IN CLERKt OFFICE This opinion Was filed for record •UPRBC COURT,SniE OF WfKSKMOIQN at Q-6>0gii^on m7e_B£LJJ_2018L (. m JUS7KE SUSAN t: CARLSON SUPREME COURT CLERK
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON
END PRISON INDUSTRIAL NO. 95307-4 COMPLEX,
Respondent, EN BANC V.
KING COUNTY, Filed DEC 2 7 2018 Petitioner.
GORDON McCLOUD,J.—^End Prison Industrial Complex (EPIC) argues
that the ballot title for a King County property tax increase lacked information
required byformer RCW 84.55.050 (2012).' To resolve that dispute, the court
must compare the ballot title to that measure it describes—King County Ordinance
' RCW 84.55.050 has been amended twice since voters approved the property tax increase at issue in this case. Laws of 2018, ch. 46, § 3; Laws of 2017, ch. 296, § 2. End Prison Industrial Complex v. King County, No. 95307-4
17304—to see if the title lacks some description of the ordinance that former RCW
84.55.050 requires. But RCW 29A.36.090 provides that ballot title objections
must be raised within 10 days of the public filing of that ballot title. We therefore
hold that epic's claim, which it brought nearly 4 years after the ballot title at issue
in this case was filed, is untimely.^
We reverse the decision of the Court of Appeals and affirm the judgment of
the superior court.
Factual Background
1. King County's Proposed Tax Increase and Its Ballot Title
The King County Council (Council) adopted Ordinance 17304 in April
2012. Clerk's Papers(CP)at 88-95. That ordinance authorized a special election
for King County voters to decide whether to increase property taxes by a levy lid
lift. Id. As described in Ordinance 17304, the levy lid lift would increase the
property taxes for nine years as follows:
^ The prosecuting attorney filed the ballot title on May 24, 2012. Clerk's Papers at 248-49. Excluding weekends and the Memorial Day holiday, as RCW 29A.36.090 requires, the 10-day objection period ended on June 8, 2012. EPIC filed its lawsuit 3 years, 10 months, and 19 days later—on April 27, 2016. End Prison Industrial Complex v. King County, No. 95307-4
a regular property tax levy in excess of the levy limitation contained in chapter 84.55 RCW for nine consecutive years, commencing in 2012, with collection beginning in 2013, at a rate in the first year not to [sic] $0.07 per one thousand dollars of assessed value. In accordance with RCW 84.55.050, this levy shall be a regular property tax levy, subject to the statutory rate limit of[former] RCW 84.52.043 [(2012)].
Id. at 92.
Former RCW 29A.36.071(1)(2012) provides that the King County
prosecuting attorney must draft the ballot title for any measure going to county
voters.^ The Council nonetheless suggested its own ballot title in
Ordinance 17304. The Council's suggested ballot title stated:
The King County council has passed Ordinance [17304] concerning funding for a replacement facility for the Children and Family Justice Center. This proposition would authorize King County to levy an additional property tax to provide funding for capital costs to replace the Children and Family Justice Center, which serves the justice needs of children and families. It would authorize King County to levy an additional regular property tax of $0.07 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for collection in 2013. The 2013 levy amount would become the base upon which levy increases would be computedfor each ofthe eight succeeding years, all
^ The county prosecuting attorney remains responsible for drafting ballot titles for questions submitted to county voters under the present version of RCW 29A.36.071(1). The statute has been amended in other ways since 2012. Laws of 2017, ch. 328, § 4; Laws of 2015, ch. 172, § 3. End Prison Industrial Complex v. King County, No. 95307-4
as provided in Ordinance [17304\. Should this proposition be;
Approved?
Rejected?
Id. at 93 (emphasis added).
