(A) Ordinances and resolutions may be proposed by initiative petition and adopted by election and ordinances and resolutions adopted by Council shall be subject to referendum as provided by the Constitution and Laws of Ohio, except:
(1) Initiative and referendum petitions shall be filed with the Clerk of Council who shall within twenty (20) days of the filing date of the petition, deliver to the Board of Elections for certification of the text. Upon receipt of the certification from the Board of Elections, the Clerk of Council shall promptly notify the Council and the petitioner.
(2) Ordinances and resolutions initiated by petition or subjected to referendum shall be submitted to the electors for approval or rejection at the next general or primary election occurring subsequent to ninety (90) days after certification of the text of the ordinance or resolution to the Board of Elections, unless Council, by a majority vote of its members, submits such ordinances or resolutions for approval or rejection at a special election.
(B) Upon receipt of a written notice of intention to circulate initiative or referendum petitions by any person, the Director of Law shall provide copies of applicable state statutes referred to in Division (A) of this section to the person filing the notice within three days after receipt of the notice. The Director of Law shall not be required to give advice to the person filing the notice concerning the provisions of this Charter or the statutes relating to initiative or referendum. This Division is declared to be directory only and not mandatory, and the filing of a notice, as authorized under this Division, is not a prerequisite to the filing of initiative or referendum petitions.
(Revision approved by the voters 11-3-92)