AN ACT Relating to
elections in cities and towns; amending RCW 35.13.090, 35.13.100, 35.16.050,
35.17.260, 35.17.270, 35A.01.040, and 35A.29.170; adding a new section to
chapter 35.21 RCW; and repealing RCW 35.16.020.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 35.13.090 and 1973
1st ex.s. c 164 s 8 are each amended to read as follows:
((On the Monday next
succeeding the annexation election, the county canvassing board shall proceed
to canvass the returns thereof and shall submit the statement of canvass to the
board of county commissioners.))
(1) The
proposition for or against annexation or for or against annexation and adoption
of the comprehensive plan, or for or against creation of a community municipal
corporation, or any combination thereof, as the case may be, shall be deemed
approved if a majority of the votes cast on that proposition are cast in favor
of annexation or in favor of annexation and adoption of the comprehensive plan,
or for creation of the community municipal corporation, or any combination
thereof, as the case may be.
(2) If a
proposition for or against assumption of all or any portion of indebtedness was
submitted to the ((electorate)) registered voters, it shall be
deemed approved if a majority of at least three-fifths of the ((electors))
registered voters of the territory proposed to be annexed voting on such
proposition vote in favor thereof, and the number of ((persons)) registered
voters voting on such proposition constitutes not less than forty percent
of the total number of votes cast in such territory at the last preceding
general election.
(3) If either or
both propositions were approved by the ((electors)) registered voters,
the ((board shall enter a finding to that effect on its minutes, a certified
copy of which)) county auditor shall ((be forthwith transmitted
to and filed with)) on completion of the canvassing of the returns
transmit to the county legislative authority and to the clerk of the city
or town to which annexation is proposed a certificate of the election
results, together with a certified abstract of the vote showing the whole
number who voted at the election, the number of votes cast for annexation and
the number cast against annexation or for annexation and adoption of the
comprehensive plan and the number cast against annexation and adoption of the comprehensive
plan or for creation of a community municipal corporation and the number cast
against creation of a community municipal corporation, or any combination
thereof, as the case may be((, and)).
(4) If a
proposition for assumption of all or of any portion of indebtedness was
submitted to the ((electorate)) registered voters, the abstract
shall include the number of votes cast for assumption of indebtedness and the
number of votes cast against assumption of indebtedness, together with a
statement of the total number of votes cast in such territory at the last
preceding general election.
(5) If the
proposition for creation of a community municipal corporation was submitted and
approved, the abstract shall include the number of votes cast for the candidates
for community council positions and certificates of election shall be issued pursuant
to RCW 29.27.100 to the successful candidates who shall assume office ((within
ten days after the election)) as soon as qualified.
Sec. 2. RCW 35.13.100 and 1973
1st ex.s. c 164 s 9 are each amended to read as follows:
((Upon filing of the
certified copy of the finding of the board of county commissioners, the clerk
shall transmit it to the legislative body of the city or town at the next
regular meeting or as soon thereafter as practicable.)) If a proposition
relating to annexation or annexation and adoption of the comprehensive plan or
creation of a community municipal corporation, or both, as the case may be was
submitted to the voters and such proposition was approved, the legislative body
shall adopt an ordinance providing for the annexation or adopt ordinances
providing for the annexation and adoption of the comprehensive plan, or adopt
an ordinance providing for the annexation and creation of a community municipal
corporation, as the case may be. If a proposition for annexation or annexation
and adoption of the comprehensive plan or creation of a community municipal
corporation, as the case may be, and a proposition for assumption of all or of
any portion of indebtedness were both submitted, and were approved, the
legislative body shall adopt an ordinance providing for the annexation or
annexation and adoption of the comprehensive plan or annexation and creation of
a community municipal corporation including the assumption of all or of any
portion of indebtedness. If the propositions were submitted and only the
annexation or annexation and adoption of the comprehensive plan or annexation
and creation of a community municipal corporation proposition was approved, the
legislative body may, if it deems it wise or expedient, adopt an ordinance
providing for the annexation or adopt ordinances providing for the annexation
and adoption of the comprehensive plan, or adopt ordinances providing for the
annexation and creation of a community municipal corporation, as the case may
be.