The prosecuting attorney did not follow the Council's suggested language
word for word. Instead, he drafted the following ballot title for Ordinance 17304's
proposed levy lid lift:
Proposition No. 1 Children and Family Services Center Capital Levy
The King County council passed Ordinance No. 17304 concerning a replacement facility for juvenile justice and family law services. This proposition would authorize King County to levy an additional property taxfor nine years to fund capital costs to replace the Children and Family Justice Center, which serves the justice needs of children and families. It would authorize King County to levy an additional regular property tax of $0.07 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for collection in 2013. Increases in thefollowing eight years would be subject to the limitations in chapter 84.55 RCW, all as provided in Ordinance No. 17304. Should this proposition be:
CD Approved
CD Rejected
Id. at 251 (Ex. G; voters' pamphlet excerpt)(boldface omitted)(emphasis added). End Prison Industrial Complex v. King County, No. 95307-4
Even so, RCW 29A.36.090's 10-day objection period passed in June 2012
with no objections.
Then, at the August 2012 election, a majority of King County voters
approved the proposed levy lid lift. And in 2013, King County began assessing
and collecting a property tax levy in accordance with Ordinance 17304 and in
excess of its preelection levy lid. Id. at 270(Ex. I; election results), 277-81 (Decl.
of Hazel Gantz).
For 2013, King County added the rate of $0.07 per $1,000.00 of assessed
valuation to its previous overall rate and multiplied the new combined rate by the
total value of taxable property. Id. at 278-79. That calculation produced the new
total permissible levy dollar amount, and King County proceeded to levy almost
exactly that amount. Id.
For the following years. King County multiplied the 2013 levy dollar
amount by the standard statutory growth limit of 101 percent to produce the year's
new total permissible levy dollar amount. Id. at 280; see also RCW 84.55.010
(imposing limit factor on levy increases), .005(2)(generally defining "limit factor"
as 101 percent). King County again proceeded to levy nearly that amount. CP at
280(Decl. of Gantz). End Prison Industrial Complex v. King County, No. 95307-4
King County plans to proceed in that fashion for the remainder of the nine
years of the levy lid lift. Id. at 281. When the nine years have passed, the levy lid
will "revert," according to King County, to what it would have been had voters not
lifted the lid in 2012. Id.\ see also former RCW 84.55.050(5). That is, King
County plans to compute its 2022 levy as though it had just been applying the
101 percent growth rate to its levy lid every year since 2012. CP at 281 (Decl. of
Gantz).
II. epic's Lawsuit against King County
In April 2016, EPIC sued King County over its implementation of the levy
lid lift. EPIC acknowledged that King County had lawfully assessed increased
property taxes pursuant to the levy lid lift in the lift's first year, 2013. Id. at 8-10
(Compl.). EPIC instead argued that King County's assessment of inereased
property taxes from 2014 onward was unlawful. Id. at 10-11. EPIC contended that
the ballot title for the levy lid lift omitted a piece of information that former
RCW 84.55.050 required: an express statement that the 2013 levy would form the
basis for computing levies for the following eight years ofthe lid lift. Id. at 9-11.
EPIC argued that the statement that the Council had included in its suggested ballot
title—"[t]he 2013 levy amount would become the base upon which levy increases End Prison Industrial Complex v. King County, No. 95307-4
would be computed for each of the eight succeeding years, all as provided in
Ordinance [17304]," Id. at 93(Ordinance 17304)—would have satisfied former
ROW 84.55.050's express-statement requirement. M at 10(Compl.). But it
concludes that the prosecutor's decision to omit that phrase from the official ballot
title deprived King County ofthe authority to assess increased property taxes
beyond 2013. EPIC asked the superior court to declare the assessment of the
increased property taxes from 2014 onward unlawful and to enjoin their
assessment going forward. Id. at 15-16.
King County moved for summary judgment of dismissal. It argued that
EPIC'S claim was most properly characterized as a challenge to Ordinance 17304's
ballot title and, hence, that it was untimely under RCW 29A.36.090's 10-day time
limit for objecting to ballot titles. Id. at 36-59(King County's Mot. for Summ. J.).
