INITIATIVE CASE STUDY INITIATIVE 940

INTRODUCING I-940 In 2017, citizen activists gathered signatures for an initiative that would make it easier to prosecute law enforcement officers for alleged misuse of force. In December 2017, they finally gathered enough signatures to submit the initiative to the Washington State Legislature. The initiative became known as I-940.

NEXT STEPS Washington’s constitution gives the state legislature three choices when an initiative arrives: Accept the initiative as-is. If the legislature does this, the initiative becomes a law.

NEXT STEPS Washington’s constitution gives the state legislature three choices when an initiative arrives: Accept the initiative as-is. Reject the initiative. If the legislature does this, the initiative goes on the ballot in the next general election for voters to accept or reject.

NEXT STEPS Washington’s constitution gives the state legislature three choices when an initiative arrives: Accept the initiative as-is. Reject the initiative. Reject the initiative and replace it with a different measure on the same subject. If this happens, both measures go on the ballot in the next election.

? An initiative enacted as-is does not have to go to the voters. Why do think that is? Why do you think initiatives that are rejected or replaced DO have to go to the voters? Between the process of developing the initiative and the required number of voter signatures, the initiative has essentially already been put to the people. The initiative process is a way for citizens to pass laws, so voters get the last word—not the legislature.

REJECT & REPLACE If the state legislature chooses Option 3 and both measures go on the ballot, voters may choose… Measure A OR Measure B Neither

? Why can’t voters choose BOTH measures? Think about the three choices the legislature has for responding to an initiative. What can the legislature NOT do? Are there other possible options that the Washington constitution could have given the legislature but didn’t? The two measures conflict with each other. The legislature can NOT pass an amended version of the initiative.

OFFICIAL OPPOSITION I-940 was created and supported by community activists who wanted to address issues with the use of force by law enforcement officers. But law enforcement officials opposed some of the things that were included in I-940 and felt the law could endanger officers. People expected that the state legislature would reject I-940 and that it would go directly to the ballot in November 2018.

CHOICE #4? Members of the legislature got all the interested groups together—community activists, law enforcement, and others—to develop a compromise measure. The legislature then took these two steps: Passed the compromise bill to take effect after I-940 went into effect and only if I-940 was enacted as-is. Enacted I-940 as-is.

? Where do you see these two steps on the diagram? What do you think the legislature was trying to do? Why do you think the legislature didn’t want to offer the compromise bill as a replacement measure on the ballot? Do you think the Washington State Constitution allows this? These two steps aren’t there. The legislature was trying to amend I-940 instead of accepting or rejecting it. They worried I-940 might pass as-is if presented to voters. Whether the state constitution allows this strategy was still an open question as of the time this lesson was written.

NICE TRY… A law suit was filed, and in April 2017, a Superior Court judge ruled that the legislature’s move was unconstitutional. The state appealed. What do you think the judge’s reasoning was? As of the time this lesson was written, the appeal had not been decided yet.

LINKS FOR FURTHER INFO Initiative Measure No. 940 (text) HB 3003 News: I-940 signatures delivered News: Compromise bill passes (scroll down to “Last-minute creativity”) News: State is sued over HB 3003 News: Judge rules lawmakers violated state constitution