Initiative to the Legislature (Washington)


Types of ballot measures
Initiated
• Initiated constitutional amendment
• Initiated state statute
• Veto referendum
Legislative
• Legislative constitutional amendment
• Legislative state statute
• Legislative bond issue
• Advisory question
Other
• Automatic ballot referral
• Commission-referred measure
• Convention-referred amendment
Select a state from the menu below to learn more about that state's types of ballot measures.

An Initiative to the Legislature is the name of indirect initiated state statutes in the state of Washington. An indirect initiated state statute is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends state statute. There are nine (9) states that allow citizens to initiate indirect state statutes.

While a direct initiative is placed on the ballot once supporters file the required number of valid signatures, an indirect initiative is first presented to the state legislature. Legislators have a certain number of days, depending on the state, to adopt the initiative into law. Should legislators take no action or reject the initiative, the initiative is put on the ballot for voters to decide.

In Washington, the Legislature has three options regarding Initiatives to the Legislature:

(1) The Legislature can adopt an Initiative to the Legislature, in which case the initiative is enacted into law without a vote of electors;
(2) The Legislature can reject or not act on the initiative, in which case the initiative is placed on the ballot at the next state general election; or
(3) The Legislature can approve an alternative to the proposed initiative, in which case both the original proposal and the legislative alternative are placed on the ballot at the next state general election.

Citizens of Washington can also initiate direct statutes, which are called Initiatives to the People.

History and statistics

The people of Washington acquired the right to initiative and referendum in 1912, when voters approved an Amendment to Article II, Section 1 of the Washington Constitution. The measure was approved by voters in a vote of 72.49% to 28.41%.

The first Initiative to the Legislature was filed in 1914 and was certified to the legislature in 1918. The most recent time an ITL appeared on the ballot was Initiative 976, which was on the ballot in 2019.

Between 1914 and August 10, 2023, Washington citizens filed 1,728 Initiatives to the Legislature, of which, six were enacted by the state legislature and 32 were certified for the ballot. Of the 32 measures on the ballot, 17 (53%) were approved and 15 (47%) were rejected.^[1]

Type	Number Filed (1914-2023)	Number On the ballot	% On ballot	Approved	Approved %	Rejected	Rejected %
ITP	2,009	127	6.32%	80	63%%	47	37%
ITL	1,728	32	1.85%	17	53%	15	47%

Initiatives by year

Below is a list of Initiatives to the Legislature that were certified for the ballot in Washington.

2019

See also: Washington 2019 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITL	Initiative 976	Taxes and Transportation	Limits annual registration renewal fees to $30 for vehicles under 10,000 pounds; other restrictions on vehicle taxes and fees	a/ot

2018

See also: Washington 2018 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITL	Initiative 940	Law enforcement	Police training and criminal liability in cases of deadly force	a

2016

See also: Washington 2016 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITL	Initiative 732	Taxes	Carbon emission tax	d
ITL	Initiative 735	Federal	Rights of corporations	a

2014

See also: Washington 2014 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITL	Initiative 594	Firearms	Requires background checks be performed on all gun purchasers	a
ITL	Initiative 591	Firearms	Prevents confiscation of firearms without due process and implementation of more extensive background checks than those at the federal level	d

2013

See also: Washington 2013 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITL	Initiative 517	Direct democracy	Penalizes harassing petition organizers, limits pre-election litigation, extends signature gathering time	d
ITL	Initiative 522	Business regulation	Requires labels on food offered for sale if food is made with genetic material changed	d

2012

See also: Washington 2012 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITL	Initiative 502	Marijuana	Legalizes and regulates the sale of small amounts of marijuana to people 21 and older	a

2005

See also: Washington 2005 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITL	Initiative 330	Tort	Limits non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases to $350,000 and limits attorney fees	d
ITL	Initiative 336	Tort	Establishes a supplemental malpractice insurance program for liability exceeding private insurance	d

2004

See also: Washington 2004 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITL	Initiative 297	Environment	Adds new provisions concerning 'mixed' radioactive and nonradioactive hazardous waste	a

1998

See also: Washington 1998 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITL	Initiative 200	Affirm Action	Prohibits public institutions from discriminating or grating preferential treatment based on race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin	a

1996

See also: Washington 1996 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITL	Initiative 173	Education	Allows for the issuing of scholarship vouchers for students to attend voucher-redeeming private and public schools	d
ITL	Initiative 177	Education	Allows for "renewed" school districts with publicly-funded nonprofit organizations operating "independent" public schools with parental choice and state regulation	d