EPIC responded that RCW 29A.36.090 did not apply because its claim did not
accrue until King County assessed increased property taxes in the second year of
the levy lid lift, 2014, when "King County began to act inconsistently with the
ballot title approved by voters." Id. at 374(EPIC's response). Thus, EPIC
characterized its claim not as a ballot title objection to which RCW 29A.36.090 End Prison Industrial Complex v. King County, No. 95307-4
applied but as an effort to enforce substantive limitations supposedly created by the
wording of the ballot title as opposed to the language of Ordinance 17304. Id.
The superior court agreed with King County and dismissed EPIC's claim as
untimely. Id. at 478 (order). The Court of Appeals reversed. End Prison Indus.
Complex V. King County, 200 Wn. App. 616, 402 P.3d 918 (2017). We granted
review. End Prison Indus. Complex v. King County, 190 Wn.2d 1007(2018).
Analysis
There is no dispute about the timing or sequence of events here. Instead, the
parties contest whether EPIC's claim is subject to RCW 29A.36.090's 10-day time
limit on ballot title objections. That is a purely legal question that we review de
novo."^
^ This court reviews a trial court's decision to grant a motion for summary judgment de novo. Hertogv. City ofSeattle, 138 Wn.2d 265, 275, 979 P.2d 400(1999) (citing Taggartv. State, 118 Wn.2d 195, 199, 822 P.2d 243 (1992); CR 56(c)). Summary judgment is appropriate only when there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Id. End Prison Industrial Complex v. King County, No. 95307-4
I. RCW 29A.36.090 Requires Objectors To File Their Ballot Title Challenges within 10 Days
A ballot title must meet certain accuracy and clarity requirements in the way
that it informs voters about the underlying proposed measure. RCW 29A.36.071;
RCW 29A.72.050. A ballot title for a levy lid lift must meet certain additional
requirements. RCW 84.55.050.
RCW 29A.36.090 permits anybody to object to the ballot title of a county
measure, which is publicly available at the county auditor's office as per
RCW 29A.36.080. RCW 29A.36.090 also waives the usual court costs for
litigating such an objection.
Critically, though, the objection must be raised within 10 days—before the
ballot title goes to the voters. The objection is then litigated as follows:
If any persons are dissatisfied with the ballot title for a local ballot measure that was formulated by the . . . prosecuting attorney . . ., they may at any time within ten days from the time of the filing of the ballot title, not including Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays, appeal to the superior court of the county where the question is to appear on the ballot, by petition setting forth the measure, the ballot title objected to, their objections to it, and praying for amendment of it. The time of the filing of the ballot title, as used in this section in determining the time for appeal, is the time the ballot title is first filed with the county auditor. End Prison Industrial Complex v. King County, No. 95307-4
A copy of the petition on appeal together with a notice that an appeal has been taken shall be served upon the county auditor and the official preparing the ballot title. Upon the filing of the petition on appeal, the court shall immediately, or at the time to which a hearing may be adjourned by consent of the appellants, examine the proposed measure, the ballot title filed, and the objections to it and may hear arguments on it, and shall as soon as possible render its decision and certify to and file with the county auditor a ballot title that it determines will meet the requirements of this chapter. The decision of the superior court is final, and the ballot title or statement so certified will be the established ballot title. The appeal must be heard without cost to either party.
RCW 29A.36.090.
Thus, in order to appeal the prosecutor's decision on a ballot title, the
objector must file a petition with the superior court "setting forth the [proposed]
measure [and] the ballot title objected to." Id. The petition must explain how a
comparison between that proposed measure and the ballot title reveals defects in
the ballot title.^ The superior court then "examine[s] the proposed measure, the
ballot title filed, and the objections to it." Id. That is, the superior court must
^ To be sure, there may be circumstances where a comparison is unnecessary. For example, facially inflammatory language might violate RCW 29A.72.050(l)'s requirement that a ballot title be "impartial." See RCW 29A.36.071(1)(applying RCW 29A.72.050's requirements to local ballot titles).
10 End Prison Industrial Complex v. King County, No. 95307-4
compare the ballot title to the proposed measure to determine whether any
objection to the ballot title has merit.
