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Petition to Amend the Constitution, RPPL 7-22 2006

SEVENTH OLBIIL ERA KELULAU
RPPL No. 7-22
Second Special Session, February 2005
(Re. as Senate Bill No. 7-51,  SD2, PD1)

AN ACT

To establish procedures for the circulation and filing of initiative petitions proposing amendments to the constitution; to provide for political education regarding proposed constitutional amendments; and for other related purposes.

THE PEOPLE OF PALAU REPRESENTED IN THE OLBIIL ERA KELULAU DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1. Findings. It is the fundamental right of the people of Palau to petition to amend the Constitution by popular initiative. The Seventh Olbiil Era Kelulau finds that to effectuate this right, while preserving the principles of democratic government, certain precautions in the filing and circulation of the petitions regarding proposed constitutional amendments must be observed. Further, it is imperative that the national government provide, in advance of the general election in which a proposed constitution amendment will be voted on, adequate public information as to the intent and legal effect of every proposed constitutional amendment.

Section 2. The Format of the petition to place a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot.
(a) Each petition proposing a constitutional amendment shall include, in English and Palauan languages:

(1) the text of the proposed amendment, in accordance with section 5(a); and

(2) an explanation, in plain terms, of the intent and effect of the proposed amendment, in accordance with section 5(b).

(b) Petition sections must be printed in uniform size with uniform spacing.

(c) All print on the petition must be in a font of no less than 12-point size.

(d) The petition must be designed so that each signer can personally affix his or her printed name; signature; residence address (including hamlet or city, and state, or an explanation of how to locate place of residence); telephone number; and the date he or she signed the petition.

(e) Signature spaces must be consecutively numbered, commencing with the number one (1).

(f) If a circulator is circulating more than one petition, each of which proposes a separate constitutional amendment, each petition must be printed on paper differing in color from that of every other petition so that the petitions are distinguishable from one another. For the purposes of this Act, a "circulator" is any person who presents a petition to a voter for the purpose of procuring the voter's signature.

(g) A true copy of each petition proposing a constitutional amendment shall be maintained by the Palau Election Commission and shall be available at all times during business hours for public inspection; every such petition filed with the Palau Election Commission is public record.

Section 3. Signatories to Petition.
Each signatory must personally sign or affix his or her mark to the petition; for each signatory there must also appear, printed in the English alphabet, the signatory's name, residence address (including hamlet or city, and state, or an explanation of how to locate place of residence), telephone number, and other information that would assist in locating him or her, if necessary, to verify the signature. A signatory may request another person to print the signatory's name, residence address (including hamlet or city, and state, or an explanation of how to locate place of residence), and telephone number on the petition. If a signatory affixes his or her mark to the petition in lieu of making a signature, two persons other than the circulator shall bear witness to the mark by signing their names next to the mark. If an individual, due to a disability, is unable to sign the petition, the individual may authorize another person to sign for him or her; and the authorized person must sign the petition while in the individual's presence, and in the presence of the circulator.

Section 4. Circulator's affidavit.
(a) An affidavit of each circulator, made under penalty of perjury and subscribed and sworn before a notary public, must be attached to each petition when filed with the Palau Election Commission. The absence of a circulator's affidavit will invalidate the entire petition. The circulator's affidavit must be affixed to the last page of the petition, but need not be affixed to each signature page.

(b) Each circulator of a petition must comply with the requirements of this section, and the affidavit must clearly identify which signatures were obtained by each circulator of the petition.

(c) The affidavit must attest that:

(1) the circulator personally witnessed the affixing of every signature or mark; and

(2) according to the best information and belief of the circulator, each signature collected is the genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be; and

(3) duplicate signatures were not collected; and

(4) the circulator did not obtain signatures by any false or misleading statement, threat, or the offer of any valuable consideration; and

(5) the circulator made no alteration to the signature, name, or any other information written by the signatory or person assisting a signatory; and

(6) each person whose signature appears on the petition was permitted to read the petition or, at their request, had the petition read to them; and

(7) the signature sheets were attached at all times during circulation to a complete and accurate copy of the petition.

(d) The circulator must personally affix in his or her own handwriting, his or her printed name, residence address (or an explanation of how to locate place of residence), telephone number, and the date or dates on which the petition was circulated.

(e) The circulator must be a registered voter and a Palauan citizen.

Section 5. Petition proposing an amendment to the Constitution.
(a) To propose an amendment to the Constitution, a registered voter of the Republic of Palau shall deliver to the Palau Election Commission a petition stating the proposed amendment in English or Palauan language, or both. If a petition is submitted in one language or the other, but not both, the Bureau of Domestic Affairs shall cause to be prepared an official translation into the other language and shall submit a copy of the translation to the person or persons proposing the amendment for his, her, or their approval.

(b) For each proposed amendment, the petitioner or petitioners shall submit to the Palau Election Commission an explanation in plain terms in English or Palauan language, or both, of the intent and effect of the proposed amendment. If the explanation is submitted in one language or the other, but not both, the Bureau of Domestic Affairs shall cause to be prepared an official translation into the other language and shall submit a copy of the translation to the person or persons proposing the amendment for his, her, or their approval.

