INITIATIVES FILED

We The People have qualified seven of their initiatives. They need to collect their signatures before mid-April and the number needed is, conservatively, 600,000. You can see all the Initiative information at http://wethepeopleusa.us/.

The initiative that CDOC thinks makes the most sense and that will be the easiest to get on the ballot is the initiative on license fees. It caps license fees at $50 and offers discounts to those who can least afford licensing, seniors and the poor. In a time when Animal Rights groups are selling MSN as a moneymaker, this is important. We urge you to make this happen.

It is critical that you read and understand the instructions because one mistake and the entire page will be tossed out. The link to print these petitions is here. This is what it says

Initiative Measure To Be Submitted Directly To The Voters

Section 1. Animal License Law

The state of California mandates that all cities, counties and any governmental entities within the state shall as a matter of public health not require any animal licensing or permit fees or assessment or taxes of any sort or combinations thereof to total any amount in excess of $50.00. This is a public health issue intended to encourage the licensing of pet animals requiring rabies vaccinations. Senior citizens or individuals receiving MediCare or Medi-Cal benefits shall be entitled to a reduced rate of one half of the licensing or permit fee. Cities and Counties and other governmental entities within the state of California shall not enforce or enact any law or ordinance that would remove this mandate enacted by the citizens of the state of California.

THE PROCESS FOR DOING THIS RIGHT IS DAUNTING. IF ONE RULE IS BROKEN THE ENTIRE PETITION IS INVALID. PLEASE READ CAREFULLY.

PRINTING AND COPYING PETITIONS

You may print or photocopy as many blank petitions as you wish. Be sure to photocopy BLANK Petitions from an original (Clean) printed version of the petition. Do not alter the size of the petition, as the law requires all dimensions to remain the same. Be sure to print the signature page on the front side of the petition sheets and the full text page on the back side and as many pages as necessary to provide the full text. Use back to back printing for ALL PETITIONS.

California Law provides very strict guidelines on obtaining valid initiative petition signatures. Signatures that are improperly collected will be invalid and will not be counted. Please follow directions carefully.

GENERAL RULES

§    All signatures on a petition must be by REGISTERED VOTERS of the SAME County that is designated on both sides of the petition. Use separate petitions for each different county.

§    If you are not registered to vote you may fill out a voter registration form and send it in and then immediately thereafter sign the petition. These forms are available free at the local post office and County Elections Board office.

§    The person who circulates the petition, even if you only circulate it yourself, must sign each petition at the bottom.

Rules FOR SIGNING

The person signing the petition must follow some simple rules:

§    Print your name and residence address, exactly as you are registered to vote on the top line.

§    Sign your signature underneath your printed name, and print the name of the city in which you live and your zip code.

RULES FOR CIRCULATING

The person circulating the petition must adhere to the following:

§    Witness each person as they sign.

§    You do not have to fill in all six signature blocks for the petition to be valid. You may submit your petition with as few as one and as many as six signatures.

§    The person circulating the petition MUST fill out two sections of the petition.

§    Write the county of residence of the signers in the blank space provided after the petition summary.

§    Fill out completely the section entitled: DECLARATION OF CIRCULATOR at the bottom of the petition form.

§    That includes printing the circulator's full name, the same name used when the circulator registered to vote, the county of their residence, the address where the circulator is registered to vote and the dates between which the signatures were gathered.

§    When all the signatures are gathered, the circulator should sign the bottom of this section; and then write in the date and location of signing.

Please help us gather as many signatures as you can!  Please remember that we need time to process and bundle the petitions before the turn-in deadline.
© 2007 the Concerned Dog Owners of California except where otherwise noted. All rights reserved worldwide.