The legislature recognizes that Washington voters support initiatives in order to propose and enact laws or reject laws at an election independent of the legislature. The legislature also recognizes that informed public discussion and the exercise of the initiative power will be enhanced by an independent panel of voters who will report to the electorate on initiatives in the voters' pamphlet. Citizen initiative review panels established in other states have proven to be a useful tool for voters to gain important objective information about initiatives and increase public confidence in both the initiative process and their understanding of the proposed measures. Therefore, the legislature proposes to establish a pilot program for a citizens' review of initiatives for 2022.
This section adds a new section to an existing chapter 29A.72. Here is the modified chapter for context.
The citizens' initiative review oversight committee is established.
The committee shall have 12 members selected as follows:
Two members selected by leadership of the major political parties of the senate;
Two members selected by leadership of the major political parties of the house of representatives;
Two members selected by the governor, one of whom must be an expert in deliberative democracy;
One member selected by the director of the office of equity;
Four members from nonpartisan civic organizations, one each selected by each caucus of the senate and the house of representatives; and
The secretary of state.
The committee shall review the work of the citizens' initiative review panels to determine compliance with legislative intent.
In the interest of transparency, the committee shall:
No later than June 1, 2022, develop a committee website that features general information, meeting information, a searchable archive of all documents, and a means for public comment to reach the committee;
Publish reports that include information about experts who spoke to each citizen panel and any materials used during panel deliberations. Reports must be provided in all languages required for voting materials under the federal voting rights act of 1965, 52 U.S.C. Sec. 10503;
Disclose all documents created or received by the committee on the website as public record;
Provide 20 days' notice for any meeting held. Notice must be posted on the committee's website and published in appropriate local news sources and social media accounts. Notice must be provided in all languages required under the federal voting rights act of 1965, 52 U.S.C. Sec. 10503;
Provide online live streaming access and archive the recordings of meetings on the committee's website;
Ensure that all meeting facilities are accessible to the greatest extent possible under the Americans with disabilities act and state laws; and
Provide an explanation of the citizen panelist selection process on the committee's website as soon as practical.
This section adds a new section to an existing chapter 29A.72. Here is the modified chapter for context.
The Washington state institute for public policy shall administer the citizens' initiative review process under section 2(3) of this act.
Beginning no earlier than February 2022, the institute shall begin the process of selecting the members of the citizen panels. The institute may contract out the selection process. Each panel must have not fewer than 18 and not more than 20 members.
The institute shall work with the secretary of state to select citizens for each panel from a representative sample of anonymous electors, using survey sampling methods that, to the extent practicable, give every elector a similar chance of being selected. To the extent practicable and legally permissible, the demographic makeup of each panel must fairly reflect the population of the electorate of this state as a whole, with respect to the following characteristics:
The location of the elector's residence;
The elector's voting history;
The elector's age, race and ethnicity, political ideology, income, social and economic status, educational attainment, and gender; and
Other criteria as needed.
Panel members must be reimbursed for subsistence and travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060. Panel members must receive a stipend in the amount provided for service as a class five group member under RCW 43.03.265 for each day serving on the panel.
An employer may not dismiss or punish in any way an employee who participates as a member of a citizen panel.
No later than May 1, 2022, the committee shall enter into a written agreement with a nonpartisan organization with expertise in nonpartisan public deliberation to conduct the citizens' initiative review. The agreement shall include, but is not limited to, the following conditions:
Each citizens' initiative review panel shall be facilitated by two facilitators, one for each citizen panel. A facilitator must have experience in mediation and training people in the use of analytical skills for review of complex measures. The organization shall secure proponents and opponents of the initiative, as well as experts, to appear before the panels to make presentations and answer questions from panel members.
The organization shall promptly convene the citizen panels for up to four consecutive days and not less than 25 hours. The facilitators shall chair the panels. Each panel shall conduct public hearings in which the panel receives testimony or other information from proponents and opponents of the measure, as well as experts not affiliated with the proponents or opponents of the measure to analyze impacts of the measure and answer questions. The hearings must be open to the public.
