AGO Opinion Topics: COUNTY SEAT

1.         The board of county commissioners is required to canvass petitions seeking to remove the county seat; the board may not delegate the discretionary elements of the canvassing process.  2.         Canvassing of signatures on a petition to remove the county seat by the board of county commissioners is action that must be taken at a properly called meeting as set forth in the Open Public Meetings Act.  3.         There is no statutory limit on the amount of time that may elapse between the date that a petition to remove a county seat is signed and the date when the petition is submitted to the county legislative authority.  4.         Signatures on a petition to remove the county seat may be withdrawn, and serial petitions adding signatures may be submitted, prior to the statutory deadline for filing any removal petition.