RESOLUTION NO. 20 26-72
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY
OF NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA, SETTING THE
DEADLINES FOR FILING OF REBUTTAL ARGUMENTS
IN RESPONSE TO DIRECT ARGUMENTS FILED FOR
AND AGAINST THE INITIATIVE MEASURE TO
ESTABLISH NEW CHARTER REQUIREMENTS
RELATED TO PUBLIC MEETINGS, PUBLIC RECORDS,
GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT, AND ENFORCEMENT, TO
BE SUBMITTED TO THE VOTERS AT THE [ GENERAL
OR SPECIAL] MUNICIPAL ELECTION TO BE HELD ON
[NOVEMBER 3, 2026, OR MARCH 7, 2028 , OR
NOVEMBER 7, 2028]
WHEREAS, a [General or Special] Municipal Election is to be held in the City of Newport Beach, California (“City”) on [November 3, 2026, or March 7, 2028, or November 7, 2028], at which there will be submitted to the registered voters of the City the following initiative question:
MEASURE ___
CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH CHARTER AMENDMENT
Shall the measure amending the City of Newport Beach Charter to establish new Charter requirements governing public
meetings, public records, government oversight, and
enforcement, be adopted?
Yes
No
WHEREAS, the State of California, County of Orange, Superior Court in the action titled City of Newport Beach v. Newport Beach Stewardship Association and Newport Beach Stewardship Association v. Lena Shumway , Orange County Superior Court Case No. 30- 2026-01559183 held that the City Council, in its discretion, can call the election for November 3, 2026, and that the ten day examination period provided in California Elections Code Section 9295 can run after the City Attorney’s impartial analysis and the arguments for and against are submitted to the Registrar; Resolution No. 2026-72
WHEREAS, pursuant to Elections Code Section 9282, the proponents of an initiative measure may file a written argument for, and the legislative body may file a written argument against, an initiative measure;
WHEREAS, pursuant to Elections Code Section 9285, the City Council, by majority vote, may adopt provisions to provide for the filing of rebuttal arguments in response to direct arguments filed for or against the initiative measure; and WHEREAS, the City Council desires to provide for the filing of rebuttal arguments in response to direct arguments filed for or against the initiative measure.
NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council o f the City of Newport Beach, California, does resolve, declare, determine and order as follows:
Section 1: Pursuant to Elections Code Section 9285(a), when the Elections Official has selected the arguments for and against the initiative measure which will be printed and distributed to the voters, the Elections Official shall send a copy of the argument in favor of the initiative measure to the authors of the argument against the initiative measure and a copy of the argument against the initiative measure to the authors of the argument in favor of the initiative measure.
Section 2: The author or a majority of the authors of an argument relating to an initiative measure may prepare and submit a rebuttal argument not exceeding two hundred fifty words or may authorize, in writing, any other person or persons to prepare, submit or sign the rebuttal argument. A rebuttal argument may not be signed by more than five authors.
Section 3: Rebuttal arguments shall be filed with the City Clerk, signed, with the printed names and signatures of not more than five of the authors submitting it, or if submitted on behalf of an organization, the name of the organization, and the printed name and signature of at least one of its principal officers. If the election is held on [March 7, 2028, or November 7, 2028,] the rebuttal arguments shall be filed with the City Clerk by 5:00 p.m. on the date that is 10 calendar days after the final date for filing direct arguments. [If the election is held on November 3, 2026, the rebuttal arguments shall be filed with the City Clerk by 5:00 p.m. on August 27, 2026.] Rebuttal arguments shall be accompanied by the form statement required by Elections Code Section 9600.
Section 4: Rebuttal arguments shall be printed in the same manner as the direct arguments. Each rebuttal argument shall immediately follow the direct argument which it seeks to rebut.
Section 5: If the election is held on [March 7, 2028, or November 7, 2028,] rebuttal arguments shall be made available for public examination for no fewer than 10 Resolution No. 2026-72
calendar days following the deadline for submission of those materials, in accordance with Elections Code Section 9295. [If the election is held on November 3, 2026, the ten day examination period provided in California Elections Code Section 9295 can run after the City Attorney’s impartial analysis and the arguments for and against are submitted to the Registrar].
Section 6: The rebuttal provisions provided herein shall apply only to the [General or Special] Municipal Election to be held on [November 3, 2026, March 7, 2028, or November 7, 2028].
Section 7: The City Clerk shall certify the passage and adoption of this resolution and enter it into the book of original resolutions.
Section 8: The City Clerk shall deliver a certified copy of this resolution to the Orange County Board of Supervisors and the Orange County Registrar of Voters.
Section 9: If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of this resolution is, for any reason, held to be invalid or unconstitutional, such decision shall not affect the validity or constitutionality of the remaining portions of this resolution. The City Council hereby declares that it would have passed this resolution, and each section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase hereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses or phrases be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
Section 10: The recitals provided in this resolution are true and correct and are incorporated into the operative part of this resolution.
Section 11: The City Council finds the adoption of this resolution is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) pursuant to Public Resources Code Section 21080(b)(1) because submission to the voters of a voter-sponsored initiative is a ministerial duty required by Elections Code Section 9215, and is therefore not subject to CEQA pursuant to Sections 15060(c)(1) (the activity does not involve the exercise of discretionary powers by a public agency), 15060(c)(3) (the activity is not a project as defined in Section 15378), and 15060(c)(2) (the activity will not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment) of the CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, Title 14, Division 6, Chapter 3.
Resolution No. 2026-72
Section 12: This resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by the City Council , and the City Clerk shall certify the vote adopting the resolution .
ADOPTED this 25th day of August, 2026.
ATTEST:
Lena Shumway
City Clerk
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
'-~a~«~
City Attorney
Lauren Kleiman
Mayor