OLYMPIA — Secretary of State Steve Hobbs sent official notification to the Legislature Monday that six initiatives to the Legislature have been granted provisional certification while signatures are verified. The six initiatives are:
- Initiative to the Legislature no. 2081 concerning parental rights relating to their children’s public school education.
- Initiative to the Legislature no. 2109 concerning taxes.
- Initiative to the Legislature no. 2111 concerning taxes.
- Initiative to the Legislature no. 2113 concerning vehicular pursuits by police officers.
- Initiative to the Legislature no. 2117 concerning carbon tax credit trading.
- Initiative to the Legislature no. 2124 concerning state long term care insurance.
The signatures on the initiatives are being verified by the Office of the Secretary of State Elections Division team using a state-mandated process of examining a 3% random sample of submitted signatures. The statistics will be published on a dedicated page of the Office of the Secretary of State website.
State law requires the Secretary of State to notify the Legislature at the opening of its session of any proposed initiatives to the Legislature, and to provide follow-up notification as soon as signature verification is complete.
“Many significant state laws have been adopted due to the initiative process since Washington became one of the first states to enact it in 1912,” Secretary Hobbs said. “My office’s responsibility is to ensure it runs fairly, efficiently, and smoothly.”
If sufficient signatures are verified, the Legislature may approve an initiative or send it to voters. If an initiative is rejected by the Legislature, or the Legislature takes no action by the end of the Legislative session on March 7, the Secretary of State will certify the initiative for the next General Election. The Legislature may also pass an alternative proposal to accompany an initiative on the ballot.
Washington’s Office of the Secretary of State oversees a number of areas within state government, including managing state elections, registering corporations and charities, and governing the use of the state flag and state seal. The office also manages the State Archives and the State Library, documents extraordinary stories in Washington’s history through Legacy Washington, oversees the Combined Fund Drive for charitable giving by state employees, and administers the state’s Address Confidentiality Program to help protect survivors of crime.