San Rafael Fireman's Association v. City Council of the City of San Rafael

Opinion

THE COURT.* The City Council of the City of San Rafael appeals from a judgment ordering the issuance of a writ of mandate commanding the City Clerk of the City of San Rafael to forward the supplemental initiative charter amendment petitions submitted to her by petitioner San Rafael Fireman’s Association, Local 2208, to the County Clerk of the County of Marin for examination and verification of the signatures thereon as provided by law; commanding the county clerk upon receipt of such petitions to examine and verify the signatures thereon as provided by law and to forward the results thereof to the City Clerk of the City of San Rafael; and, if the number of signatures, counting both the signatures on the petitions submitted by petitioner on August 18, 1976, and on the petitions submitted on September 2, 1976, found by the county clerk to be valid equals or exceeds 15 percent of the registered electors of the City of San Rafael, commanding the City Council of the City of San Rafael to cause the proposed charter amendment to be published as required by Government Code section 34455 [361]and submitted to the voters of the City of San Rafael at an election fixed in the manner provided for in Government Code section 34461. Subsequent to filing notice of appeal, the parties stipulated that the City of San Rafael would submit the additional petitions filed on September 2, 1976, to the county clerk for verification of the signatures on those petitions. Respondent’s brief alleges that the county clerk has since determined that the total of the verified signatures from the petitions filed on August 4, 1976, and September 2, 1976, exceeds 15 percent of the total number of the city’s registered voters.

In its lengthy and thoughtful notice of intended decision, the trial court opined: “It is fair to observe that a bewildering maze of Constitutional and statutory provisions govern various aspects of the initiative process. The critical problem is to determine what provisions of law govern the petitions which are the subject of this case.” California’s Constitution, article XI, section 3, subdivision (b), confers upon the electors of a chartered county or city, the absolute right to amend such a public entity’s charter “by initiative or by the governing body.” Where the state’s Constitution reserves legislative power to the people, statutes will be liberally construed so as to give effect to that power. (San Francisco Fire Fighters v. Board of Supervisors (1979) 96 Cal.App.3d 538, 543 [158 Cal.Rptr. 145], hg. den. Nov. 8, 1979.) We turn then to the contentions raised on appeal.