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.)) Vacancies that occur in either house of the legislature or in any county elective office shall be filled by appointment by the legislative authority of the county in which the vacancy occurs. A member of the county legislative authority is eligible to be appointed to fill the vacancy if, prior to the commencement of the vacancy-filling deliberations and vote, the member resigns from office.

(1) The person appointed to fill the vacancy shall be from the same legislative district, county, or county legislative authority district as the legislator or county elective official whose office has been vacated. When a vacancy occurs in a partisan county elective office, the appointee shall also be one of three nominees of the county central committee of the political party of the person whose office has been vacated if the county central committee submits the list of its nominees to the county legislative authority within thirty days of the occurrence of the vacancy. If the county central committee fails to submit the list of its nominees within the allotted period, the county legislative authority may appoint any qualified person to fill the vacancy. When a vacancy occurs in a nonpartisan county elective office, nominees shall be selected by the county legislative authority.

(2) Vacancies that occur in the office of senator or representative of a 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 appointee shall also be one of three nominees of the state central committee of the political party of the legislator whose office has been vacated if the state central committee submits the list of its nominees to the county legislative authorities within thirty days of the occurrence of the vacancy. If the state central committee fails to submit the list of its nominees within the allotted period, the county legislative authorities may appoint any qualified person to fill the vacancy. In joint action, the individual vote of each county legislative authority member shall collectively amount to the percent, 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, according to the most recent federal census. The vacancy shall be filled if one person receives a majority percentage of the votes of the county legislative authorities.

(3) If a majority of the members of the individual or jointly meeting legislative authorities do not agree upon an appointment to fill the legislative or county elective office vacancy within sixty days of the occurrence of the vacancy, the governor shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy within thirty days thereafter. The appointment to a partisan office shall be made from the list of nominees submitted to the county legislative authority or jointly meeting authorities from the appropriate county or state party central committees if the list had been submitted within the allotted thirty-day period. If the list of nominees had not been submitted within the allotted period, or if the office is nonpartisan, the governor may appoint any qualified person to fill the vacancy.

(4) The person appointed shall hold office until a successor is elected at a general election 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.