Once Initiative No. 1 was certified by King County Elections, the City was required to take one of two actions; either adopt the legislation as set forth in the initiative petition, or adopt a resolution requesting that it be placed on the general election ballot for November 7, 2017.   The option to do nothing was considered by staff, however was not forwarded based on statutory guidance and the potential legal exposure to the City.

State law identifies the schedule and date by which the second option above must be taken, however there is a conflict in the governing statutes.  The law that sets forth dates for the conduct of primaries and passage of resolutions placing measures on the general election ballot states that resolutions must be submitted to County Elections by Aug. 1.  However, in another area of the law, it states that the resolution must be submitted to County Elections within 90 days of the general election, or no earlier than Aug. 7.

In order to remove all doubt that the City acted in a timely manner, staff recommended options for the Council to consider; including passage of a resolution on July 31, to place Initiative 1 on the general election ballot.  While King County Elections has indicated it will accept Resolution 395 if submitted on Aug. 8, the City is still exposed to legal risk and a potential legal challenge from a third party.

If the Council does not take action on Initiative No. 1, a taxpayer may file a lawsuit against the City in superior court to obtain an order that an "election will take place for the purpose of voting upon the proposed ordinance if the court finds the petition to be sufficient."  On July 21, King County Elections certified the petition as having sufficient signatures.

As representatives of the Council, staff makes recommendations that minimize as much as possible the legal risk to the City.  These recommendations were included in the agenda packet last evening.

A motion remains open on the Council floor to approve Resolution 395 at the Aug. 7 Council Meeting.  At this time, we are preparing for the meeting and providing additional information to Council for consideration prior to the Aug. 7 Council meeting.