Referendum on Superintendent Law Gets OK

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Opponents of a new state law that changed the duties of the state superintendent of public instruction can begin collecting signatures in their effort to repeal it.

The Secretary of State's office announced Friday that it had certified the application for the referendum.

Organizers of the referendum have until May 28 to submit 37,606 signatures of registered voters in order to get the issue on the November 2014 general election ballot.

Chairwoman Jennifer Young of Torrington has said she believes the law violates the state constitution because it stripped the superintendent of too many duties. The law replaced the superintendent as head of the state Education Department with a governor-appointed director.

The last statewide referendum on the ballot was in 1996. It dealt with term limits and failed.