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Mike Gravel; an Posed Act, Arguments Pro and Con

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Mike Gravel; an Posed Act, Arguments Pro and Con 911 P.2d 389 Page 1 128 Wash.2d 707, 911 P.2d 389 (Cite as: 128 Wash.2d 707, 911 P.2d 389) [2] Statutes 361 320 Supreme Court of Washington, En Banc. 361 Statutes 361IX Initiative PHILADELPHIA II, a nonprofit corporation; 361k320 k. Ballot Title, Description of Pro- Robert D. Adkins, an individual; Mike Gravel; an posed Act, Arguments Pro and Con. Most Cited individual, Petitioners, Cases v. Christine O. GREGOIRE, Attorney General of the Attorney General must prepare ballot title and State of Washington, Appellant. summary regardless of content of initiative. West's RCWA 29.79.040. No. 62663-4. Feb. 29, 1996. [3] Statutes 361 227 Supporters of initiative filed suit against Attor- 361 Statutes ney General, seeking writ of mandamus ordering 361VI Construction and Operation her to prepare ballot title. The Superior Court, 361VI(A) General Rules of Construction Thurston County, Wm. Thomas McPhee, J., dis- 361k227 k. Construction as Mandatory or missed action. Supporters appealed. The Supreme Directory. Most Cited Cases Court granted review. The Supreme Court, Rosselle Pekelis, J. pro tem., held that: (1) Attorney General Statutory term “shall” is presumptively imper- did not have discretion to refuse to prepare ballot ative unless contrary legislative intent is apparent. title and summary, and (2) initiative which had as [4] Constitutional Law 92 2451 its fundamental purpose creation of federal initiat- ive process was beyond scope of Washington's ini- 92 Constitutional Law tiative power. 92XX Separation of Powers 92XX(C) Judicial Powers and Functions Affirmed. 92XX(C)1 In General West Headnotes 92k2451 k. Interpretation of Constitu- tion in General. Most Cited Cases [1] Statutes 361 320 (Formerly 92k67) 361 Statutes Construction of meaning and scope of constitu- 361IX Initiative tional provision is exclusively judicial function. 361k320 k. Ballot Title, Description of Pro- posed Act, Arguments Pro and Con. Most Cited [5] Constitutional Law 92 2454 Cases 92 Constitutional Law Attorney General did not have discretion to re- 92XX Separation of Powers fuse to prepare ballot title due to initiative being 92XX(C) Judicial Powers and Functions beyond scope of Washington's legislative power. 92XX(C)1 In General West's RCWA Const. Art. 2, § 1; West's RCWA 92k2454 k. Determination of Constitu- 29.79.040. tionality of Statutes. Most Cited Cases (Formerly 92k67) © 2011 Thomson Reuters. No Claim to Orig. US Gov. Works. 911 P.2d 389 Page 2 128 Wash.2d 707, 911 P.2d 389 (Cite as: 128 Wash.2d 707, 911 P.2d 389) Statutes 361 303 RCWA 29.79.040. 361 Statutes [8] Statutes 361 303 361IX Initiative 361k303 k. Matters Subject to Initiative. 361 Statutes Most Cited Cases 361IX Initiative 361k303 k. Matters Subject to Initiative. Courts, not Attorney General, should determine Most Cited Cases whether proposed initiative exceeds power reserved to people in Washington Constitution. West's Under exception to general rule that courts will RCWA Const. Art. 2, § 1; West's RCWA not review initiative measure before its adoption by 29.79.040. people, court will review proposed initiative to de- termine if it is beyond scope of initiative power; [6] Statutes 361 303 such pre-election review, however, is limited to de- ciding whether initiative is authorized by constitu- 361 Statutes tional provision granting initiative power and does 361IX Initiative not extend to otherwise ruling on constitutional 361k303 k. Matters Subject to Initiative. validity of measure. West's RCWA Const. Art. 2, § Most Cited Cases 1. If Attorney General believes initiative exceeds [9] Statutes 361 303 scope of initiative power, she should prepare ballot title and summary in accordance with her statutory 361 Statutes duty and then seek injunction to prevent measure 361IX Initiative from being placed on ballot. West's RCWA Const. 361k303 k. Matters Subject to Initiative. Art. 2, § 1; West's RCWA 29.79.040. Most Cited Cases [7] Mandamus 250 187.9(2) Initiative power is limited to acts that are legis- lative in nature. West's RCWA Const. Art. 2, § 1. 250 Mandamus 250III Jurisdiction, Proceedings, and Relief [10] Statutes 361 303 250k187 Appeal and Error 250k187.9 Review 361 Statutes 250k187.9(2) k. Questions Considered. 361IX Initiative Most Cited Cases 361k303 k. Matters Subject to Initiative. Most Cited Cases In interests of judicial economy, Washington Supreme Court on approval from dismissal of peti- Proposed initiative must be within authority of tion for writ of mandamus would reach substantive jurisdiction passing measure. West's RCWA Const. question of whether initiative exceeded scope of Art. 2, § 1. initiative power, despite its holding that Attorney [11] Statutes 361 303 General did not have discretion and improperly re- fused to prepare ballot title, where there was every 361 Statutes reason to believe that Attorney General would exer- 361IX Initiative cise her power to seek injunction to prevent meas- 361k303 k. Matters Subject to Initiative. ure from being placed on ballot if Court were to re- Most Cited Cases mand case. West's RCWA Const. Art. 2, § 1; West's © 2011 Thomson Reuters. No Claim to Orig. US Gov. Works. 