Muni News
VOLUME 90, ISSUE 5  - MAY Special Edition 2000

What You Don't Know About Initiatives Can Harm You
By Deryl Brown-Archie, Trustee

The League will be forming Ballot Issues committees to analyze and recommend League positions on the initiatives likely to be on the ballot in the next general election. League Members who wish to participate in the process should contact the League office by email at muni@munileague.org  or phone (206)622-8333 to submit their names for the committee.

The initiative process has been the subject of much recent controversy. Some government experts view it as an unwelcome intrusion into the political process by special interest groups without the adequate discussion provided by the legislative process. Many citizen activists view it as essential access to an out of touch government. While the debate continues, the League recognizes that initiatives remain an important source of laws that needs review.

Any registered voter may author an initiative and send it to the Secretary of State. The proposed initiative may be directed to the people for vote or directed to the legislature for legislative action. Once received, the proposed initiative language is submitted to the Code Reviser for review. The initiative is assigned a number after Code Reviser staff and the sponsor officially approve its final language. Then the Attorney General's Office is given 7 days to prepare an official ballot title and summary. Once this step is completed sponsors must obtain a sufficient number of signatures on the petition supporting the initiative by specified deadlines.

As of May 8, 2000, 8 initiatives to the legislature have been assigned numbers with an additional 4 pending. There are 35 initiatives to the people assigned numbers and 14 more awaiting review. The deadline for filing signature petitions for the initiatives to the people is 4 months before the general election or 5:00 p.m. on July 7, 2000 and 10 days before the regular session or 5:00 p.m. on December 29, 2000 for the initiatives to the legislature. To qualify this year, a petition must contain the signatures of at least 179,248 registered voters.

The Secretary of State's office maintains a list of current initiatives on its website. The site address is www.secstate.wa.gov/inits/leg2000.htm . League staff reports the website is an excellent source of information on the process and history of initiatives in Washington.