S-3996               _______________________________________________

                                         SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 8225

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State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1988 Regular Session

By Senators McCaslin and Zimmerman

Read first time 1/22/88 and referred to Committee on Governmental Operations.

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 of the Constitution of the state of Washington by repealing section 15 thereof in its entirety and replacing it with a new section 15 to read as follows:

Article II, section 15.           Vacancies that occur in the state legislature or in any partisan county elective office shall be filled by appointment by the board or boards of county commissioners of the county or counties in which the vacancy occurs.

          HOME RULE COUNTIES.  The authority conferred on a board or boards of county commissioners by this section shall also be exercised by the legislative authority or authorities of counties that have adopted home rule charters.  However, with respect to the filling of vacancies in partisan county elective offices, this section shall not apply to counties that have adopted charters with  provisions inconsistent with those set forth in this section.

          RESIDENCY.  A person appointed to fill a vacancy in the state legislature shall be a resident of the legislative district that was represented by the former state legislator.

          A person appointed to fill a vacancy in a county partisan elective office shall be a resident of that county.  When a vacancy occurs on a board of county commissioners, the person appointed to fill the vacancy shall be a resident of the district of the former county commissioner.

           NOMINEES.  A person appointed to fill a vacancy under this section shall also be one of three nominees of the former officeholder's political party.  Party nominees shall be designated by the county central committee, unless the vacancy occurs in a state legislative district comprising territory within more than one county, in which case the nominees shall be designated by the state central committee.  Party nominees shall be designated within fourteen days of the occurrence of the vacancy.  Only persons who will agree to accept the appointment shall be designated as nominees.

          If the former officeholder was elected as an independent, any otherwise qualified person may be appointed to fill the vacancy.

          MULTICOUNTY LEGISLATIVE DISTRICTS. Vacancies that occur in a state legislative district comprising territory within more than one county shall be filled by appointment by the collective action of the boards of county commissioners within the district, voting in joint session.  A proportional voting method prescribed by the legislature by statute shall be used which ensures that the cumulative voting weight of each county's board of county commissioners amounts to the county's proportion of the total number of votes cast for the vacated position in the preceding election.

          APPOINTMENT BY GOVERNOR.  If a vacancy under this section is not filled within twenty-eight days of the occurrence of the vacancy, the governor shall appoint one of the three party nominees to fill the vacancy within forty-two days of the occurrence of the vacancy.

          If the majority of positions of a board of county commissioners are vacant, the governor shall appoint to the board that number of persons necessary to establish a majority of filled positions within twenty-eight days of the occurrence of each vacancy.  Appointees shall be selected from nominees designated by the party of the former officeholder, as prescribed in this section.

           TERM OF OFFICE.  A person appointed to fill a vacancy in an office under this section shall hold office until a successor (a) is elected at the next general election held in an even-numbered year as prescribed by the legislature by statute and (b) 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.

          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the ballot title of the foregoing constitutional amendment shall be as follows:  "Shall proportional voting for filling vacancies in multicounty state legislative districts be required, and other vacancy-filling procedures be revised?"