Democrats’ plan to revamp WA's initiative process stirs backlash

Majority Democrats in the state Legislature are pushing changes they say will restore integrity to Washington’s venerable initiative process.

Opponents contend the moves will effectively block residents’ direct path to the ballot to pass laws of their own making.

Bills introduced in the House and Senate would bar paying a person for each signature they collect. And they would allow legal action against those suspected of violations.

The legislation also would add a new step at the front end of the process by requiring a person, at the time they fill out paperwork and pay the fee for an initiative, to also submit signatures of 1,000 registered voters as a show of support for a proposed measure.

The debate, which played out in Senate and House committees last week, appears to be a byproduct of Democrats’ and their allies’ vexation with Let’s Go Washington and its multi-millionaire founder Brian Heywood.

Two years ago, the conservative political group, largely underwritten with Heywood’s money, sent six initiatives to the Legislature, each aiming to repeal or revise a major policy enacted into law by Democrats over the objections of Republicans.

RELATED: Signatures filed for initiatives on parental rights, blocking trans athletes from girls’ sports

Two more dealing with parental rights and transgender athletes are on track to reach the ballot this year. Democratic leaders say they won’t hold hearings on this year’s measures.

RELATED: WA Democrats won’t hold hearings on parental rights, trans athlete initiatives

Sen. Javier Valdez, D-Seattle, said he drew up Senate Bill 5973 out of concern that this form of direct democracy has been co-opted by big money interests.

“Anyone with enough money to bankroll their way through the initiative qualifying process can force statewide votes on any issue that’s personal to them,” he said at a hearing on the bill in the Senate Committee on State Government, Tribal Affairs and Elections. Valdez is the committee chair.

The allure of making money for each signature incentivizes gatherers to use “aggressive, misleading tactics” to pad their totals to boost their compensation, he said.

Rep. Sharlett Mena, D-Tacoma, sponsor of the House legislation, said initiatives are a powerful tool of the citizenry and the bill is about making the initiative process “more perfect.”

“It is more important to me that the initiative process remains accessible to members of the community to exercise their power and their voice,” she said at a public hearing of the House State Government and Tribal Relations Committee that she chairs.

Former Secretary of State Sam Reed, a Republican, denounced the legislation as a “voter suppression bill.”

“It’s an attempt to make it even more difficult for citizens to participate in the government process. You’re doing this because you think there’s fraud? Frankly, you’re wrong,” he said.

Secretary of State Steve Hobbs, a Democrat, opposes the legislation, saying it would further burden those pursuing an initiative.

He told lawmakers he’s responded to concerns about frivolous filings with steps like hiking the fee to $156 from $5. If there’s concern with misbehaving signature gatherers, increase penalties for breaking the law, he said.

On Friday, the Senate committee advanced Valdez’s bill on a 4-3 party-line vote. Before the vote, they removed the requirement for 1,000 signatures for referendums, which send bills approved by the Legislature to the ballot.

Republican senators offered 12 amendments, most seeking to remove the requirement for pre-filed signatures or prescribe limits on citizens taking legal action over alleged violations. They did not oppose the ban on paying by signature. Democrats rejected them all.

“Basically, I hate this bill with a passion,” said Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn, author of half the amendments.

Sen. Bob Hasegawa, D-Tukwila, teetered but said that while he didn’t like the mandate for providing 1,000 signatures upfront, removing the potential issues created with the pay-per-signature method needs addressing.

“I hate raising barriers to the (initiative) process but I think getting money out of politics is the most important thing right now,” he said, before voting for the bill.

Let’s Go Washington’s Heywood told the Senate panel that because Democrats have been unable to deter or derail the group’s endeavors, they came up with this bill to “destroy the process.”

There’s no evidence of fraud with signature-gatherers, he said. “We have no incentive to pay for invalid signatures because it’s wasted money.”

House Bill 2259, sponsored by Mena, received a hearing last Wednesday. No date for a committee vote has been announced.

Checking addresses

This isn’t the only Democrat-sponsored bill targeting the initiative process.

House Bill 2260 would add a requirement for individuals gathering signatures to sign each petition they submit.

It also directs the Secretary of State’s Office to verify that the residence address listed by the person signing a petition matches the address on their voter registration. Adding this chore will nearly halve the number of signatures verified per hour, according to the secretary of state.

At a hearing Wednesday, supporters said the bill will provide much-needed accountability for signature collection. Opponents, including Hobbs and Reed, said it could lead to petitions getting tossed out simply because a legal voter moved at some point after signing.

As part of the verification process, the state does a 3% random sample of submitted signatures for accuracy. Address verification would be added to that process, so not every submitted signature will need to be checked.

A fiscal analysis projects it will cost $3 million this budget and $4.78 million in future bienniums to pay for added staff and equipment.

This bill has not been scheduled for a committee vote and there is currently no companion bill in the Senate.

Hundreds of thousands of signatures are required to qualify either an initiative to the Legislature or one for the ballot. Work is now underway to verify signatures and certify two Let’s Go Washington-sponsored measures for this fall’s election.

Supporters turned in 30,717 pages of petitions containing 418,666 signatures for IL26-001 focused on parental rights, the secretary of state’s office reported. There were 32,078 pages and 444,434 signatures for IL26-638 to bar transgender athletes from girls’ sports.

On Thursday, the secretary of state notified lawmakers that certification of the latter measure was done.

This story was originally published by the Washington State Standard.