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Tag: R-71

R-71 petitions: Attorneys press case to high court

R-71 petitions: Attorneys press case to high court

In the run-up to the U.S.  Supreme Court’s April 28 hearing on public release of initiative and referendum petitions, the state is underscoring that the voter-approved Public Records Act requires release.  The public’s demand for transparency and accountability of the government is “compelling and substantial,” attorneys for the Secretary of State said in a brief submitted to the high court on Thursday. The thick 60-page brief is a reply to the efforts of Protect Marriage Washington (foes of the state’s…

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Post R-71: Domestic partner registrations boom

Post R-71: Domestic partner registrations boom

In the months since Washington lawmakers expanded the state’s domestic partnership law, the popularity of the program has steadily risen, most notably in the past two months. Officials of the state domestic-partnership registry in the state Corporations and Charities Division say that since the Legislature created the registry three years ago, the average weekly sign-ups have between about 35 or 40.  The registry is for gay and lesbian couples who maintain a household together, and for heterosexual domestic partners where…

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Court to decide Jan. 15 whether to take R-71 case

Court to decide Jan. 15 whether to take R-71 case

The U.S. Supreme Court recently announced that it will decide on January 15, 2010, whether to accept or reject the appeal of last fall’s 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision that upheld Washington State’s practice of treating ballot measure petitions as releasable public records. The high court will meet on the 15th to review several cases, voting on each whether to accept or reject. The court likely will announce later that day or the following Monday if it will take…

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Eyman initiative and R-71: How we voted

Eyman initiative and R-71: How we voted

There’s no suspense – Washington voters last month approved Referendum 71 upholding the state’s new “everything but marriage” domestic partnership law, and trounced Tim Eyman’s latest ballot measure, Initiative 1033 dealing with revenue limits and property tax relief.  The statewide and county-by-county numbers have been posted since election night. But how did your congressional district and your legislative district come down on these two hot-button issues?  The 2009 General Election abstract released Friday provides those answers. We see, for instance,…

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WA to high court: Don’t take R-71 petition case

WA to high court: Don’t take R-71 petition case

The Washington Attorney General is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to turn aside a request to block the state from releasing Referendum 71 petitions. On Jan. 8, the high court is expected to consider a request from R-71 opponents to hear their challenge of an appeals court decision that upheld the state’s practice of treating petitions as releasable public records.  We should know shortly thereafter whether the court will take the case.  The earliest it could get on the calendar…

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5 Questions with the Corporations Director

5 Questions with the Corporations Director

A new domestic partnership law goes into effect today. Pamela Floyd, Director for the agency’s Corporations and Charities Division, fills you in on how state domestic partnership registrations are impacted by the new law: Q.) Domestic partnerships are registered with your agency’s Corporation Division. Now that the law is in effect, does the process stay the same? The registration process stays the same. Domestic partnerships are still registered with our agency’s Corporations Division. Couples who want to register as domestic partnerships…

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Gregoire, Reed certify R-71 and November returns

Gregoire, Reed certify R-71 and November returns

Washington Secretary of State Sam Reed and Governor Chris Gregoire have made it official, certifying that voters turned down Tim Eyman’s latest ballot measure, but adopted the “everything but marriage” domestic partnership law approved by the Legislature last spring. Referendum 71, placed on the ballot by foes of same-sex marriage, was approved by a margin of more than 110,000 votes, or more than 6 percentage points. National media describe it as the country’s first voter-approved domestic partnership or “everything-but-marriage” law.

Thurston judge OKs pause in Eyman lawsuit

Thurston judge OKs pause in Eyman lawsuit

Thurston County Superior Court Judge Richard Hicks has granted the state’s request to pause  further proceedings in initiative activist Tim Eyman’s court challenge of the Secretary of State’s policy of releasing initiative petitions under terms of the Public Records Act. Hicks agreed with a motion brought by a senior official of the Attorney General’s Office, Deputy Solicitor General James Pharris, to put a hold on the Thurston County lawsuit while the U.S. Supreme Court decides whether to review a federal…

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R-71: No gay-marriage bill expected in 2010

R-71: No gay-marriage bill expected in 2010

Gay-rights activists say they don’t expect to jump from their Referendum 71 victory to pursuing gay-marriage in the Legislature or in the courts right away. Sen. Ed Murray, sponsor of the state’s newly ratified domestic partnership law, tells The Herald of Everett that he isn’t expecting even a hearing in Olympia on the perennial request for the right to marry.  The spokesman for the Approve R-71 says “I think 2010 is too soon,” and activists called it a conversation for…

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R-71 Part Deux: Will high court take up disclosure ban?

R-71 Part Deux: Will high court take up disclosure ban?

The continuing court battle by foes of Referendum 71 to shield their petitions from public view stepped up a notch Friday with filing of papers formally outlining the reasons why they want the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their case and uphold a disclosure ban. A 30-second recap: In September, U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma agreed to Protect Marriage Washington’s request to block the Secretary of State from the scheduled release of over 9,000 R-71  petition sheets…

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