Legislative Story --Story #3

ESB 6754 identifies that the names, signatures and addresses of signers on initiatives and referendum petitions are public records.

This bill would require all initiative and referendum petitions to include a warning label to inform signers that their personal information on the petitions may be released to the public if a public records request is made on the specific petition. The warning label must be on the front of the petition and take up at least four square inches.

The reason this bill has been proposed is to make the current practices that the secretary of state's office has been conducting to mirror the authorized words of the print regarding public records.

From 1912 to 1972 initiative and referendum petitions were not allowed to be reviewed by anyone apart from the courts. That all changed in 1972 when Washington voters passed initiative 276, the Public Records Act. Included in the Public Records Act was statue RCW 42.56.210, which incorporates that revealing information which would violate personal privacy can be deleted from the specific records being requested.

From 1972 to 2000 the secretary of state’s office policy was to tell petition requesters that they could get petition records, but the personal information would be blacked out unless they got a court order.

Requests for signed and submitted initiative and referendum petitions have been made and fulfilled every year since 2006. From 1998 to 2006 no individual or organization had followed through on a public records request of initiative or referendums assuming because ten cents per sheet was charged. As eight percent of the votes cast for Governor at the last gubernatorial election is mandatory for the number of valid signatures on both initiatives and referendums, the cost of obtaining a copy of a submitted petition was approximated to cost thousands of dollars. In 2006 due to advancements in technology, documents were made available on CDs and DVDs, which cost $15-$25.

Tim Eyman, Conservative initiative activist for Washington State, said Referendum 71 raised the awareness level regarding Secretary of State Sam Reed’s practices of releasing all information of petition signers to requesters.

“The first domino to fall was R-71,” said Eyman.

Referendum 71 was a petition set up in 2009 set up by group called Protect Marriage Washington. Its goal was to put SB 5688 back on the ballot for Washington State voters to decide on. SB 5688 allowed domestic partnerships in Washington State to receive the same benefits that married heterosexual couples received. The valid signatures submitted to the Washington Secretary of State overwhelmingly exceeded the amount required. This resulted in Washington State voters to be able to determine the outcome of SB 5688 with their vote. The bill was still passed on with a 53-47 vote.

Even though the bill was passed to higher legislature, supporters of SB 5688 made a public records request of R-71 petitions. Gay-rights activists running websites such as KnowThyNeighbor.org and WhoSigned.org claimed that they would post the information of the petition signers on the internet. R-71 Petition signers feared that they would be harassed if their names, signatures and addresses were posted on-line.

Controversy has risen over whether or not releasing names, signatures and addresses is a violation of privacy of petitioners. Therefore R-71 is still pending.

During a hearing recorded on tvw.org on Feb. 23, Rep. Sam Hunt announced that ESB 6754 did not have enough votes to be discussed.

Eyman, who attended the hearing, said it was a 4-4 vote, therefore the bill is considered dead. The U.S. Supreme court has picked up the case in regards to first amendment protections. Eyman predicts that the Supreme Court will conclude that the bill has a “chilling” affect on petitioners, thus not passing it.

A hearing date on Apr. 28 has been set to decide on the public records case which has stemmed from Washington State’s practice of allowing names, signatures and addresses to be included in copies of requested public records. The decision will impact petition signers of R-71 and future petition signers in regards to if their information will be released.


Contact Information:

Tim Eyman
(435) 493-9127 – Tim_eyman@comcast.net

Rep. Sam Hunt
(360) 786-7992 – Tvw.org (ESB 6754)
Tvw.org (ESB 6754) Hearing Feb. 23, 2010
http://www.tvw.org/media/mediaplayer.cfm?evid=2010020161&TYPE=V&CFID=5529200&CFTOKEN=94363586&bhcp=1

Washington State Legislature Web-site (ESB 6754)
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=6754&year=2009

ESB 6754 Bill Analysis
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2009-10/Pdf/Bill%20Reports/House/6754.E%20HBA%20SGTA%2010.pdf

OUTLINE

1. What will happen:
-ESB 6754 (2009-10) Making the names and addresses of persons signing initiative or referendum petitions public records.
-Warning must be put on all petitions

2. Why is this happening:
-Referendum 71
-To make the law language clear and mirror the practices the SoS (Sam Reed) has been performing with public records requests since 2006.

3. What is the extent:
-Controversy between whether releasing information of petition signers is violating privacy or not.
-Conversations vs. confrontations.


4. What is the reaction:
- The bill is dead
-April 28th it will be heard by the US Supreme court