Power to the People

Here in Washington, we find ourselves in the heart of initiative season, when stalwart supporters of ground-roots 'power to the people' politics wait to ambush registered voters outside grocery stores. 

They finally got me today, outside Safeway.

I signed three of them: The Charter School Initiative, Initiative 1188 'The Protect the Initiative' Initiative, and Initiative 1185.

The Charter School Initiative will allow for the establishment of 40 Charter Schools in Washington, and has been previously voted down three other times by The People.  Gotta love an underdog, or anything that helps challenge the status quo. 

I-1188, the initiative to protect intiatives, clarifies some language protecting the people who are out collecting signatures on initiatives, as well as the people that have PUT their signatures on initiatives.  It also lengthens the time period from submitting an initiative to completion of collecting signatures from 10 months to 16 months, so Yay!  More time having to dodge the signature collectors that I now couldn't abuse due to the same initiative.

Initiative 1185 has been passed before under a different number, and would require either a 2/3rds majority vote of the Legislature, or simple majority vote By the People to raise any taxes.  Under this initiative, repealing a tax break would count as raising taxes.  Like I said, this was previously voted on in a positive manner By the People as I-1053, but is currently being challenged by Washington House Democrats for being an unconstitutional check on the power of the Legislature, since the Washington State Constitution mentions nothing about a 2/3rd majority.

There is not enough difference between I-1185 and I-1053 to spare the newer initiative the same fate as the old one...but, if it get's passed a 2nd time, then you have to hope that the Republicans in the Legislature can seize on this opportunity to introduce an Ammendment to the Washignton Constitution.