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Washington Homeless Youth Shelter Parental Notification Requirements Referendum (2023)
| Washington Referendum 106 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 7, 2023 | |
| Topic LGBT issues and Abortion | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Referendum | Origin Citizens |
Washington Referendum Measure 107, concerning Homeless Youth Shelter Parental Notification Requirements, was not on the ballot in Washington as a veto referendum on November 7, 2023.
Referendum 106 would have put Senate Bill 5599, passed by the Washington State Legislature during its 2023 session, on the statewide ballot in 2023 for voters to approve or reject. Senate Bill 5599 was designed to exempt certain homeless youth shelters and host homes from parental notification requirements for minors seeking or receiving gender-related treatment or reproductive health services.[1]
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title was as follows:[1]
| “ |
Statement of Subject: The legislature passed ESSB 5599 concerning homeless or runaway youth seeking protected health care services [and voters have filed a sufficient referendum petition on this act]. Concise Description: This bill would exempt certain shelters, organizations, and programs from parental notification requirements for minors seeking gender-affirming care or reproductive health care services, and require offers of services, including family reunification services. Should this bill be: ___ Approved ___ Rejected[2] |
” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary was as follows:[3]
| “ |
ESSB 5599 exempts homeless youth shelters, host home programs and host homes for youth from parental notification requirements for minors seeking or receiving gender affirming care treatment or reproductive health care services. Such shelters, host home programs, and host homes must instead provide notice to the State. The State must offer services for family reunification, offer youth in shelters referrals for behavioral health services, and gather data and make recommendations for supporting unsheltered homeless youth.[2] |
” |
The full text of the referendum is available here.
Background
Veto referendums in Washington
Since the first in 1914, Washington voters have decided 39 statewide veto referendum measures at the ballot.
A veto referendum is a type of citizen-initiated ballot measure that asks voters whether to uphold or repeal a law passed by the state legislature. Opponents of the law collect signatures for the veto referendum petition hoping that voters will repeal it at the ballot. The most recent veto referendum was on the ballot in Washington in 2020. In 79.5% of cases (31 of 39), the veto referendum resulted in the targeted bill being repealed. Conversely, 20.5% (eight of 39) of veto referendum measures resulted in the targeted law being upheld. In Washington, successful veto referendum petitions suspend the targeted law until the veto referendum is placed on the ballot and voted on in an election.
Path to the ballot
The state process
In Washington, the number of signatures required to qualify a veto referendum for the ballot is equal to 4 percent of the votes cast for the office of governor at the last regular gubernatorial election. Signatures must be submitted 90 days following the adjournment of the legislative session during which the targeted bill was passed.
The requirements to get a veto referendum certified for the 2023 ballot:
- Signatures: 162,258 valid signatures
- Deadline: 90 days after the legislature adjourned
The secretary of state verifies the signatures using a random sample method. If the sample indicates that the measure has sufficient signatures, the measure is certified for the ballot. However, if the sample indicates that the measure has insufficient signatures, every signature is checked. Under Washington law, a random sample result may not invalidate a petition.
Details about this initiative
- Senate Bill 5599 was approved by the Washington State Legislature during the regular 2023 session, which ended on April 23, 2023.[1]
- The adjournment date of the regular legislative session set the signature deadline for any veto referendum petitions as July 22, 2023.
- This referendum was filed by Rebecca Faust on May 4, 2023, and a ballot title was issued for it on May 12, 2023.[1]
- Sponsors did not submit signatures on the due date and therefore did not qualify for the ballot.[1]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Washington Secretary of State, "Proposed referendum measures," accessed May 12, 2023
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedballot
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State of Washington Olympia (capital) |
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