911 P.2d 389 Page 3 128 Wash.2d 707, 911 P.2d 389 (Cite as: 128 Wash.2d 707, 911 P.2d 389) Initiative that had as its fundamental and over- named Philadelphia II, on the ballot in Washington riding purpose creation of federal initiative process, State. Petitioners also include Robert Adkins, a including, for example, creation of national elector- Washington State voter, and Mike Gravel, principal al agency, went beyond scope of initiative power architect of the Philadelphia II initiative. under Washington Constitution in attempting to ex- ercise authority that went beyond jurisdiction of *710 The Philadelphia II initiative seeks to es- state, even though initiative also proposed ephemer- tablish in the United States “direct democracy” by al changes in state law. West's RCWA Const. Art. means of a federal, nationwide initiative process to 2, § 1. complement the current congressional system, and ultimately to call a world meeting where represent- atives from participating countries will discuss **390 Appeal from Superior Court, Thurston global issues. The sponsors of Philadelphia II be- County; Honorable Wm. Thomas McPhee, Judge. lieve that if 51 percent of the nation's eligible *709 Mr. Mike Gravel, Philadelphia II, Monterey, voters choose to adopt Philadelphia II, it will auto- CA, Pro Se. matically become federal law. The sponsors hope to achieve this goal by placing the Philadelphia II Michael J. Underwood, Tacoma, for Appellants. measure before voters in individual states, thereby Robert Adkins, Philadelphia II, Tacoma, Pro Se. gaining the necessary 51 percent of votes if suc- cessful. Christine O. Gregoire, Attorney General, Jeffrey T. Even, Asst., James K. Pharris, Asst., Olympia, for The initiative has 12 sections. The substantive Respondent. sections declare that direct democracy is “hereby initiated ... through a national state-by-state initiat- FN* ive process whereby this act is enacted as state law ROSSELLE PEKELIS, Judge Pro Tem. by the approval of state voters.” Washington State Initiative 641, Clerk's Papers at 12. Philadelphia II FN* Justice Rosselle Pekelis is serving as also creates the United States Electoral Administra- a justice pro tempore of the Supreme Court tion (USEA) to facilitate this process. Among the pursuant to Const. art. IV, § 2(a) (amend. USEA's functions are to place the Philadelphia II 38). initiative on other state ballots or conduct its own Petitioners appeal a decision of a superior court elections if no means exist to place an initiative on dismissing their petition to obtain a ballot title from a state's ballot, to create a legislative drafting ser- the Attorney General for Initiative 641. The superi- vice to assist citizens in the preparation of their ini- or court dismissed the petition because it determ- tiatives, to defend the right of direct democracy ined that the initiative did not fall within the scope against legal challenges, and to develop**391 a of the legislative authority of the state. Although voter registration system. The initiative also appro- we conclude that the Attorney General should have priates state money as a loan to the USEA, to be re- prepared the ballot title, we also hold that the initi- paid from federal funds when Philadelphia II be- ative goes beyond the scope of power reserved to comes federal law. The USEA is subject to Wash- the people in our state constitution and thus should ington state law and federal law where applicable. not appear on the ballot. We therefore affirm the Philadelphia II sets forth new procedures and superior court. regulations for initiatives on local, state, and na- Petitioner Philadelphia II is a nonprofit corpor- tional levels, subject to compliance with a state's ation set up in order to put Initiative 641, also constitution. It also mandates that the USEA provide, at public expense, information about cit- © 2011 Thomson Reuters. No Claim to Orig. US Gov. Works. 911 P.2d 389 Page 4 128 Wash.2d 707, 911 P.2d 389 (Cite as: 128 Wash.2d 707, 911 P.2d 389) izen initiatives and sets regulations regarding fun- Petitioners filed suit against the Attorney Gen- draising and disclosure by sponsors and opponents eral in superior court, seeking, inter alia, a writ of of initiatives. mandamus ordering the Attorney General to pre- pare a ballot title and explanation. The superior Other sections of the initiative deal with the court dismissed the action, holding that the initiat- world meeting, *711 to be held when a “critical ive was not within the scope of the *712 legislative mass” of one billion people worldwide have ex- authority of Washington State. We granted review pressed their willingness through democratic initi- of the order.
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