The California Secretary of State has announced that two proposed statewide ballot initiatives that pertain to utilities and energy have been cleared to begin collecting signatures.
One measure seeks to put new onerous restrictions on nuclear power plants, effectively shutting down the Diablo Canyon Power Plant. The other measure aims to establish a statewide public utility that would replace California’s investor-owned utility companies, including PG&E, SoCal Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric. Both are sponsored by the same individual, Ben Davis, Jr., who has sponsored similar measures during past election cycles but did not succeed in collecting enough signatures to place them on the ballot.
The Attorney General’s official title and summary for these measures can be found here and here. According to the Secretary of State, the proponent of the measures must collect the signatures of 365,880 registered voters (five percent of the total votes cast for Governor in the November 2014 general election) for each measure in order to qualify them for the November 2016 ballot. The proponent has 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials by April 26, 2016.