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Legal counsel explains bond‑petition timeline: three‑day filing, 14‑day clerk certification, possible November election

Box Elder School District Board of Education · December 15, 2025
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Summary

Legal counsel Ryan Bjork told the board how a citizen petition can force an election on lease‑revenue bonds: the local building authority must deliver a filed petition to the county clerk within three business days; the clerk has 14 business days to certify signatures; if certified, state law requires an election (only in November). Staff identified Friday as the filing deadline and estimated the signature threshold at about 20% of active voters.

Ryan Bjork, advising the board on petition procedures, walked the trustees through statutory steps should a petition be filed against lease‑revenue bonds. "When it's filed, then you have 3 days to give that to the county clerk," Bjork said, adding that the county clerk then has 14 business days to review and certify signatures against the election code.

Bjork said a certified petition that meets statutory requirements effectively pauses the district's bonding process and triggers an election process similar to general‑obligation bonds; elections for bond measures are held only in November. If the petition is not certified, the district may proceed with the local building authority timeline and subsequent public hearings and resolutions.

Board members asked about signature thresholds and deadline timing. Staff and counsel said the usual statutory threshold is about 20% of active voters from the last election and that the district's clerical deadline for filing is the end of the business day on the coming Friday (the district office closes at 3 p.m. on Fridays). Counsel noted that the precise count of "active voters" is a county-clerk determination and can be administratively complex.

Bjork and staff outlined the practical timeline implications: if a valid petition is certified, the district would likely shift public hearings to align with the election schedule; if not certified, the district would continue with the local building authority's marketing and closing timeline, with possible closings in the April–May window. The board asked staff to prepare for both contingencies and to schedule required public hearings if needed.