Washington
Washington state is likely to become the seventh state to legalize same-sex within the next two weeks, but opponents have already promised a ballot challenge would halt any summertime weddings.
As supporters celebrated the Senate’s 28-21 vote passing the measure on Wednesday night, a coalition of religious groups promised to start collecting referendum signatures as soon as the measure is signed into law. The bill still has to be approved by the House, but with the tougher hurdle of the Senate already cleared, that second vote is just a formality.
Efforts to legalize marijuana for recreational use are gaining momentum in Washington state and Colorado, despite fierce opposition from the federal government and a decades-long cultural battle over America’s most commonly used illicit drug.
Officials in Washington state on Friday said an initiative to legalize pot has enough signatures to qualify for the ballot in November. In Colorado, officials are likely this week to make a similar determination about an initiative there.
Supporters are prepared to possibly spend millions of dollars ahead of the November ballot, when they hope a strong voter turnout, particularly among youth, for the U.S. presidential election will aid their cause.
Washington state lawmakers forged ahead Monday with a bill to require ballot initiative campaigns to identify their top five donors in their advertisements.
The bill passed out of a House committee on a party-line vote, with seven Democrats in favor and four Republicans opposed.
Supporters of the legislation note that corporate spending on ballot initiatives has increased dramatically in recent years. They point to the $22 million that Costco Wholesale Corp. spent on last November’s successful initiative campaign to replace state-run liquor stores with large-scale privately owned ones. And they say the measure would make clear for voters where the money backing voter initiatives is coming from.
An effort that would effectively repeal a proposed gay marriage law in Washington state is underway before passage of the law, the AP reported.
Democratic Senator Ed Murray on Friday officially filed his bill which seeks to make Washington the seventh state in the nation to grant gay and lesbian couples the right to marry.
The state currently recognizes gay couples with domestic partnerships. A 2009 expansion of the law gave gay couples all the protections of marriage. A ballot initiative to repeal the law failed.
One day into the 2012 legislative session and initiatives already are rolling in.
Initiative entrepreneur Tim Eyman of Mukilteo may try to cash in this year on a growing public resentment of red light camera use in the state.
He’s submitted language for a ballot measure requiring every automated camera be removed unless, or until, voters approve its deployment.
Ballotpedia’s final analysis on donations to all 2011 statewide ballot measure campaigns has been released; the donations add up $85 million.
The report reveals some interesting information like the fact that the state with the highest contributions from all campaign sides from all ballot measures was in Ohio. The least amount of contributions was in Arkansas.
You can also find an overview of the contributions from supporters & opponents, a ranking of ballot measures from the most to the least contributions, and the ranking of political topic contributions where “labor” shows the most donations in Ohio on Issue 2.
THE 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has made a good ruling in Family PAC v. McKenna, a case on Washington’s law of initiative and referendum. The ruling keeps our state’s strong rules for public disclosure of campaign finances.
The rule at issue is that anyone giving more than $25 to support or oppose a ballot measure must disclose his name and address, and if giving more than $100, occupation and employer.
Two unions have filed a lawsuit in King County attempting to stop implementation of Initiative 1183, which voters approved in November and which would kick the state out of the liquor business. The unions represent nearly 1,000 workers expected to lose their jobs because of I-1183. The lawsuit claims the measure violates the single-subject rule, which requires that an initiative address just one issue.
Statewide ballot initiatives garnered the most attention in a campaign season dominated by local races. Costco-backed Initiative 1183, a ballot measure to loosen state liquor rules, passed Nov. 8, and liquor sales should start at the Issaquah-based warehouse giant and other retailers in June. Initiative 1125 — a measure to require the Legislature to approve tolls rather than the appointed state Transportation Commission — came up short on Election Day.
Initiative 1183, proposing to privatize the state liquor sales system, has created more questions than answers, according to local producers, retailers and consumers. The issue has created consternation, concern and debate. However, most professionals in the liquor business agree that the state should be out of the booze sales business and focus strictly on regulation.
Readers sent questions Wednesday about a Costco-backed voter initiative on the November ballot that would privatize the state’s liquor business. Here’s an edited version of our question-and-answer session on Initiative 1183.
State initiative advocate Tim Eyman wants a judge to decide the next step of Redmond’s first-ever, citizen-driven initiative concerning the city’s controversial traffic-enforcement program.
Eyman, a co-sponsor of the initiative, hired an attorney, who filed a lawsuit in King County Superior Court earlier today, ordering Redmond’s city clerk to forward the petition she received earlier this month to the county auditor.
Officials in Redmond, Washington are determined to have their state live up to its recent designation as a “battleground state” in the fight against red light cameras.
The city is refusing to send petitions on to King county officials despite a state law requiring them to do so. According to the mayor:
We’ve been advised by our attorney that the subject of this petition is not subject to initiative. Therefore, there’s no state law compelling us to do anything with the signatures.
After a judge fined camera maker American Traffic Solutions $10,000 for bringing a frivolous lawsuit aimed at a suppressing voters in Bellingham, some state elected officials are speaking out. State Rep. Christopher Hurst, a former police officer who says the camera revenue has become “crack cocaine” for cities, told the Seattle Times:
In a sharp blow to Mayor Mike McGinn — whose opposition to a tunnel through downtown became a centerpiece of his administration — Seattle voters gave a resounding “yes” to building the biggest deep-bore tunnel ever constructed to carry cars swiftly past the central city. The nearly 60% yes vote on a referendum clears the way for groundbreaking on the $1.9-billion tunnel, part of a $3.1-billion project to get rid of the earthquake-prone, two-level viaduct that many see as an eyesore along the scenic waterfront.