Right to Petition Congress Act 2016-07-14 Introduced in House Right to Petition Congress Act

This bill requires the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate to establish a process under which they shall:

  • develop a national discharge petition for a bill or joint resolution introduced in either the House or the Senate or referred to either chamber after passage by the other chamber during a Congress,
  • make each petition available for signature by individuals registered to vote in elections for federal office held in their domiciles, and
  • compile such signatures.

The Clerk or the Secretary may: (1) develop a petition only at the request of the sponsor of the bill or joint resolution; and (2) carry out this bill using such methods as the Clerk and Secretary consider appropriate, including providing for the availability of such petitions and the acceptance of signatures on them exclusively through electronic means.

If a discharge petition is certified by the Clerk or the Secretary as having valid signatures of 25% or more of qualified voters, the leadership of the House and Senate shall ensure that a vote on the final passage of the measure takes place within a specified time period.

As part of the national discharge petition process, the Clerk and the Secretary shall provide on their public websites a hyperlink through which individuals may obtain information on how to register to vote in federal elections in their domiciles.

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