A referendum petition seeking a public vote on a Council-approved smoking ban was rejected by the Surprise City Clerk Feb. 21, clearing the way for the ordinance to go into effect.
Acting on advice from the City Attorney ?‘s Office, Sherry Aguilar returned the petition bearing 559 signatures to Surprise resident Jim Marshall at 10 a.m. ?“It is my legal opinion to the City Clerk that the petition does not comply with the applicable constitutional and statutory requirements,?” said City Attorney David Ward. ?“Unfortunately, it has to fail. It does not strictly comply.?”
Ward further explained in his three-page opinion that citizen referendums are held to a much higher standard than initiative petitions. He wrote, ?“The courts have said over and over again that strict compliance is required in the referendum context because it is a power that permits a minority to hold up the effective date of legislation which may well represent the wishes of the majority.?”
Specifically, the petition was rejected because required information was not provided (blanks were left unfilled), and the description of the ordinance was inaccurate and insufficient.
Marshall, who needed valid signatures from only 285 registered voters in Surprise, filed the petition Feb. 11, stalling the ordinance just hours before it was to take effect. If successful, the measure would have gone on the ballot for the March 2003 City election.
The ordinance, approved by a 5-2 vote of the Council on Jan. 10, prohibits smoking in most public places, including retail stores, restaurants, entertainment venues, sports facilities and public meeting areas. It excludes bars, restaurant patios, private residences, retail tobacco stores and 25 percent of hotel rooms.
Though the ordinance is now legally in effect, City Manager Bill Pupo said the City will provide an education program to local businesses before enforcing the ban. Those classes are not yet scheduled.
Surprise is not the first Arizona municipality to pass a no-smoking ordinance without a vote of the citizens. The City Councils of Tucson and Gilbert, along with the Pima County Board of Supervisors have passed such ordinances.
In November, a grassroots group called Citizens for Healthy Lifestyle submitted an initiative petition bearing 723 signatures to the Surprise City Clerk asking for a special election to ban smoking in public places. When it was discovered that the Council had no authority to call for a special election on the matter, the Council decided to vote on the ordinance proposed by the group rather than wait until the next regularly scheduled election in March 2003.
Councilmen Don Cox and Bob Vukanovich voted against the ordinance, saying it should be decided by a public vote.
Acting on advice from the City Attorney ?‘s Office, Sherry Aguilar returned the petition bearing 559 signatures to Surprise resident Jim Marshall at 10 a.m. ?“It is my legal opinion to the City Clerk that the petition does not comply with the applicable constitutional and statutory requirements,?” said City Attorney David Ward. ?“Unfortunately, it has to fail. It does not strictly comply.?”
Ward further explained in his three-page opinion that citizen referendums are held to a much higher standard than initiative petitions. He wrote, ?“The courts have said over and over again that strict compliance is required in the referendum context because it is a power that permits a minority to hold up the effective date of legislation which may well represent the wishes of the majority.?”
Specifically, the petition was rejected because required information was not provided (blanks were left unfilled), and the description of the ordinance was inaccurate and insufficient.
Marshall, who needed valid signatures from only 285 registered voters in Surprise, filed the petition Feb. 11, stalling the ordinance just hours before it was to take effect. If successful, the measure would have gone on the ballot for the March 2003 City election.
The ordinance, approved by a 5-2 vote of the Council on Jan. 10, prohibits smoking in most public places, including retail stores, restaurants, entertainment venues, sports facilities and public meeting areas. It excludes bars, restaurant patios, private residences, retail tobacco stores and 25 percent of hotel rooms.
Though the ordinance is now legally in effect, City Manager Bill Pupo said the City will provide an education program to local businesses before enforcing the ban. Those classes are not yet scheduled.
Surprise is not the first Arizona municipality to pass a no-smoking ordinance without a vote of the citizens. The City Councils of Tucson and Gilbert, along with the Pima County Board of Supervisors have passed such ordinances.
In November, a grassroots group called Citizens for Healthy Lifestyle submitted an initiative petition bearing 723 signatures to the Surprise City Clerk asking for a special election to ban smoking in public places. When it was discovered that the Council had no authority to call for a special election on the matter, the Council decided to vote on the ordinance proposed by the group rather than wait until the next regularly scheduled election in March 2003.
Councilmen Don Cox and Bob Vukanovich voted against the ordinance, saying it should be decided by a public vote.
