This law explains that districts generally have the ability to create their own ordinances using this article, but there are exceptions. It does not apply to irrigation districts, districts without election procedures, districts that cannot pass ordinances, districts with unique voting methods for directors, or where directors can vote multiple times on matters.

This law explains how a new ordinance can be proposed in a district. If a group wants to suggest a new local law, they must gather signatures on a petition to submit to the district's governing board. The process for collecting signatures must follow specific guidelines, and supported affidavits need to accompany each part of the petition.

Before people can start collecting signatures for an initiative in a district, they must publish a 'notice of intention.' This notice lets everyone know about the intended petition. A short explanation, no more than 500 words, must be included, outlining why the petition is being proposed. The notice needs signatures from at least one to five people proposing the measure. It must also follow a specific wording for clarity.

If you want to circulate a petition as mentioned in Section 9302, you need to make sure people know about it by either publishing or posting a notice and statement. How you do this depends on whether there's a widely-read newspaper in the area. If there is one, publish your notice in that newspaper at least once. If there isn't a newspaper where the petition is circulated, publish the notice in a county newspaper and put up notices in three different public places in the district.

If you want to propose a petition, you have 10 days from when you publish or post a notice of your intention and reasons for the petition to file these documents with the district elections official. You must include the notice, the statement, the actual text of the initiative, and an affidavit. This affidavit should be from someone who can certify that the notice was indeed published or posted.

This law outlines the responsibilities of a district elections official concerning materials related to an initiative petition. From after filing until final resolution, the official must keep certain documents available: the notice of intention, reasons for the petition, the full initiative text, and the affidavit of publication. These must remain on file at their office.

Additionally, anyone can request copies of these materials, and the official can charge a fee for the copies. However, the fee can't be more than the actual cost of making the copies.

Once you've submitted the necessary documents to the district elections official, including a notice of intention and other required paperwork, you can start gathering signatures for your petition. The person collecting signatures must meet certain qualifications. Every part of the petition must include a copy of the notice of intention and the statement outlining the reasons for the petition.

This law states that signatures for petitions must be collected and the petition must be filed within 180 days from the date the required materials are submitted to the district elections official. If petitions aren't filed within this time limit, they will become invalid.

This law requires that every section of a petition must include an affidavit from the person who collected the signatures. This affidavit should follow the format described in Section 9022.

This law outlines the process for verifying signatures on a petition within a district. The district elections official has 30 days, excluding weekends and holidays, to verify if a petition has enough valid voter signatures. Signatures can be compared to official signature records, but slight variations like using initials won't invalidate them.

After review, officials must inform the petition's supporters if it's valid or not. If there are not enough signatures, the petition fails, but a new one can be submitted later. If it succeeds, the results must be certified and presented to the district's governing board at their next meeting.

This law outlines the process for verifying signatures on a petition in a district election. If a petition has over 500 signatures, the district elections official may use random sampling to check the signatures, ensuring every signature has a fair chance of being picked. At least 500 or 3% of the signatures, whichever is greater, need to be checked.

If the sample shows that the number of valid signatures is between 95% and 110% of what’s needed, they must check each signature. Signatures can’t be dismissed just because initials are used instead of full names.

The official will attach a result certificate to the petition and inform the petition's proponents if it has enough signatures. An insufficient petition doesn’t progress but can be refiled later. If enough valid signatures are found, the results are certified and reported to the district's governing board at their next regular meeting.

This law says that if enough voters in a district sign a petition—specifically, 10% if there are fewer than 500,000 voters, or 5% if there are 500,000 or more voters—the district board has to take action. They must either pass the proposed ordinance as it is during the next regular meeting or within 10 days after the petition is presented, or they must let all voters decide by putting it on a ballot as per Section 1405. The number of voters used for calculating this percentage is based on the most recent registration report before starting the petition process.

If you've proposed an initiative, you can take it back anytime before the 88th day leading up to the election. This holds true even if officials have already said your petition meets the requirements.

When a district has to vote on a new ordinance during an election, the district elections official must ensure the ordinance is printed and available to voters. If a voter wants a copy, they can request it. Additionally, every voter will receive a notice in the voter information guide explaining how to get a free copy of the proposed ordinance by calling the district elections official's office.

This law sets out the process for explaining a district measure when it's put to a vote. The district elections official must send the measure to the county counsel or district attorney for an impartial analysis. This analysis, which explains the measure's impact and whether it was proposed by voters or the district's governing body, is limited to 500 words and is printed before any arguments for or against the measure. If the measure's full text isn't on the ballot or in the voter guide, a statement must be included telling voters they can request a copy by calling the district elections office.

When a water district measure is up for a vote, the district's elections official must send it to the district's legal counsel or, if none, to the county counsel of the county where most voters are. The district's legal counsel drafts an impartial analysis of the measure's effect on current law, which the county counsel can review. This explanation must state whether the measure came from a voter petition or the water district's governing body. It can't be longer than 500 words and is placed before arguments for or against the measure. If the full text isn't on the ballot or in voter guides, a statement saying copies are available should be included. If there's no district legal counsel, or they agree, the county counsel writes the analysis. "Legal counsel for the water district" is an attorney named in the district's conflict of interest rules, and "water district" refers to the definition in the Water Code.

If you're involved with an initiative petition, you can write a short argument supporting your ordinance. The district board has the right to write a counter-argument against it. Both arguments need to be 300 words or less. They'll be printed and sent to voters with election materials.

The arguments will have a note clarifying that these are the authors' opinions. When sent to voters, each argument will be labeled as either 'Argument In Favor Of Measure' or 'Argument Against Measure,' with the measure's letter or number included. The district elections official might choose to use 'Proposition' instead of 'Measure' in the title, and the title words aren't counted against the 300-word limit.

This law outlines the responsibilities of the district elections official for setting deadlines related to election materials. Before an election, the official must decide on a reasonable date for submitting arguments for or against a proposed ordinance. This date is based on the time needed to prepare, print, and allow for public review of these materials. Supporters can change or withdraw their arguments until this specified date.

This section explains how arguments for and against a measure are handled in a voter information pamphlet. The elections official sends copies of the argument in favor to those against the measure and vice versa. Authors can then draft rebuttal arguments of up to 250 words or let others do so on their behalf. Rebuttal arguments must be submitted by a deadline set by the election official.

Rebuttal arguments are printed right after the argument they respond to and are labeled appropriately, like "Rebuttal to Argument in Favor of Measure ___" or "Rebuttal to Argument Against Measure ___." The title's words don't count towards the word limit.

This law allows for multiple proposed ordinances to be included on the ballot and voted on during the same election.

This law says that if more than half of the voters in a district vote for a proposed ordinance, it becomes a legally binding rule for that district. The ordinance is officially adopted on the day the district board announces the election results, and it becomes effective 10 days after that announcement.

When there are two or more conflicting ordinances voted on in the same election, the one that gets more 'yes' votes will be the one that counts.

This section outlines how the opening statement, also known as the enacting clause, of an ordinance proposed to the voters of a specific district should be phrased. It recommends that the clause start with, 'The people of the ____ District do ordain as follows:' to ensure uniformity and clarity.

If a law is passed because of a public initiative—either by the district board directly or by a vote— it can't be changed or canceled unless the people vote on it again, unless there's a specific rule about amending it in the original law. Otherwise, this kind of law holds the same power as other laws created by the board.