Sec. 3. RCW 35.16.050 and 1994 c
273 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
A certified copy of the
ordinance defining the reduced city or town limits together with a map showing
the corporate limits as altered shall be filed in accordance with RCW
29.15.026 and recorded in the office of the county auditor of the county in
which the city or town is situated, upon the effective date of the ordinance.
The new boundaries of the city or town shall take effect immediately after they
are filed and recorded with the county auditor.
Sec. 4. RCW 35.17.260 and 1965 c
7 s 35.17.260 are each amended to read as follows:
Ordinances may be
initiated by petition of ((electors)) registered voters of the
city filed with the commission. If the petition accompanying the proposed
ordinance is signed by the registered voters in the city equal in number to
twenty-five percent of the votes cast for all candidates for mayor at the last
preceding city election, and if it contains a request that, unless passed by
the commission, the ordinance be submitted to a vote of the ((people)) registered
voters of the city, the commission shall either:
(1) Pass the proposed
ordinance without alteration within twenty days after the ((city clerk's))
county auditor's certificate ((that the number of signatures on the
petition are sufficient)) of sufficiency has been received by the
commission; or
(2) Immediately after
the ((clerk's)) county auditor's certificate of sufficiency ((is
attached to)) for the petition is received, cause to be
called a special election to be held ((not less than thirty nor more than
sixty)) on the next election date, as provided in RCW 29.13.020, that
occurs not less than forty-five days thereafter, for submission of the
proposed ordinance without alteration, to a vote of the people unless a general
election will occur within ninety days, in which event submission must be made
((thereat)) on the general election ballot.
Sec. 5. RCW 35.17.270 and 1965 c
7 s 35.17.270 are each amended to read as follows:
((Every signer to a
petition submitting a proposed ordinance to the commission shall add to his
signature his place of residence giving street and number. The signatures need
not all be appended to one paper, but one of the signers on each paper must
attach thereto an affidavit stating the number of signatures thereon, that each
signature thereon is a genuine signature of the person whose name it purports
to be and that the statements therein made are true as he believes.)) The
petitioner preparing an initiative petition for submission to the commission
shall follow the procedures established in section 6 of this act.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
6. A new section is added
to chapter 35.21 RCW to read as follows:
Wherever in this title
petitions are required to be signed and filed, the following rules shall govern
the sufficiency thereof:
(1) A petition may
include any page or group of pages containing an identical text or prayer
intended by the circulators, signers or sponsors to be presented and considered
as one petition and containing the following essential elements when
applicable, except that the elements referred to in (d) and (e) of this
subsection are essential for petitions referring or initiating legislative
matters to the voters, but are directory as to other petitions:
(a) The text or prayer
of the petition which shall be a concise statement of the action or relief
sought by petitioners and shall include a reference to the applicable state
statute or city ordinance, if any;
(b) If the petition
initiates or refers an ordinance, a true copy thereof;
(c) If the petition
seeks the annexation, incorporation, withdrawal, or reduction of an area for
any purpose, an accurate legal description of the area proposed for such action
and if practical, a map of the area;
(d) Numbered lines for
signatures with space provided beside each signature for the name and address
of the signer and the date of signing;
(e) The warning
statement prescribed in subsection (2) of this section.
(2) Petitions shall be
printed or typed on single sheets of white paper of good quality and each sheet
of petition paper having a space thereon for signatures shall contain the text
or prayer of the petition and the following warning:
WARNING
Every
person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name, or who
knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition seeking
an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a petition when he or
she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes herein any false
statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Each signature shall be
executed in ink or indelible pencil and shall be followed by the name and
address of the signer and the date of signing.
(3) The term
"signer" means any person who signs his or her own name to the
petition.
(4) To be sufficient a
petition must contain valid signatures of qualified registered voters or
property owners, as the case may be, in the number required by the applicable
statute or ordinance. Within three working days after the filing of a
petition, the officer with whom the petition is filed shall transmit the
petition to the county auditor for petitions signed by registered voters, or to
the county assessor for petitions signed by property owners for determination
of sufficiency. The officer whose duty it is to determine the sufficiency of
the petition shall proceed to make such a determination with reasonable
promptness and shall file with the officer receiving the petition for filing a
certificate stating the date upon which such determination was begun, which
date shall be referred to as the terminal date. Additional pages of one or
more signatures may be added to the petition by filing the same with the appropriate
filing officer prior to such terminal date. Any signer of a filed petition may
withdraw his or her signature by a written request for withdrawal filed with
the receiving officer prior to such terminal date. Such written request shall
so sufficiently describe the petition as to make identification of the person
and the petition certain. The name of any person seeking to withdraw shall be
signed exactly the same as contained on the petition and, after the filing of
such request for withdrawal, prior to the terminal date, the signature of any
person seeking such withdrawal shall be deemed withdrawn.
