s) and short title(s), the Board shall also notify the Mayor and the Chairman of the Council, either by personal delivery or by certified mail, of the exact wording of the formulations.
1802.6 The Board shall make copies of the formulations, and either the entire Act or the provisions of the Act that would amend the Charter, available to the public at no charge.
Section 1803, Elector Review, of chapter 18, Charter Amending Procedures, of 3 DCMR, shall be amended to read as follows:
1803 ELECTOR REVIEW
1803.1 Within ten (10) days of publication in the D.C. Register, any registered qualified elector who objects to the proposed formulations may request a hearing before the Board, pursuant to chapter 4 of this title, to raise any objections and/or correct any alleged inaccuracies or indicators of prejudice for or against the proposed Charter amendment(s).
1803.2 If no hearing is requested, the proposed formulations, as published by the Board in the D.C. Register, shall be considered to be accepted at the expiration of the ten (10) day review period.
Section 1804, Certification of Proposed Amendment for the Ballot, of chapter 18, Charter Amending Procedures, of 3 DCMR, shall be amended to read as follows:
1804 CERTIFICATION OF PROPOSED AMENDMENT FOR THE BALLOT
1804.1 Following the expiration of the ten (10) day review period or the resolution of any objections to the proposed formulations, the Board shall hold a public meeting to:
(a) Certify the formulations for the proposed Charter amendment(s); and
(b) Announce that the proposed Charter amendment(s) will be brought before voters in an election conducted under § 1805.1 of this chapter.
1804.2 The formulations certified by the Board under § 1804.1 shall be printed on the ballot and used in all Board proceedings relating to the proposed Charter amendment(s).
1804.3 Within thirty (30) days of the certification, the Board shall publish the following in the D.C. Register, and in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation:
(a) The entire Act, or the provision(s) of the Act that would amend
the Charter;
(b) The formulations for the proposed Charter amendment(s) as certified by the Board; and
(c) A statement that the proposed Charter amendment(s) will be presented to voters in an election conducted under § 1805 of this chapter.
1804.4 The Board shall make copies of the formulations, and either the entire Act or the provisions of the Act that would amend the Charter, available to the public at no charge.
Section 1805, Date of Election, of chapter 18, Charter Amending Procedures, of 3 DCMR, shall be amended to read as follows:
1805 DATE OF ELECTION
1805.1 The proposed Charter amendment(s) shall be presented to the voters either at the next primary, general, or previously scheduled citywide special election, or at a special election conducted for that purpose on a date determined by the board at least fifty-four (54) days after the Board certifies the proposed amendment(s) for the ballot.
1805.2 The proposed Charter amendment(s) may, in the Board’s discretion, be presented to voters at the next primary, general, or previously scheduled citywide special election conducted at least fifty-four (54) days after the Board certifies the proposed amendment(s) for the ballot.
1805.3 The serial number, short title, and summary statement of each proposed Charter amendment shall appear on the election ballot in substantially the following form:
PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT
(Insert short title of the Amendment) (Insert Summary Statement)
FOR Charter Amendment _
AGAINST Charter Amendment
Section 1806, Certification of Election Results, of chapter 18, Charter Amending Procedures, of 3 DCMR, shall be amended to read as follows:
1806 CERTIFICATION OF ELECTION RESULTS
1806.1 The Board shall certify the results of the election on the proposed Charter amendment(s) pursuant to § 813.1 of this title.
1806.2 Upon certification, the Board shall transmit the certified election results to the Chairman of the Council, either by personal delivery or by certified mail.
All persons desiring to comment on the subject matter of this proposed rulemaking should file written comments not later than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice in the D.C. Register. Comments should be filed with the Office of the General Counsel, Board of Elections and Ethics, 441 4th Street, N.W., Suite 270N, Washington, D.C. 20001. Please direct questions to the Office of the General Counsel at 202-727-2194. Copies of the proposed rules may be obtained at cost from the above address, Monday through Friday, between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m.
