(

a) Except as otherwise provided in subdivision (b), no petition shall be accepted for filing unless the signatures on the petition are secured within six months of the date on which the first signature on the petition was affixed and the petition is submitted to the executive officer for filing within days after the last signature is affixed. If the elapsed time between the date on which the last signature is affixed and the date on which the petition is submitted for filing is more than days, the executive officer shall file the petition in accordance with

Section 56709. (b)

(1) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), in cities with a population of more than 100,000 residents that are located in a county with a population of over 4,000,000, no petition shall be accepted for filing unless the signatures thereon have been secured within days of the publication of the notice required pursuant to

Section and the petition is submitted to the executive officer for filing within days after the last signature is affixed. If the elapsed time between the date on which the last signature is affixed and the date on which the petition is submitted for filing is more than days, the executive officer shall file the petition in accordance with

Section 56709.

(2) This subdivision shall not apply to a petition for a special reorganization, as defined in

Section 56075.5. Subdivision (

a) shall apply to a special reorganization, as defined in

Section 56075.5, regardless of the number of residents in the city or county in which signatures have been secured on the petition. This paragraph is declaratory of existing law.