Elections Voter initiative petition Library.

Byline: R.I. Lawyers Weekly Staff

Where a plaintiff submitted a voter initiative petition requesting that a question be placed on the ballot for the next general election, the defendant Narragansett Town Council should not have marked the initiative petition as invalid, preventing it from being placed on the ballot, as the petition is valid under the home rule charter of the town.

" In 2018, the Town of Narragansett (the Town) acquired property to use as a library. The initiative petition seeks to prevent the Town from selling or conveying that property 'unless such real estate transaction is either approved by the initiative process or it is for the relocation of the Maury Loontjens Library to this site[.]'

"Pursuant to 1-4-3 of the Narragansett Home Rule Charter, when such a petition is filed with sufficient voter signatures, the Town Clerk files the petition and forwards the petition to the Town Solicitor for legal review. Within fourteen days, the Town Solicitor submits a written opinion to the Town Council 'as to the legality of the proposed petition.' The Town Council determines the validity of the petition at its next meeting. If it is accepted as valid, the authors of the petition have 120 days to obtain additional signatures in order to have the matter listed on the general election ballot.

"On March 18, 2019, the Town Council voted to mark Plaintiff's initiative petition as invalid, preventing it from being placed on the ballot. This action was commenced by the Plaintiff and asks this Court to issue a declaratory judgment that the petition be marked as 'accepted,' thereby rendering it appropriate for a petition for further signatures and placement on the ballot.

"The Town contends that the Town Council has broad executive and legislative powers, and, as the petition seeks to encroach on those powers, the petition is invalid and inappropriate. The charter gives the power of voter initiative to legislative decisions. The charter provides a broad power of voter initiative to the people. The charter established two separate means of enacting a local legislative act in the Town: voter initiative and actions by the Town Council. Although the Town Council may be referred to as the legislative body of the Town in other provisions of Town Law; clearly, there is another way to enact local ordinances and charter changes.

"In the case at bar, the voter initiative is not procedurally accomplished by a customary legislative body, but the Town...