(a) The purpose of the petition and referendum for approval of conversions of Class B facilities to Class A facilities is to allow the local community an opportunity to participate in the decision of whether the local infrastructure and environment are appropriate for expansion of a Class B facility to a Class A facility, and to assure that the local community accepts the associated benefits and detriments of having a Class A facility located in their county.
(b) Within 21 following receipt of a certificate of need from the Public Service Commission as required by 24-2-1c of this code, and local solid waste authority approval as required in 22C-4-26 of this code, the county commission shall complete publication of a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of 59-3-1 et seq. of this code, in the qualified newspaper of general circulation in the county wherein the solid waste facility is located. Registered voters residing in the county may petition the county commission to place the issue of whether a Class B facility be expanded to a Class A facility be placed on the ballot at the next primary or general election held not less than 100 days after the deadline for filing the petition. The petition shall be in writing, in the form prescribed by the Secretary of State, and shall include the printed name, residence address, and date of birth of each person whose signature appears on the petition. The petition shall be filed with the county commission not less than 60 days after the last date of publication of the notice provided in this section. Upon receipt of completed petition forms, the county commission shall immediately forward those forms to the clerk of the county commission for verification of the signatures and the voter registration of the persons named on the petition. If a primary or general election is scheduled not more than 120 days and not less than 100 days following the deadline for filing the petitions, the clerk of the county commission shall complete the verification of the signatures within 30 days and shall report the number of valid signatures to the county commission. In all other cases, the clerk of the county commission shall complete verification in a timely manner. Upon verification of the signatures of registered voters residing in the county equal to not less than 15 percent of the number of votes cast within the county for Governor at the preceding gubernatorial election, and not less than 70 days before the election, the county commission shall order a referendum be placed upon the ballot:
(1) Such referendum is to determine whether it is the will of the voters of the county that the Class B facility be converted to a Class A facility. Any election at which such question of locating a solid waste facility is voted upon shall be held at the voting precincts established for holding primary or general elections. All of the provisions of the general election laws, when not in conflict with the provisions of this article, apply to voting and elections hereunder, insofar as practicable. The Secretary of State shall prescribe the form of the petition which shall include the printed name, address and date of birth of each person whose signature appears on the petition. Should the petition fail to meet the requirements set forth above, the application process as set forth in this article and 22-15-1 et seq. of this code, may proceed.