1992

See also: Washington 1992 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITL	Initiative 134	Elections	Limits campaign contributions, prohibits public finding of state and local campaigns, and restricts campaign activities	a

1991

See also: Washington 1991 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITL	Initiative 119	Assisted Death	Legalizes assisted death in cases of medically terminal conditions	d
ITL	Initiative 120	Abortion	Declares that a woman has a right to choose physician performed abortion prior to fetal viability	a

1989

See also: Washington 1989 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITL	Initiative 102	Taxes	Provides $360 million for child and family services through a new tax	d

1988

See also: Washington 1988 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITL	Initiatives 97 and 97B	Environment	Imposes a new tax on hazardous substances for waste cleanup programs	a

1987

See also: Washington 1987 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITL	Initiative 92	Health Care	Prohibits physicians from charging Medicare patients more than federally defined charges	d

1986

See also: Washington 1986 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITL	Initiative 90	Taxes	Increases sales tax to fund wildlife conservation and recreation programs	d

1979

See also: Washington 1979 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITL	Initiative 61	Environment	Establishes a minimum five cent recycling deposit on soft drinks and alcohol containers	d
ITL	Initiative 62	Taxes	Limits the growth of state tax revenues to that of the growth rate of personal income	a

1977

See also: Washington 1977 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITL	Initiative 59	Water	Limits the issuing of public water withdrawal permits for agricultural irrigation to farms of 2,000 acres or less	a

1972

See also: Washington 1972 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITL	Initiatives 40 and 40B	Environment	Establishes anti-litter regulations and rules	a(40B)
ITL	Initiatives 43 and 43B	Environment	Regulates the use and development of the shoreline	a(43B)
ITL	Initiative 44	Taxes	Limits property tax levies to twenty mills without a vote of the people	a

1968

See also: Washington 1968 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITL	Initiative 32	Business	Creates the Full Employment Commission and requires primary processing of certain timber harvests from the state to take place in a facility employing residents of the state	d

1960

See also: Washington 1960 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITL	Initiative 25	Environment	Prohibits obstructions over twenty-five feet high on any tributary stream of the Columbia River downstream from McNary Dam, as well as the diversion of water from any of these streams exceeding limits devised by the Directors of Fisheries and Game	a

1958

See also: Washington 1958 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITL	Initiative 23	Civil Service	Provides civil service status for certain employees of county sheriffs	a

1948

See also: Washington 1948 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITL	Initiative 13	Alcohol	Bans the sale of alcohol by any person other than the State of Washington	d

1930

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITL	Initiative 1	Utilities	Authorizes the creation of public utility districts to produce and distribute water and electricity	a

1916

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
ITL	Initiative 18	Alcohol	Removes restrictions on households purchasing and consuming alcohol, authorizes the selling of alcohol at hotels and provides for the licensing of brewers	d

Types of citizen-initiated measures in each state

See also: States with initiative or referendum

There are 26 states that provide citizens with the power of initiative, referendum, or both. The following table shows the type of citizen-initiated ballot measures in each of those states. The table also provides the signature requirements for each type of measure for the 2023-2024 election cycle.

States that provide for types of citizen-initiated measures and current signature requirements
State	Constitutional	Signatures	Statute	Signatures	Referendum	Signatures
Alaska	No	N/A	Yes	26,705	Yes	26,705
Arizona	Yes	383,923	Yes	255,949	Yes	127,975
Arkansas	Yes	90,704	Yes	72,563	Yes	54,422
California	Yes	874,641	Yes	546,651	Yes	546,651
Colorado	Yes	124,238	Yes	124,238	Yes	124,238
Florida	Yes	891,589	No	N/A	No	N/A
Idaho	No	N/A	Yes	62,895	Yes	62,895
Illinois	Yes	328,371	No	N/A	No	N/A
Maine	No	N/A	Yes	67,682	Yes	67,682
Maryland	No	N/A	No	N/A	Yes	60,157
Massachusetts	Yes	74,490	Yes	74,490	Yes	37,245^[2]
Michigan	Yes	446,198	Yes	356,958	Yes	223,099
Mississippi^[3]	Yes	106,190	No	N/A	No	N/A
Missouri	Yes	171,592^[4]	Yes	107,246^[4]	Yes	107,246^[4]
Montana	Yes	60,359	Yes	30,179	Yes	30,179
Nebraska	Yes	126,838	Yes	88,787	Yes	63,419^[5]
New Mexico	No	N/A	No	N/A	Yes	71,475^[6]
Nevada	Yes	102,362	Yes	135,561	Yes	102,362
North Dakota	Yes	31,164	Yes	15,582	Yes	15,582
Ohio	Yes	413,487	Yes	248,092^[7]	Yes	248,093
Oklahoma	Yes	172,993	Yes	92,263	Yes	57,664
Oregon	Yes	156,231	Yes	117,173	Yes	78,115
South Dakota	Yes	35,017	Yes	17,508	Yes	17,508
Utah	No	N/A	Yes	134,298	Yes	134,298
Washington	No	N/A	Yes	324,516	Yes	162,258
Wyoming	No	N/A	Yes	29,730	Yes	29,730

