republic-os/legislation/us/states/ca/20232024/sb-297.md

---
type: "Bill"
title: "Elections: initiatives and referenda: withdrawal."
description: "Existing law authorizes the proponents of a statewide initiative or referendum measure to withdraw the measure after filing the initiative or referendum petition with the appropriate elections official at any time before the Secretary of State certifies that the measure has qualified for the ballot, as provided. Existing law requires, for the withdrawal of an initiative or referendum measure after the petition has been filed with the appropriate elections official, all of the proponents to file a written notice with the Secretary of State to withdraw the measure."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ca"
legislature: "California Legislature"
session: "20232024"
identifier: "SB 297"
citation: "California SB 297 (20232024)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: ["Elections", "initiatives and referenda", "withdrawal"]
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Allen"]
version_count: 6
action_count: 25
vote_count: 6
first_action: "2023-02-02"
last_action: "2023-10-08"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/533a0690-fed7-4b11-a973-fd3e97081cdc"
source_url: "http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB297"
source_hash: "2e650f8c123bb846334b9ef9103b50ba21a43a4270474f389311a42d1be254c8"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ca"]
---

# California SB 297 (20232024) — Elections: initiatives and referenda: withdrawal.

Existing law authorizes the proponents of a statewide initiative or referendum measure to withdraw the measure after filing the initiative or referendum petition with the appropriate elections official at any time before the Secretary of State certifies that the measure has qualified for the ballot, as provided. Existing law requires, for the withdrawal of an initiative or referendum measure after the petition has been filed with the appropriate elections official, all of the proponents to file a written notice with the Secretary of State to withdraw the measure.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **02/02/23 - Introduced** (filed) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB297&version=20230SB29799INT)
2. **06/08/23 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB297&version=20230SB29798AMD)
3. **09/07/23 - Amended Assembly** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB297&version=20230SB29797AMD)
4. **10/08/23 - Chaptered** (committee substitute) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB297&version=20230SB29795CHP)
5. **SB297** (committee substitute) — [source](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB297)
6. **09/14/23 - Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billPdf.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB297&version=20230SB29796ENR)

## Votes

- Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] — **6–1** (pass) · upper
- 3rd Reading — **30–8** (pass) · upper
- Do pass. — **10–4** (pass) · lower
- Do pass as amended and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] — **6–2** (pass) · lower
- SB 297 Allen Senate Third Reading By Pellerin — **62–18** (pass) · lower
- Unfinished Business SB297 Allen et al. Concurrence — **31–8** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Allen — primary (person)
- Ashby — coauthor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2023-02-02** Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print. `introduction, reading-1`
- **2023-02-03** From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 5.
- **2023-02-15** Referred to Com. on E. & C.A. `referral-committee`
- **2023-03-13** Set for hearing March 21.
- **2023-03-21** From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 1. Page 424.) (March 21). Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable, referral-committee`
- **2023-03-28** Set for hearing April 10.
- **2023-04-10** From committee: Be ordered to second reading pursuant to Senate Rule 28.8. `committee-passage, reading-2`
- **2023-04-11** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-1, reading-2`
- **2023-05-15** Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 30. Noes 8. Page 1071.) Ordered to the Assembly. `passage, reading-1, reading-3`
- **2023-05-15** In Assembly. Read first time. Held at Desk. `reading-1`
- **2023-05-26** Referred to Com. on ELECTIONS. `referral-committee`
- **2023-06-07** From committee: Do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. (Ayes 6. Noes 2.) (June 7). `amendment-passage, committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-06-08** Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on APPR. `amendment-passage, reading-1, reading-2, referral-committee`
- **2023-06-21** June 21 hearing postponed by committee.
- **2023-06-28** From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 10. Noes 4.) (June 28). `committee-passage, committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-06-29** Read second time. Ordered to third reading. `reading-1, reading-2`
- **2023-09-07** Assembly Rule 69 suspended.
- **2023-09-07** Read third time and amended. `amendment-passage, reading-1, reading-3`
- **2023-09-07** Ordered to third reading.
- **2023-09-11** Read third time. Passed. (Ayes 62. Noes 18. Page 3137.) Ordered to the Senate. `passage, reading-1, reading-3`
- **2023-09-11** In Senate. Concurrence in Assembly amendments pending.
- **2023-09-12** Assembly amendments concurred in. (Ayes 31. Noes 8. Page 2672.) Ordered to engrossing and enrolling. `amendment-passage, committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-09-18** Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 3 p.m.
- **2023-10-08** Approved by the Governor. `executive-signature`
- **2023-10-08** Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 483, Statutes of 2023. `became-law`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/533a0690-fed7-4b11-a973-fd3e97081cdc`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official California legislature records).