Initiative Accountability

This page was last updated on

01.10.07

INITIATIVE ACCOUNTABILITY

BACKGROUND -- In 1912, Washington became one of the first states to adopt the initiative and referendum process, thus securing the rights of citizens to make and remake their laws, and to provide a check over the decisions of their Legislature. Today, if Washingtonians are dissatisfied with certain laws or feel new laws are needed, they can petition to place proposed legislation on the ballot. It is because the electorate can "initiate" legislation that the process is termed "Initiative."

The initiative process is a treasured tool for our citizens. Over the years, the citizens of this state have used the initiative process for many diverse reasons. The labor movement has used this tool to address issues we felt the Legislature had failed to address, such as two minimum-wage initiatives. In 1998, we made history with I-688, as the first state in the country to require automatic annual adjustments for inflation to our state’s minimum wage. The labor movement used a total volunteer effort to collect more than 288,000 signatures to get I-688 on the ballot.

Unfortunately, over the last decade this tool of the people has become a big business for paid signature gathering firms. Individuals or groups wealthy enough to "buy" the signatures needed to place a measure on the ballot have little problem finding individuals willing to work for a per-signature bounty. These itinerant petitioners travel state to state and have no vested interest in the policies or effects on the citizens of this state as they circulate multiple initiative petitions for $1 to $5 per signature. We know virtually nothing about these individuals, including whether they have been convicted in other states of fraud or forgery (or any other felony).

LABOR’S POSITION -- The Washington State Labor Council has been working with a rare coalition of business, labor, environmental, education and good government groups who have all agreed that it’s time to clean up the initiative system. We are finalizing a package of accountability measures to put rules in place for both the signature gathering firms and the paid signature gatherers who benefit financially from the initiative process. These accountability proposals include:

Registration requirements with the Secretary of State and other state agencies for paid signature gathering firms;
Registration and licensing requirements with the Department of Licensing for individuals engaged in "for profit" signature gathering;
Require a signed and notarized statement on every initiative petition by the individual (paid or volunteer) that circulated that petition.
New training requirements for both paid and volunteer signature gatherers;
Eliminate "pay per signature" and require that all paid signature gatherers be paid by the hour;
Fund investigative staff positions to address complaints or allegations of illegal activities in the initiative process;
Require tougher penalties for individuals or firms found guilty of fraud or forgery in the initiative process.

While the initiative process has become prostituted, we strongly believe that it is a valuable and often needed tool for the citizens of our state. Through these reforms, we hope to return the process to the people.

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