4206-S

BE IT RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON, IN LEGISLATIVE SESSION ASSEMBLED:

THAT, At the next general election to be held in this state there shall be submitted to the qualified voters of the state for their approval and ratification, or rejection, an amendment to Article II, section 15 of the Constitution of the state of Washington to read as follows:

Article II, section 15. ((~~Such vacancies as may occur in either house of the legislature or~~)) (1) A vacancy in any partisan county elective office shall be filled ((~~by appointment by the board of county commissioners of the county in which the vacancy occurs: Provided, That the person appointed to fill the vacancy must be from the same legislative district,~~)) as follows:

(a) If the partisan county elective official whose office has been vacated was elected as a member of a major political party, the vacancy shall be filled by action of a majority of the precinct committee officers of that party, who are elected to office at a general election, in precincts located in the county or county commissioner district ((and the same political party as the legislator or partisan county elective officer whose office has been vacated, and shall be one of three persons who shall be nominated by the county central committee of that party, and in case a majority of said county commissioners do not agree upon the appointment within sixty days after the vacancy occurs, the governor shall within thirty days thereafter, and from the list of nominees provided for herein, appoint a person who shall be from the same legislative district,)). The person who is appointed to fill the vacancy must reside in and be a registered voter in the county or county commissioner district ((~~and of the same political party as the legislator or partisan county elective officer whose office has been vacated, and the person so appointed~~)) as the partisan county elective official whose office has been vacated and shall hold office until ((~~his~~)) a successor is elected at the next general election((, and shall have qualified: Provided, That in case of a vacancy occurring in the office of joint senator, or joint representative, the vacancy shall be filled from a list of three nominees selected by the state central committee, by appointment by the joint action of the boards of county commissioners of the counties composing the joint senatorial or joint representative district, the person appointed to fill the vacancy must be from the same legislative district and of the same political party as the legislator whose office has been vacated, and in case a majority of said county commissioners do not agree upon the appointment within sixty days after the vacancy occurs, the governor shall within thirty days thereafter, and from the list of nominees provided for herein, appoint a person who shall be from the same legislative district and of the same political party as the legislator whose office has been vacated)) and qualifies for the office. The authority to fill the vacancy under this subsection (1)(a) shall be divested and the authority to fill the vacancy shall be made under (b) of this subsection, if the precinct committee officers, who are elected to office at a general election, fail to make the appointment within sixty days after the vacancy occurred.

(b) In all other instances, the vacancy in partisan county elective office shall be filled by appointment by the board of county commissioners of that county. The person who is appointed must reside in and be a registered voter in the county or commissioner district as the partisan county elective official whose office has been vacated, where applicable shall be of the same political party, and shall hold office until a successor is elected at the next general election and qualifies for the office. The board of county commissioners shall fill the vacancy within sixty days after the vacancy occurred, or within thirty days after the authority to fill the vacancy reverts from (a) of this subsection.

(c) If the general election at which a person is elected to fill the remainder of the term of office is the same election when the county partisan elective office would normally be filled, a single election shall be held and the person who is elected shall assume office immediately when qualified and shall be elected to both the remainder of the unexpired term of office and the new term of office.

(2) A vacancy in either house of the legislature shall be filled as follows:

(a) If the legislator whose office has been vacated was elected as a member of a major political party, the vacancy shall be filled by action of a majority of the precinct committee officers of that party, who are elected to office at a general election, in precincts located in the legislative district. The person who is appointed to fill the vacancy must reside in and be a registered voter in the same legislative district as the legislator whose office has been vacated and shall hold office until a successor is elected at the next general election and qualifies for the office. The authority to fill the vacancy under this subsection (2)(a) shall be divested and the authority to fill the vacancy shall be made under (b) of this subsection, if the precinct committee officers, who are elected to office at a general election, fail to make the appointment within thirty days after the vacancy occurred, if the vacancy occurred during a regular legislative session, or within the shorter of thirty days after the convening of a legislative session or sixty days after the vacancy occurred, if the vacancy occurred before a regular legislative session.

(b) In all other instances, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the county legislative authority of the county in which the legislative district is located. If the legislative district is located in more than one county, then the vacancy shall be filled by appointment by members of the county legislative authorities of the counties in which the legislative district is located, with the vote distributed among the members of the county legislative authorities so that the combined vote of all the members of a single county legislative authority is in direct proportion to the percentage of population of the legislative district who reside in that county and each member of that county legislative authority receiving an equal portion of that combined vote. The person who is appointed must reside in and be a registered voter in the same legislative district as the legislator whose office has been vacated, where applicable shall be of the same political party, and shall hold office until a successor is elected at the next general election and qualifies for the office. The county legislative authorities shall fill the vacancy within sixty days after the vacancy occurred, or within thirty days after the authority to fill the vacancy reverts from (a) of this subsection.

(c) If the general election at which a person is elected to fill the remainder of the term of office is the same election when the legislative office would normally be filled, a single election shall be held and the person who is elected shall assume office immediately when qualified and shall serve for both the remainder of the unexpired term of office and the new term of office.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the secretary of state shall cause notice of the foregoing constitutional amendment to be published at least four times during the four weeks next preceding the election in every legal newspaper in the state.