This section adds a new section to an existing chapter 29A.72. Here is the modified chapter for context.
Each citizen panel shall prepare and submit to the secretary of state no later than August 10, 2022, a statement, written solely by, and solely containing the views of, the citizen panel, to include:
Ten key findings about the measure determined by a majority of the panel;
Five statements supporting the measure as determined by a majority of the panel; and
Five statements opposing the measure as determined by a majority of the panel.
The secretary of state shall prescribe the manner of placement of the statements submitted by the citizen panels to be printed in the voters' pamphlet. The statements prepared by each panel may not exceed more than one page in the voters' pamphlet for each initiative and must be clearly differentiated from other arguments or statements about the initiatives in the voters' pamphlet. The secretary of state must include at the beginning of the citizen panels' statements a brief description of the citizen panel process and the following explanation:
"The opinions expressed in this statement are those of the members of a citizen panel and were developed through the citizen review process and are not official opinions or positions endorsed by the State of Washington or any government agency. A citizen panel is not a judge of the constitutionality or legality of any ballot measure, and any statements about such matters are not binding on a court of law."
This section modifies existing section 29A.32.070. Here is the modified chapter for context.
The secretary of state shall determine the format and layout of the voters' pamphlet published under RCW 29A.32.010. The secretary of state shall print the pamphlet in clear, readable type on a size, quality, and weight of paper that in the judgment of the secretary of state best serves the voters. The pamphlet must contain a table of contents. Measures and arguments must be printed in the order specified by RCW 29A.72.290.
The secretary of state's name may not appear in the voters' pamphlet in his or her official capacity if the secretary is a candidate for office during the same year. His or her name may only be included as part of the information normally included for candidates.
The voters' pamphlet must provide the following information for each statewide issue on the ballot except measures for an advisory vote of the people whose requirements are provided in subsection (12) of this section:
The legal identification of the measure by serial designation or number;
The official ballot title of the measure;
A statement prepared by the attorney general explaining the law as it presently exists;
A statement prepared by the attorney general explaining the effect of the proposed measure if it becomes law;
The fiscal impact statement prepared under RCW 29A.72.025;
The statements submitted by the citizens' initiative review panels pursuant to section 4 of this act;
The total number of votes cast for and against the measure in the senate and house of representatives, if the measure has been passed by the legislature;
An argument advocating the voters' approval of the measure together with any statement in rebuttal of the opposing argument;
An argument advocating the voters' rejection of the measure together with any statement in rebuttal of the opposing argument;
Each argument or rebuttal statement must be followed by the names of the committee members who submitted them, and may be followed by a telephone number that citizens may call to obtain information on the ballot measure;
The full text of the measure;
Two pages shall be provided in the general election voters' pamphlet for each measure for an advisory vote of the people under RCW 43.135.041 and shall consist of the serial number assigned by the secretary of state under RCW 29A.72.040, the short description formulated by the attorney general under RCW 29A.72.283, the tax increase's most up‑to‑date ten‑year cost projection, including a year‑by‑year breakdown, by the office of financial management under RCW 43.135.031, and the names of the legislators, and their contact information, and how they voted on the increase upon final passage so they can provide information to, and answer questions from, the public. For the purposes of this subsection, "names of legislators, and their contact information" includes each legislator's position (senator or representative), first name, last name, party affiliation (for example, Democrat or Republican), city or town they live in, office phone number, and office email address.
After the 2022 general election, the Washington state institute for public policy shall contract for an evaluation of the effectiveness of the citizens' initiative review process. The results of the evaluation must be reported to the appropriate committees of the legislature. To the extent practicable, the institute shall seek a pro bono evaluation by a well-qualified organization. The evaluation must determine the effectiveness of the pilot citizens' initiative review process as defined by the criteria used in previous evaluations funded by the national science foundation.