The following letter was sent today to Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson:

Dear Attorney General Ferguson:

 I am wondering what the procedure is to have the RCW’s changed when the Washington State Supreme Court renders a decision declaring a law or part of a law unconstitutional. The Court has ruled that an initiative filed must conform to the current version of a law or it is not valid.

I have filed an initiative I-1276 which dealt with parts of RCW 43.135.034 and 2013 c 1 s 2 (Initiative 1185). In checking on the leg.wa.gov website and checking the RCW’s no mention is made of the Court’s ruling regarding the unconstitutionality of supermajority votes.

In checking with the code reviser’s office they said they are not responsible for changing the RCW’s, including even mentioning that parts of RCW 43.135.034 are no longer valid according to the Washington State Supreme Court.

I am looking at re-filing my initiative as an initiative to the legislature and do not want to file parts of it that don’t reflect the current law as ruled on by the Washington State Supreme Court.

I also think it is a disservice to the citizens of this state to have RCW’s posted that do not reflect current law including decisions of the Washington State Supreme Court.

Who makes the decisions regarding changing the RCW’s to reflect Washington State Supreme Court decisions?  What is the procedure to get changes made and what is the time-frame?

It seems to me that your office should have some role in updating the RCW’s to reflect Washington State Supreme Court decisions.  It seems this should be done in a timely fashion.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

 

Steve Zemke

Director – Tax Sanity

Sponsor of I-1276