(5) Petitions
containing the required number of signatures shall be accepted as prima facie
valid until their invalidity has been proved.
(6) A variation on
petitions between the signatures on the petition and that on the voter's
permanent registration caused by the substitution of initials instead of the
first or middle names, or both, shall not invalidate the signature on the
petition if the surname and handwriting are the same.
(7) Signatures,
including the original, of any person who has signed a petition two or more
times shall be stricken.
(8) Signatures followed
by a date of signing which is more than six months prior to the date of filing
of the petition shall be stricken.
(9) When petitions are
required to be signed by the owners of property, the determination shall be
made by the county assessor. Where validation of signatures to the petition is
required, the following shall apply:
(a) The signature of a
record owner, as determined by the records of the county auditor, shall be
sufficient without the signature of his or her spouse;
(b) In the case of
mortgaged property, the signature of the mortgagor shall be sufficient, without
the signature of his or her spouse;
(c) In the case of
property purchased on contract, the signature of the contract purchaser, as
shown by the records of the county auditor, shall be deemed sufficient, without
the signature of his or her spouse;
(d) Any officer of a
corporation owning land within the area involved who is duly authorized to
execute deeds or encumbrances on behalf of the corporation, may sign on behalf
of such corporation, and shall attach to the petition a certified excerpt from
the bylaws of such corporation showing such authority;
(e) When property
stands in the name of a deceased person or any person for whom a guardian has
been appointed, the signature of the executor, administrator, or guardian, as
the case may be, shall be equivalent to the signature of the owner of the
property.
(10) The
officer who is responsible for determining the sufficiency of the petition
shall do so in writing and transmit the written certificate to the officer with
whom the petition was originally filed.
Sec. 7. RCW 35A.01.040 and 1985
c 281 s 26 are each amended to read as follows:
Wherever in this title
petitions are required to be signed and filed, the following rules shall govern
the sufficiency thereof:
(1) A petition may include
any page or group of pages containing an identical text or prayer intended by
the circulators, signers or sponsors to be presented and considered as one
petition and containing the following essential elements when applicable,
except that the elements referred to in ((subdivisions)) (d) and (e) ((hereof))
of this subsection are essential for petitions referring or initiating
legislative matters to the voters, but are directory as to other petitions:
(a) The text or prayer
of the petition which shall be a concise statement of the action or relief
sought by petitioners and shall include a reference to the applicable state
statute or city ordinance, if any;
(b) If the petition
initiates or refers an ordinance, a true copy thereof;
(c) If the petition seeks
the annexation, incorporation, withdrawal, or reduction of an area for any
purpose, an accurate legal description of the area proposed for such action and
if practical, a map of the area;
(d) Numbered lines for
signatures with space provided beside each signature for the name and
address of the signer and the date of signing ((and the address of the
signer));
(e) The warning
statement prescribed in subsection (2) of this section.
(2) Petitions shall be
printed or typed on single sheets of white paper of good quality and each sheet
of petition paper having a space thereon for signatures shall contain the text
or prayer of the petition and the following warning:
WARNING
Every
person who signs this petition with any other than his or her true name,
or who knowingly signs more than one of these petitions, or signs a petition
seeking an election when he or she is not a legal voter, or signs a
petition when he or she is otherwise not qualified to sign, or who makes
herein any false statement, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
Each signature shall be
executed in ink or indelible pencil and shall be followed by the name and
address of the signer and the date of signing ((and the address of the
signer)).
(3) The term
"signer" means any person who signs his or her own name to the
petition.
