Chapter 3.56
INITIATIVE PROCEDURE ON CERTAIN TAX ORDINANCES
Sections:
3.56.020 Petition – Filing – Action by council.
3.56.030 Petition – Proposed ordinance.
3.56.040 Petition signatures – Requirements.
3.56.050 Petition signatures – Certification.
3.56.060 Election – Action by taxpayer.
3.56.070 Election – Requirements.
3.56.080 Election – Publication of ordinance.
3.56.110 Adoption of ordinance – Action by clerk-treasurer.
3.56.010 Applicability.
Every ordinance imposing or altering a sales tax under Section 17(2), Chapter 49, Laws of 1982, 1st Extraordinary Session; every ordinance imposing or altering an excise tax on the sale of real property under Section 11(2) of that chapter; and every ordinance first imposing, or increasing the rate of, a business and occupation tax shall be subject to a special initiative procedure as provided in this chapter. [Ord. 723 § 1, 1983.]
3.56.020 Petition – Filing – Action by council.
A. An initiative petition proposing to repeal a tax ordinance referred to in LMC 3.56.010 may be filed at any time. The petition shall be filed with the city council, signed by a number of registered voters so registered within the city on the date of the last preceding municipal election. Upon the filing of such petition, the city council shall either:
1. Pass the proposed ordinance without alteration within 20 days after the city clerk-treasurer’s certification that the number of signatures on the petition are sufficient; or
2. Immediately after the clerk-treasurer’s certificate of sufficiency is attached to the petition, cause to be called a special election as provided by state law for submission of the proposed ordinance without alteration to a vote of the people.
B. Pending an election, the tax ordinance subject to the special initiative shall remain in effect and the tax shall continue to be collected until the result of the election repealing the ordinance is declared or certified as provided by state law. [Ord. 723 § 2, 1983.]
3.56.030 Petition – Proposed ordinance.
The special initiative petition shall include a proposed ordinance that repeals the existing tax ordinance. [Ord. 1203 § 8, 2003; Ord. 723 § 3, 1983.]
3.56.040 Petition signatures – Requirements.
Every signer to a petition submitting a proposed ordinance to the city shall add to the signature the signer’s place of residence giving street and number. The signatures need not all be appended to one paper, but one of the signers on each paper must attach thereto an affidavit stating the number of signatures thereon, that each signature thereon is a genuine signature of the person whose name it purports to be and that the statements therein made are true as such person believes. [Ord. 723 § 4, 1983.]
3.56.050 Petition signatures – Certification.
Within 10 days from the filing of a petition submitting a proposed ordinance, the city clerk-treasurer shall ascertain and append to the petition a certificate stating whether or not it is signed by a sufficient number of registered voters, using the registration records and returns of the preceding municipal election as the sources of information, and the city council shall allow extra help for that purpose, if necessary. If the signatures are found by the city clerk-treasurer to be insufficient, the petition may be amended in that respect within 10 days from the date of the certificate. Within 10 days after submission of the amended petition, the city clerk-treasurer shall make an examination thereof and append a certificate thereto in the same manner as before. If the second certificate shall also show the number of signatures to be insufficient the petition shall be returned to the person filing it. [Ord. 723 § 5, 1983.]
3.56.060 Election – Action by taxpayer.
If the city clerk-treasurer finds the petition insufficient or if the city refuses either to pass an initiative ordinance or order an election thereon, any taxpayer may commence an action in the superior court against the city and procure a decree ordering an election to be held in the city for the purpose of voting upon the proposed ordinance if the court finds the petition sufficient. [Ord. 723 § 6, 1983.]
3.56.070 Election – Requirements.
Publication of notice, the election, the canvass of the returns and declaration of the results shall be conducted in all respects as are other city elections. Any number of proposed ordinances may be voted on at the same election, but there shall not be more than one special election for the purpose during any one six-month period unless otherwise provided by state law. [Ord. 723 § 7, 1983.]
3.56.080 Election – Publication of ordinance.
The city clerk-treasurer shall cause any ordinance required to be submitted to the voters at any election to be published once in the official newspaper in the city not less than five nor more than 20 days before the election. The publication required by this section shall be in addition to the notice required in Chapter 29A.52 RCW. [Ord. 723 § 8, 1983.]
3.56.090 Ballot requirements.
The ballots used for voting upon the proposed ordinance initiated by petition shall be similar to those used at a general municipal election in the city and shall contain the words “for the ordinance” (stating the nature of the proposed ordinance) and “against the ordinance” (stating the nature of the proposed ordinance). [Ord. 723 § 9, 1983.]
3.56.100 Effective date.
If a majority of votes cast thereon favor the proposed ordinance initiated by petition, it shall become effective immediately upon certification and shall be made a part of the record of ordinances of the city. [Ord. 723 § 10, 1983.]
3.56.110 Adoption of ordinance – Action by clerk-treasurer.
Upon the adoption of an ordinance initiated by petition, the city clerk-treasurer shall write on the margin of the record thereon “ordinance by petition No. ____,” or “ordinance by vote of the people.” [Ord. 723 § 11, 1983.]