Today’s House vote on same-sex marriage, and what happens next

Today should be the day the state Legislature finishes work on a bill to legalize marriage for same-sex couples.

Starting around 1 p.m., the state House of Representatives will begin its debate and vote on the bill to make it legal for gay and lesbian couples to marry.

You can watch it live online on TVW.

Then what happens?

Once passed, the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate must sign it and forward to Gov. Chris Gregoire. That can occur quickly or be delayed. Once she receives it, she has five days to act on it.

Once she signs it, the clock begins to tick for those wanting to repeal it via referendum.

Below is information issued today by the Secretary of State’s Office. You can learn more here.

From the Secretary of State’s Office

Q. When would the legislation ordinarily take effect?

A. 90 days after adjournment of the regular session, or June 7 this year.

Q. When can a referendum be filed?

A. After Gov. Chris Gregoire has taken action on the bill. She has five working days to act, once the bill is actually delivered to her desk. She has said she will sign the bill, although it is possible she could veto sections or amendments that were attached. The referendum measure must include the text of the bill as passed by the Legislature and acted upon by the governor.

Q. How long does it take for a referendum to be processed and ready for signature-gathering?

A. Roughly three weeks. The measure is sent to the Attorney General’s Office for preparation of a ballot title, concise description and ballot summary. The AG has five working days to complete this. Within five working days, anyone dissatisfied with the ballot title or summary may petition the Thurston County Superior Court for changes. The court is required to “expeditiously review” the request(s) and render a decision within five days. The decision of the court is final. After that, sponsors can print petitions and begin collecting signatures.

Q. What is the deadline for turning in signatures?

A. June 6.

Q. How many signatures are required?

A. The bare minimum is 120,577, or 4 percent of all votes cast in the 2008 election for governor. The state Elections Division suggests turning in 150,000 or more, to cover invalid and duplicate signatures. The average error rate is 18 percent.

Q. How long does the signature check take?

A. If sponsors submit a large enough pad, a random sample can be checked in about two weeks; a full every-signature check can take a month. Crews will be checking to make sure the signer is a properly registered Washington voter, that the signature matches the one of file, and that the person didn’t sign more than once. Both sides are welcome to have a small number of observers whenever the signature-verification is underway.

Q. What happens to the gay-marriage law in the meantime?

A. The filing of the signatures suspends the effective date. If the signature-verification process shows an insufficient number of signatures, then the law goes into effect right away. If the referendum is qualified for the ballot, then the law remains on hold until the voters make their decision in November and the General Election results are certified on Dec. 6.

Q. Is there a “window” in which same-sex couples can marry, between the bill being approved by the Legislature and Governor and a vote in November?

A. No.

Q. What is the question posed to voters by the referendum?

A. The referendum places the text of the bill before them. An affirmative vote is to uphold the law as it passed the Legislature and was signed by the governor. A vote to reject wipes out the measure and it does not take effect. As with 2009 vote on Referendum 71, the “everything but marriage” law, the sponsors who mount the effort to get the measure on the ballot will be asking for a “reject” vote on their own referendum. Bottom line: a vote to “approve” upholds the new law, a vote to “reject” abolishes the bill.

Q. Does the referendum require a simple majority or a supermajority?

A. A referendum takes a simple majority to pass.