This statute also requires superior courts to decide these objections quickly
and conclusively. The petition must be filed within 10 days. The superior court
must conduct its work "immediately" and resolve the matter "as soon as possible."
Id. That court's resolution "is final, and [its] ballot title . . . will be the established
ballot title. Id. As we have said of similar statutes,"Timing is clearly important.
There is a strong interest in the finality of ballot title decisions." Kreidler v.
Eikenberry, 111 Wn.2d 828, 833, 766 P.2d 438 (1989)(commenting on former
RCW 29.79.040-.060 (1988)).
II. The Alleged Deficiency That EPIC Highlights Could Have Been Raised in 2012, in Compliance with RCW 29A.36.090's 10-Day Deadline
EPIC argues that RCW 29A.36.090's 10-day time limit should not govern
this claim because nobody could have known in 2012 that King County would
^ But see Kreidler v. Eikenberry, 111 Wn.2d 828, 837, 766 P.2d 438 (1989) ("Despite the unavailability of either direct or discretionary review, we may, in unusual circumstances, exercise our inherent power of review to determine if the trial court's decision is arbitrary, capricious, or contrary to law."(citing Marino Prop. Co. v. Port Comm'rs, 91 Wn.2d 307, 644 P.2d 1181 (1982))).
11 End Prison Industrial Complex v. King County, No. 95307-4
implement the levy lid lift in a manner inconsistent with the ballot title. In other
words, the ballot title seemed just fine in 2012: it lacked an express statement
about how subsequent levies would be calculated, so one could assume that King
County intended to lift the levy lid for 2013 only. Only after King County
continued to assess the increased property taxes associated with the levy lid lift in
2014 did EPIC realize that King County intended the levy lid lift to last for nine
years.
The problem with EPIC's argument is that both the ballot title and
Ordinance 17304, the proposed measure underlying the ballot title, were publicly
available in 2012. So even in 2012, voters could have figured out whether
Ordinance 17304 differed from the ballot title. And even in 2012, voters could
have figured out that if they differed, the ballot title would not govern—the
ordinance would: Ordinance 17304, if approved, would take on the force oflaw
and govern what King County can and cannot do with respect to the levy lid lift.
Sane Transit v. Sound Transit, 151 Wn.2d 60, 71-73, 85 P.3d 346(2004); cf.
Amalg. Transit Union Local 587 v. State, 142 Wn.2d 183, 205, 11 P.3d 762(2000)
(recognizing that "a statute [is] enacted through the initiative process"(citing
Brower v. State, 137 Wn.2d 44, 52, 969 P.2d 42(1998); Gerberding v. Munro, 134
12 End Prison Industrial Complex v. King County, No. 95307-4
Wn.2d 188, 196, 949 P.2d 1366(1998); State ex rel. O'Connell v. Meyers, 51
Wn.2d 454,458, 319 P.2d 828 (1957))).
And Ordinance 17304 does not describe the tax increase structure that EPIC
advances. Instead, it describes the taxation structure that King County has
implemented.
We apply our usual rules of statutory interpretation to laws, like Ordinanee
17304, enacted by the people. Amalg. Transit Union, 142 Wn.2d at 205 (eiting
Seeberv. Pub. Disclosure Comm'n,96 Wn.2d 135, 139,634 P.2d 303(1981);
Gibson v. Dep't ofLicensing, 54 Wn. App. 188, 192, 773 P.2d 110(1989)); see
also Dep't ofEcology v. Campbell & Gwinn, LLC, 146 Wn.2d 1, 11-12, 43 P.3d 4
(2002)(holding that a statute's plain meaning is determined by its text and
context). Under those rules, a ballot title may aid interpretation ofthe underlying
measure.^ But we will not consult the ballot title when the meaning ofthe
underlying measure is plain.
