Lower Austria, Austria, local Agenda (setting) initiative [PAX] - Initiativantrag (Cities)

II.Main part

Direct democracy

§ 6

Right of initiative, application for initiative

(1) The right of initiative of city citizens consists in the demand that tasks be taken care of or measures taken, as far as they are in the interest of the city or individual parts of the city area.

(2) The right of initiative is limited to one's own sphere of activity. The right of initiative shall not apply to individual administrative acts and matters which have an influence, either wholly or predominantly, on levies.

(3) The city citizens exercise the right of initiative by an initiative request. This must contain:

a) a specific request;

b) the organ to which it is addressed;

c) the name and address of an authorised recipient and his representative;

d) the names and addresses as well as the signatures of city citizens entitled to vote.

(4) The initiative proposal must be supported by at least as many eligible city citizens as the number of votes required to obtain a municipal council mandate at the last municipal election.

§ 7

Procedure of the initiative proposal

(1) The petition for initiative shall be submitted to the Magistrate.

(2) In the event of an objection to the initiative proposal under § 6 Para. 3, the Mayor shall inform the authorised representative in writing that the application has not been dealt with by the municipal election authority and shall state the reasons for this.

(3) If the application complies with § 6 Para. 3, the mayor shall convene a meeting of the municipal electoral authority to examine the initiative application. The meeting must take place within four weeks of receipt of the application.

(4) The municipal election authority shall determine the number of citizens who have signed the initiative application and are entitled to vote in the municipal council (§ 6 Para. 4). The day on which the application is received by the Magistrate shall be the deadline.

(5) If the initiative application has not been signed by a sufficient number of city citizens (§ 6 Para. 4), the chairman of the city election authority shall inform the authorized recipient that

- the treatment by the called organ is omitted and

- to state the reasons for it.

(..)

§ 8

Treatment of the initiative proposal

(1) The mayor shall ensure that an initiative proposal, the subject of which falls within the sphere of activity of the municipal council or city senate, is dealt with at the next meeting of the responsible body in compliance with the rules of procedure.

(2) The organs of the city must treat the initiative requests addressed to them, which were supported in sufficient number (§ 6 Abs. 4).

They must reject their treatment, if they

- not a matter of one's own sphere of influence,

- individual administrative file or

- matters which have an influence, wholly or mainly, on duties, and

- Measures which have already been implemented by the competent bodies, (..)

(4) The mayor shall inform the authorised recipient of the result of the handling of the initiative application.

References: NÖ Stadtrechtsorganisationsgesetz (NÖ STROG), 2018 (accessed Oct. 8, 2018)

To demand tasks ore measures taken care of in the interest of the city or parts of the city

Individual administrative acts and matters which have an influence, either wholly or predominantly, on levies.

The English version here is a courtesy translation!