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SUBSTITUTE SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 138
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AS AMENDED BY THE FREECONFERENCE COMMITTEE
Passed Legislature - 1986 Reg.
State of Washington 49th Legislature 1986 Regular Session
By Senate Committee on Governmental Operations (originally sponsored by Senators Granlund, Zimmerman and Thompson)
Read first time 2/6/86.
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))
(1) Vacancies ((as may)) that occur in either house of the
state legislature or in any partisan county elective office shall be
filled by appointment by the ((board of county commissioners)) legislative
authority of the county in which the vacancy occurs((: PROVIDED, That)).
The person appointed to fill the vacancy must be from the same legislative
district, county, or county ((commissioner)) legislative
authority district ((and the same political party)) as the
legislator or partisan county elective officer whose office has been vacated((,
and)). The person appointed shall also be one of three
persons ((who shall be)) nominated by the county central committee of ((that))
the political party((, and)) of the partisan officer whose
office has been vacated if the nominations are received by the county
legislative authority within the time prescribed by statute. In case a
majority of ((said)) the members of the county ((commissioners))
legislative authority do not agree upon the appointment within ((sixty
days after the vacancy occurs)) the time prescribed by statute, the
governor shall ((within thirty days thereafter, and)), from the
list of nominees ((provided for herein)) submitted to the county
legislative authority if the list was timely received, appoint a person who
shall be from the same legislative district, county, or county ((commissioner))
legislative authority 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 shall hold office until his 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)).
(2) If the majority of the positions of a county legislative authority are vacant, the governor shall appoint to the legislative authority that number of persons necessary to establish a majority of filled positions. A person appointed to fill such a vacancy shall be from the same county legislative authority district as the officer whose office has been vacated. If the positions are partisan elective offices, a person appointed to fill such a vacancy shall also be one of three persons nominated by the county central committee of the same political party as the officer whose office has been vacated if the nominations are received by the governor within the time prescribed by statute.
(3) In case of a vacancy occurring in a nonpartisan county elective office, other than a judicial office, the county legislative authority shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy from the same county or county legislative authority district as the officer whose office has been vacated. If a majority of the members of the county legislative authority do not agree upon the appointment within the time prescribed by statute, the governor shall appoint a person from the same county or county legislative authority district.
(4) Vacancies that occur in the office of senator or representative of a state legislative district comprising more than one county shall be filled by appointment by the joint action of the legislative authorities of the counties within the district. The person appointed to fill the vacancy shall be from the same legislative district as the legislator whose office has been vacated. The person appointed shall also be one of three persons nominated by the state central committee of the political party of the legislator whose office has been vacated if the nominations are received by the county legislative authorities within the time prescribed by statute. In joint action, the individual vote of each county legislative authority member, not disqualified from voting under subsection (5) of this section, shall collectively amount to the percentage, rounded to the nearest whole number, that the population of the county or portion of the county within the legislative district bears to the population of the entire district. The population shall be determined by the most recent federal census and shall exclude nonresident military personnel. The vacancy shall be filled if one person receives a majority percentage of the votes of the county legislative authorities. If the members of the jointly meeting county legislative authorities do not agree upon an appointment to fill the vacancy within the time prescribed by statute, the governor shall, from the list of nominees submitted to the county legislative authorities if the list was timely received, make the appointment within the time prescribed by statute.
(5) An otherwise qualified member of a county legislative authority is eligible to be appointed to fill a vacancy governed by this section only if the member does not vote in an action or joint action to fill the vacancy.
(6) The legislature shall prescribe the time limits within which the state and county central committees must submit lists of nominees, within which a county legislative authority or county legislative authorities must agree upon an appointment, and within which the governor must make appointments under the terms of this section. If lists of nominees are not timely received, the appointing authority may appoint any qualified person to fill the vacancy.
(7) A person appointed to fill a vacancy in a partisan office under this section shall hold office until a successor is elected at the next state general election as specified by statute and has been qualified.
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.