Oregon Advisory Opinions August 30, 1966: OAG 66-111 (August 30, 1966)
Collection: Oregon Attorney General Opinions
Docket: OAG 66-111
Date: Aug. 30, 1966
Advisory Opinion Text
OAG 66-111.
An initiative proposal to amend, revise or repeal the Washington County Charter may be voted on at any primary or general election held throughout the county.
Secretary of State
You have requested an opinion concerning the Washington County Charter, adopted by vote of the people of said county on November 6, 1962. You ask:
"Reading Section 51 (b) with ORS 203.710 and 203.720, the question is, at what elections may the people submit amendments, revisions or repeal of the county home rule charter?"
Section 51 (b) of the Washington County Charter provides:
"(b) Proposed amendments, revisions or proposals to repeal the county charter may be initiated by popular action under provision of the state law pertaining to the initiative and referendum powers with respect to county charters and legislation. The completed petition proposing any such change must be filed at least 90 days prior to the date of election."
Section 83 of the charter provides:
"Except as this charter or legislation enacted pursuant to it provides to the contrary, the manner of conducting an election on a proposition concerning the county shall be the manner prescribed by the laws of the state for an election in the county on the proposition."
You have informed me that the county has not enacted further legislation on the subject as provided for in § 83 of the charter.
Thus, except for the 90 day deadline specified for filing of the completed petition, the procedure for amending, revising or repealing the Washington County Charter is determined by state law.
Article VI, § 10, of the Oregon Constitution, adopted by vote of the people November 4, 1958, provides in part:
"The Legislative Assembly shall provide by law a method whereby the legal voters of any county, by majority vote of such voters voting thereon at any legally called election, may adopt, amend, revise or repeal a county charter. * * * The initiative and referendum powers reserved to the people by this Constitution hereby are further reserved to the legal voters of every county relative to the adoption, amendment, revision or repeal of a county charter and to legislation passed by counties which have adopted such a charter."
Accordingly, in 1959, the legislature enacted ORS 203.710 to 203.790. ORS 203.720 provides:
"The legal voters of any county, by majority vote of such voters voting thereon at any legally called election, may adopt, amend, revise or repeal a county charter. The charter, or legislation passed by the county pursuant thereto, shall provide a method whereby the legal voters of the county, by majority vote of such voters voting thereon at any legally called election, may amend, revise or repeal the charter. The county charter and legislative provisions relating to the amendment, revision or repeal of the charter are deemed to be matters of county concern and shall prevail over any conflicting provisions of ORS 203.710 to 203.790 and other state statutes unless otherwise specifically provided by conflicting state statutes first effective after January 1, 1961." (Emphasis supplied)
In 1961 ORS 203.710 was amended to include a definition of "legally called election," as follows:
"(3) As used in ORS 203.710 to 203.790, unless the context requires otherwise, 'legally called election' means any primary or general election held throughout the county."
ORS 203.720, supra, is the only other section in ORS 203.710 to 203.790 in which the term "legally called election" appears. There is no other provision in those sections which purports to determine the time for voting on a proposal to amend, revise or repeal a county charter.
ORS 203.780 specifies the duties to be performed by various county officials in connection with the exercise of the initiative and referendum powers under county home rule where the county has not otherwise provided. Reference is made to statutes prescribing the duties of the Governor, the Secretary of State and the Attorney General with respect to state-wide measures, and it is provided that these duties will be performed at the county level by the
county judge or chairman of the board of county commissioners, county clerk and district attorney respectively, unless the county otherwise provides.
State-wide initiative measures can only be voted on at the November general election (Article IV, § 1, Oregon Constitution; Opinions of the Attorney General, 1960-1962, p. 252), and some of the statutes referred to in ORS 203.780 reflect this fact (see ORS 255.421, relating to voters' pamphlets), but in no way so to bring ORS 203.780 into conflict with the clear provisions of ORS 203.710 and 203.720.
"It is elementary that when the legislature, in enacting a law, makes use of plain, unambiguous, and understandable language, it is presumed to have intended precisely what its words imply. There is no occasion to go beyond those and their plain meaning to ascertain by application of rules of statutory construction the legislative purpose." Franklin v. State Industrial Accident Commission, (1954) 202 Or. 237, 241. 274 P. (2d) 279.
Therefore, in accordance with the provisions of ORS 203.710 and 203.720, together with those of §§ 51 (b) and 83 of the Washington County Charter, the people of such county may submit proposals for amendment, revision or repeal of the charter at any primary or general election held throughout the county.