Primary Contact Email: DBrown@co.whatcom.wa.us
TITLE FOR AGENDA ITEM:
TITLE
Appointment of members to serve on committees that will prepare Whatcom County Voters' Guide statements for two ballot measures, one to amend the County Charter and the other to establish a Birch Bay Library Capital Facility Area
BODY
SUMMARY STATEMENT OR LEGAL NOTICE LANGUAGE:
Per RCW 29A.32.280, the Council will formally appoint a committee to prepare arguments advocating voters' approval of the two measures listed below and shall formally appoint a committee to prepare arguments advocating voters' rejection of the two measures. The Council will appoint persons known to favor the measure to serve on the committee advocating approval and shall, whenever possible, appoint persons known to oppose the measure to serve on the committee advocating rejection. Each committee shall have not more than three members, however, a committee may seek the advice of any person or persons. If the Council fails to make such appointments by the prescribed deadline of August 3, the county auditor shall whenever possible make the appointments.
PROPOSAL 1 - AMENDMENTS TO THE WHATCOM COUNTY CHARTER
On June 1, 2021, the Whatcom County Council adopted Ordinance 2021-032, submitting to the qualified voters of Whatcom County a proposal to amend Whatcom County Charter Sections 5.40 and 5.41 to align signature requirements for citizen initiatives with Washington State norms. This ordinance submits to the qualified voters of Whatcom County (at the November 2021 General Election) a charter amendment to allow that persons proposing an initiative must " collect the signatures of the registered voters in the county equal in number to not less than eight (8) percent of the vote cast in the county in the last regular county executive gubernatorial election," and the requirement for a mini -initiative be " the signatures of qualified voters equal in number to not less than three (3) percent of the number of votes...
Click here for full text