(4) To be sufficient a
petition must contain valid signatures of qualified ((electors)) registered
voters or property owners, as the case may be, in the number required by
the applicable statute or ordinance. Within three working days after the
filing of a petition, the officer ((or officers)) with whom the
petition is filed shall transmit the petition to the county auditor for
petitions signed by registered voters, or to the county assessor for petitions
signed by property owners for determination of sufficiency. The officer
whose duty it is to determine the sufficiency of the petition shall proceed to
make such a determination with reasonable promptness and shall file with the
officer receiving the petition for filing a certificate stating the date upon
which such determination was begun, which date shall be referred to as the
terminal date. Additional pages of one or more signatures may be added to the
petition by filing the same with the appropriate filing officer prior to such
terminal date. Any signer of a filed petition may withdraw his or her
signature by a written request for withdrawal filed with the receiving officer
prior to such terminal date. Such written request shall so sufficiently
describe the petition as to make identification of the person and the petition
certain. The name of any person seeking to withdraw shall be signed exactly
the same as contained on the petition and, after the filing of such request for
withdrawal, prior to the terminal date, the signature of any person seeking
such withdrawal shall be deemed withdrawn.
(5) Petitions
containing the required number of signatures shall be accepted as prima facie
valid until their invalidity has been proved.
(6) A variation on
petitions between the signatures on the petition and that on the voter's
permanent registration caused by the substitution of initials instead of the
first or middle names, or both, shall not invalidate the signature on the
petition if the surname and handwriting are the same.
(7) Signatures,
including the original, of any person who has signed a petition two or more
times shall be stricken.
(8) Signatures followed
by a date of signing which is more than six months prior to the date of filing
of the petition shall be stricken.
(9) When petitions are
required to be signed by the owners of property, the determination shall be
made by the county assessor. Where validation of signatures to the petition is
required, the following shall apply:
(a) The signature of a
record owner, as determined by the records of the county auditor, shall be
sufficient without the signature of his or her spouse;
(b) In the case of
mortgaged property, the signature of the mortgagor shall be sufficient, without
the signature of his or her spouse;
(c) In the case of
property purchased on contract, the signature of the contract purchaser, as
shown by the records of the county auditor, shall be deemed sufficient, without
the signature of his or her spouse;
(d) Any officer of a
corporation owning land within the area involved who is duly authorized to
execute deeds or encumbrances on behalf of the corporation, may sign on behalf
of such corporation, and shall attach to the petition a certified excerpt from
the bylaws of such corporation showing such authority;
(e) When property
stands in the name of a deceased person or any person for whom a guardian has
been appointed, the signature of the executor, administrator, or guardian, as
the case may be, shall be equivalent to the signature of the owner of the
property.
(10)
The officer who is responsible for determining the sufficiency of the petition
shall do so in writing and transmit the written certificate to the officer with
whom the petition was originally filed.
Sec. 8. RCW 35A.29.170 and 1967
ex.s. c 119 s 35A.29.170 are each amended to read as follows:
Initiative and
referendum petitions authorized to be filed under provisions of this title, or
authorized by charter, or authorized for code cities having the commission form
of government as provided by chapter 35.17 RCW, shall be in substantial
compliance with the provisions of RCW 35A.01.040 as to form and content of the
petition, insofar as such provisions are applicable; shall contain a true copy
of a resolution or ordinance sought to be referred to the voters; and must
contain valid signatures of ((qualified electors)) registered voters
of the code city in the number required by the applicable provision of this
title. Except when otherwise provided by statute, referendum petitions must be
filed with the clerk of the legislative body of the code city within ninety
days after the passage of the resolution or ordinance sought to be referred to
the voters, or within such lesser number of days as may be authorized by
statute or charter in order to precede the effective date of an ordinance:
PROVIDED, That nothing herein shall be construed to abrogate or affect an
exemption from initiative and/or referendum provided by a code city charter.
The clerk shall transmit the petition to the county auditor who shall
determine the sufficiency of the petition under the rules set forth in RCW
35A.01.040. When a referendum petition is filed with the clerk, the
legislative action sought to be referred to the voters shall be suspended from
taking effect. Such suspension shall terminate when: (1) There is a final
determination of insufficiency or untimeliness of the referendum petition; or
(2) the legislative action so referred is approved by the voters at a
referendum election.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 9. RCW 35.16.020 and 1994 c 273 s 2, 1985 c
469 s 19, & 1965 c 7 s 35.16.020 are each repealed.
