ORS 198.765: Requirements for filing petition; validity and certification of signatures.

(1) A petition shall not be accepted for filing unless the signatures thereon have been secured within six months of the date on which the first signature on the petition was affixed. A petition for formation of a district shall not be accepted for filing if it is not accompanied by the economic feasibility statement required under ORS 198.749. When a petition for formation of a district includes a proposed permanent rate limit for operating taxes, the petition shall be filed not later than 180 days before the date of the next May or November election at which the petition for formation will be voted upon. Petitions required to be filed with the county board shall be filed with the county clerk of the principal county. Petitions required to be filed with the district board shall be filed with the secretary of the district board. It is not necessary to offer all counterparts of a petition for filing at the same time, but all counterparts when certified as provided by subsection (3) of this section shall be filed at the same time. (2) Within 10 days after the date a petition is offered for filing, the county clerk or district secretary, as the case may be, shall examine the petition and determine whether it is signed by the requisite number of qualified signers. In the case of a petition required or permitted to be signed by landowners, within 10 days after the date a petition is offered for filing, the county assessor shall examine the petition and determine whether it is signed by the requisite number of qualified landowners. If the requisite number of qualified signers have signed the petition, the county clerk or district secretary shall file the petition. If the requisite number have not signed, the county clerk or district secretary shall so notify the chief petitioners and may return the petition to the petitioners. (3) A petition shall not be filed unless the certificate of the county clerk or the district secretary is attached thereto certifying that the county clerk or district secretary has compared the signatures of the signers with the appropriate records, that the county clerk or district secretary has ascertained therefrom the number of qualified signers appearing on the petition, and that the petition is signed by the requisite number of qualified signers. In the case of a petition required or permitted to be signed by landowners, a petition shall not be filed unless the certificate of the county assessor is attached thereto certifying that the county assessor has compared the signatures of the signers with the appropriate records and that the petition is signed by the requisite number of qualified landowners. (4) No petition for dissolution shall be accepted for filing within one year after an election held on the question of dissolution of a district. [1971 c.727 §18; 1973 c.117 §2; 1989 c.92 §4; 1991 c.70 §3; 1995 c.712 §83; 1997 c.541 §344; 1999 c.318 §47; 2011 c.8 §2]