S-0078.2                   _______________________________________________

                                           SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 8208

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State of Washington                              53rd Legislature                             1993 Regular Session

By Senators Snyder, Gaspard, Wojahn, Bauer and Winsley

Read first time 01/18/93.  Referred to Committee on Government Operations.

Changing procedures for filling vacancies in certain elective offices.

          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 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, 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, 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 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.)) (1) Vacancies as may occur in either house of the legislature or in any partisan county elective office shall be filled by appointment by the appropriate board or boards of county commissioners of the affected county or counties in which the vacancy occurs.  The person appointed to fill the vacancy must be from the same legislative district, county, or county commissioner district and the same political party as the legislator or partisan county elective officer whose office has been vacated.  The person appointed shall be one of three persons nominated by the precinct committee persons of that party and from that legislative district, county, or county commissioner district.  Nominees shall be designated within fourteen days of the occurrence of the vacancy.  In case a majority of county commissioners responsible for filling the vacancy do not agree upon the appointment within twenty-eight days after the vacancy occurs, the governor shall within twenty-eight days thereafter, and from the list of nominees provided, appoint a person to fill the vacancy.  The person so appointed shall hold office until a successor is elected at the next general election, and shall have qualified.

(2)(a) Any person appointed under this section to either house of the legislature shall hold office until his or her successor is elected at the next general election held in an even-numbered year and qualified.

(b) Any person appointed under this section to a partisan county elective office shall hold office until his or her successor is elected at the next general election and 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.

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