Other types of ballot measures

Most ballot measures are placed on the ballot through citizen initiatives or legislative processes. Others are placed on the ballot automatically, by a special commission, or by a state constitutional convention. The following is a list of different types of state ballot measures:

Types of state ballot measures

Citizen-initiated ballot measure

• Initiated constitutional amendment

• Direct initiated constitutional amendment

• Indirect initiated constitutional amendment

• Initiated state statute

• Direct initiated state statute

• Indirect initiated state statute

• Combined initiated constitutional amendment and state statute

• Veto referendum

• Statute affirmation (Nevada)

Legislatively referred ballot measure

• Legislatively referred constitutional amendment

• Legislatively referred state statute

• Legislatively referred bond measure

• Advisory question

Other type of state ballot measure

• Automatic ballot referral

• Constitutional convention question

• Commission-referred ballot measure

• Convention-referred constitutional amendment

External links

Washington Secretary of State: List of all Initiatives to the Legislature

Footnotes

↑ Washington Secretary of State, "Yearly Summary of Initiatives to the Legislature," accessed April 5, 2023
↑ This was the number of signatures required to put a targeted law before voters. To suspend the enactment of the targeted law until the election, the requirement was 49,660 valid signatures.
↑ On May 14, 2021, the Mississippi Supreme Court issued a 6-3 decision stating that it is impossible for any petition to meet the state's distribution requirement and has been impossible since congressional reapportionment in 2001. The six justices wrote, "... Whether with intent, by oversight, or for some other reason, the drafters of [the constitutional signature distribution requirement] wrote a ballot initiative process that cannot work in a world where Mississippi has fewer than five representatives in Congress. To work in today’s reality, it will need amending—something that lies beyond the power of the Supreme Court."
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 This is the minimum required if signatures are collected in the congressional districts with the lowest numbers of votes cast in 2020. The signature requirement varies based on what districts are targeted for signature collection.
↑ To suspend the enactment of the targeted law until the election, the requirement is 126,838 valid signatures.
↑ This was the number of signatures required to put a targeted law before voters. To suspend the enactment of the targeted law until the election, the requirement was 178,689 valid signatures.
↑ This is the requirement for two rounds of signatures to get an initiated statute on the ballot; half the number of signatures—124,046—is required to place the initiative before the legislature.

[1] Washington Secretary of State, "Yearly Summary of Initiatives to the Legislature," accessed April 5, 2023

[2] This was the number of signatures required to put a targeted law before voters. To suspend the enactment of the targeted law until the election, the requirement was 49,660 valid signatures.

[3] On May 14, 2021, the Mississippi Supreme Court issued a 6-3 decision stating that it is impossible for any petition to meet the state's distribution requirement and has been impossible since congressional reapportionment in 2001. The six justices wrote, "... Whether with intent, by oversight, or for some other reason, the drafters of [the constitutional signature distribution requirement] wrote a ballot initiative process that cannot work in a world where Mississippi has fewer than five representatives in Congress. To work in today’s reality, it will need amending—something that lies beyond the power of the Supreme Court."

[MODisclaimer-4] 4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 This is the minimum required if signatures are collected in the congressional districts with the lowest numbers of votes cast in 2020. The signature requirement varies based on what districts are targeted for signature collection.

[5] To suspend the enactment of the targeted law until the election, the requirement is 126,838 valid signatures.

[6] This was the number of signatures required to put a targeted law before voters. To suspend the enactment of the targeted law until the election, the requirement was 178,689 valid signatures.

[7] This is the requirement for two rounds of signatures to get an initiated statute on the ballot; half the number of signatures—124,046—is required to place the initiative before the legislature.

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