(c) Upon agreement of the petitioner or petitioners that both English and Palauan versions accurately reflect the language and intent of the proposed amendment, the Palau Election Commission shall authorize the petition for circulation.

(d) The proponents of a petition shall have one year from the date of authorization to file the required number of signatures of registered voters with the Palau Election Commission. The number of signatures required to place a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot is a number not less than twenty-five percent (25%) of the number of registered voters.

(e) The signed petition must be filed by hand-delivery to the Palau Election Commission during regular office hours. A signed petition must be filed not less than 180 days before the date of the next quadrennial general election in order to be included on the ballot. A signed petition filed less than 180 days before the date of a quadrennial general election shall be placed in the ballot in the next following quadrennial general election, if the petition meets all other requirements of this Act.

(f) After the filing of the petition, no additional signatures may be filed or accepted. The Palau Election Commission shall, as soon as practicable but no event later than 90 days after a petition is filed, count the names on the petition, verify the authenticity of signatures of registered voters, and declare the petition to be sufficient or insufficient to warrant placing the proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot in the next quadrennial general election. A signatory may withdraw his or her name from the petition at any time before the Palau Election Commission has declared the petition to be sufficient or insufficient.

Section 6. Invalidation of signatures. A signature or group of signatures on a petition shall be invalidated by the Palau Election Commission, and the corresponding name or names not counted toward the total number required for placing the proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot, if:

(a) the signature appears more than once (in which event only the first signature encountered during verification will count); or

(b) the signature does not match the voter's signature in the general district register maintained by the Palau Election Commission or the signature appearing on the voter's most recent affidavit filed for the purpose of absentee voting; or

(c) the signer fails to indicate the date he or she signed the petition; or

(d) there are material defects in the affidavit of the circulator, including without limitation the failure of the circulator to complete the required affidavit, omission of one or more of the attestations required under section 4(c), defective notarization, and the like; or

(e) the Palau Election Commission determines that the signature is not genuine, or the manner in which the signature was obtained did not comply with the law or applicable regulations.

Section 7. Political education as to effect of proposed amendments. Not less than 15 days or more than 60 days after the Palau Election Commission declares petition proposing a constitutional amendment to be sufficient for inclusion on the ballot in the next quadrennial general election, the Attorney General shall prepare an explanation in plain terms of the effect and operation of the proposed amendment, if adopted. The Attorney General shall state when the proposed amendment is to become effective, if adopted. The explanation shall not exceed 500 words in length. An official Palauan language translation of the explanation shall be prepared. Copies of both the English and Palauan language versions of the Attorney General's explanation shall be available to any person upon request at the office of the Palau Election Commission. Copies of the English and Palauan language versions of the explanation shall be published as a public service, for free, by the newspaper(s), or, if necessary, at the expense of the Palau Election Commission at least once a week in a newspaper of general circulation in the Republic of Palau for each of the four weeks immediately preceding the quadrennial general election in which adoption of the proposed amendment is to be decided.

Section 8. Misdemeanor penalties for misconduct. In addition to any other offenses or penalties provided by law, every person who commits any of the following acts in this section will be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $5,000.00 or up to six months in jail, or both.

(a) an intentional misrepresentation or intentional false statement by the circulator of a petition concerning the content or effect of any proposed constitutional amendment, if such misrepresentation or false statement is made to any person who signs, desires to sign, or is requested to sign the petition, or to whom the petition is presented for signature;

(b) the intentional circulation, publication, or exhibition of any false statement or misrepresentation concerning the purpose or effect of any proposed constitutional amendment for the purpose of obtaining any signature;

(c) refusal by a circulator of a petition to allow a prospective signatory to read the petition;

(d) an offer or gift of money or other valuable consideration by any person to another in exchange for his or her signature on a petition;

(e) the solicitation or making of any false or forged signature to the petition;

(f) circulating, causing to be circulated, or filing a petition by any person who knows it to contain false or fictitious names;

(g) signing a petition in fictitious name or in the name of another;

(h) knowingly signing the same petition more than once; or

(i) threatening to commit an assault or battery on a person circulating a petition or on a relative of such a person or to inflict damage on the property of the circulator or relative with the intent to dissuade the circulator from circulating the petition or in retribution for the circulation. The penalties provided in this section are in addition to penalties, criminal or civil, provided by other law.

Section 9. Regulations. The Palau Election Commission is authorized to promulgate regulations pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act, 6 PNC Chapter 1, in accordance with the purpose of this Act. Regulations may provide instructions to proponents regarding the registration of a petition proposing a constitutional amendment, instructions to circulators, a recommended form of a petition and signature pages, a recommended form of circulator's affidavit, and any other form or information that may facilitate the processing of a petition proposing a constitutional amendment.

This Act shall become effective notwithstanding the absence of regulations and notwithstanding any subsequent repeal, rescission, or amendment of regulations.

Section 10. Effective date. This Act shall take effect upon its approval by the President of the Republic of Palau, or upon its becoming law without such approval.

PASSED: August 3, 2006

Approved this 23rd day of August , 2006.
/s/
Tommy E. Remengesau, Jr.
President
Republic of Palau