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Herald Editorial Board

Bob Bolerjack,
Opinion Editor
bolerjack@heraldnet.com

Carol MacPherson,
Editorial Writer
cmacpherson@
heraldnet.com


Allen Funk,
Herald Publisher
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Kim Heltne,
Assistant to the Publisher
heltne@heraldnet.com

Send letters to the editor by e-mail to letters@heraldnet.com, by fax to 425-339-3458 or mail to The Herald - Letters, P.O. Box 930, Everett, WA 98206.

 
WEEK IN REVIEW
Tuesday


Arlington brothers’ fight led to death, p...
Burn ban issued in Snohomish County
Woman found dead at Bothell house fire
Monday


Pearl Harbor's voices of the past
Taxes needed to close state's growing deficit?
Grant could help county's residents all be heal...
Sunday


Swine flu lingers, making traditional flu seaso...
Two vie to serve as Snohomish County prosecutor
Families get an early gift: free Christmas trees
Saturday


Gift charity draws Snohomish County families in...
Fears over commercial air service at Paine Fiel...
Donated safe gives Marysville museum a mystery
Friday


From behind bars, pal tells Colton Harris-Moore...
Commercial airlines would cause few problems at...
Fund set up to benefit children of couple kille...
Thursday


5 die of swine flu in Snohomish County
Red Cross honors acts of heroism, many by ordin...
Barista clothing rules delayed by County Council
Wednesday


Father gets 13 years in 6-year-old's fatal shoo...
‘One bad choice' blamed in death of 4 fri...
Reps. Larsen, Inslee split on Obama's plans for...
 

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Published: Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Right to referendum shouldn't be undercut

Nothing fuels voters' cynicism more than being misled by government officials. If state lawmakers want to build trust with voters, they should start by coming clean on their abuse of the emergency clause, a tactic they've used often in the recent past to preempt voters' right to second-guess them on controversial legislation.

Washington's Constitution grants the people considerable power through the initiative and referendum processes. The latter gives citizens an opportunity to veto unwanted laws passed by the Legislature by filing a referendum within 90 days after the session in question ends. If enough signatures are gathered, voters get to decide whether to keep the law as passed or reject it.

The Constitution makes one exception: The right to referendum can be bypassed if a bill is "necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety, support of the state government and its existing public institutions."

Trouble is, lawmakers have taken that definition beyond any test of reasonableness, tacking emergency clauses onto 740 bills in the past 11 years. That's 17 percent of all bills enacted. With that many emergencies, it's remarkable we've survived.

What's really going on, of course, is that lawmakers are attaching emergency clauses to many bills they think voters might challenge. Last year, Gov. Chris Gregoire vetoed emergency clauses off of 10 bills before signing them into law because, she said, an emergency clearly didn't exist.

Hopes that the state Supreme Court would put an end to such abuse were dashed in 2005, when by a 6-3 vote it ruled that an emergency is essentially whatever the Legislature says it is. In a scathing dissent, Justice Richard Sanders wrote, "I find little left of the people's right of referendum."

Yet that right remains in the Constitution. It just isn't taken seriously. If lawmakers want citizens to trust them, that needs to change.

Lawmakers should pass House Joint Resolution 4218, introduced last year by Rep. Barbara Bailey (R-Oak Harbor). It's a constitutional amendment that would require a 60 percent vote of the Legislature to attach an emergency clause to a bill. Budget bills would be exempt. If two-thirds of each chamber approves HJR 4218, it would go to voters for approval in November. If a true emergency exists (flooding, earthquake, a severe economic crisis, etc.), it won't be hard to muster a 60 percent majority to address it. But it will be harder to usurp the people's right to act as a check on the Legislature. That might make voters just a little less cynical.

1. Arlington brothers’ fight led to death, police say
2. Detectives consider slaps to father lethal
3. Woman found dead at Bothell house fire
4. Two teens hurt in collision near Granite Falls
5. Lottery win helps Lake Stevens convenience store owner pay bonuses
6. Everett man shot in groin; two men, one woman are arrested
7. I-5 car chase was result of driver's medical condition
8. CBS cancels ‘As the World Turns’
9. Jail inmates’ meal complaint omits a crucial fact
10. Locker dips toe in NFL pool
Enterprise Newspaper Snohomish County Business Journal
Zambian woman thanks students for their help
Food banks see rise in use
‘Making Spirits Bright’ in Edmonds
Wolfpack takes aim at state
Seahawks help students smile
95 and still volunteering
Sno-King joined by local TV king
Veterans back for Wildcats
Lynnwood seeks to plug $2 million budget gap
The Enterprise Online Newspaper


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