^ Cf Amalg. Transit Union, 142 Wn.2d at 205-06 ("[I]f there is ambiguity in the enactment, the court may examine the statements in the voters pamphlet in order to determine the voters' intent."(citing State v. Thorne, 129 Wn.2d 736, 763,921 P.2d 514 (1996); Biggs v. Vail, 119 Wn.2d 129, 134, 830 P.2d 350(1992); Lynch v. Dep't ofLabor & Indus., 19 Wn.2d 802, 812-13, 145 P.2d 265 (1944))).
13 End Prison Industrial Complex v. King County, No. 95307-4
In this case, the meaning of Ordinance 17304 is plain. Section 3 contains
the levy lid lift that voters authorized. That section describes the levy lid lift as "a
regular property tax levy in excess ofthe levy limitation contained in chapter 84.55
RCW for nine consecutive years, commencing in 2012, with collection beginning
in 2013, at a rate in the first year not to [sic] $0.07 per one thousand dollars of
assessed value." CP at 92(Ordinance 17304). That text indicates that the
ordinance would authorize a tax increase "for nine consecutive years." Id. There
is nothing ambiguous about that. Nor is there anything ambiguous about how high
the ordinance would lift the levy lid: "$0.07 per one thousand dollars of assessed
value." Id.
Context confirms what is apparent in the text ofsection 3. Ordinance 17304
describes the levy lift as lasting nine years. Id. at 88, 91. It also contains
suggested ballot title language confirming that the levy lid lift lasts for nine years
[This proposition] would authorize King County to levy an additional regular property tax of $0.07 per $1,000 of assessed valuation for collection in 2013. The 2013 levy
^ EPIC urges us to overlook the suggested language because it is "not part ofthe law, since only the prosecuting attorney may draft the ballot title." EPIC's Suppl. Br. at 15. We do not think it appropriate to ignore the suggested language, however. It is, after all, an attempt by the drafters to describe the effect ofthe levy lid lift authorized under section 3.
14 End Prison Industrial Complex v. King County, No. 95307-4
amount would become the base upon which levy increases would be computed for each of the eight succeeding years
Id. at 93 (Ordinance 17304). That description aligns with section 3 and
unambiguously contemplates the taxation structure that King County has
implemented. See supra pp. 5-6 (describing King County's implementation of the
levy lid lift). Indeed, EPIC recognizes as much. BPIC's Suppl. Br. at 6-7.
Accordingly, Ordinance 17304 placed the people on notice of King County's
plan. Anybody who thought that the ballot title failed to expressly state something
that former RCW 84.55.050 required could have raised that objection when the
ordinance and the ballot title first became public, in 2012. BPIC's argument—that
RCW 29A.36.090's 10-day time limit should not apply to its claim because
nobody could have known what King County would do—therefore fails.
III. RCW 29A.36.090's 10-Day Time Limit Applies to Objections to Ballot Titles Based on Former RCW 84.55.050
EPIC also contends that RCW 29A.36.090's 10-day time limit should not
apply to its claim because RCW 29A.36.090 does not apply to objections to ballot
titles based on former RCW 84.55.050.
15 End Prison Industrial Complex v. King County, No. 95307-4
Former RCW 84.55.050 is complicated. As relevant to this case, its
subsections (3),(4), and (5)require a ballot title for a levy lid lift to contain an
express statement in certain instances. Subsection (3), for example, states.
After a levy authorized pursuant to this section is made, the dollar amount of such levy may not be used for the purpose of computing the limitations for subsequent levies provided for in this chapter, unless the ballot proposition expressly states that the levy made under this section will be used for this purpose.
^ Subsections(4) and (5) of former RCW 84.55.050 state,
(4)If expressly stated, a proposition placed before the voters under subsection (1) or(2) of this section may: (a) Use the dollar amount of a levy under subsection (1) of this section, or the dollar amount of the final levy under subsection (2) of this section, for the purpose of computing the limitations for subsequent levies provided for in this chapter; (b) Limit the period for which the increased levy is to be made under (a) of this subsection; (c) Limit the purpose for which the increased levy is to be made under (a) of this subsection, but if the limited purpose includes making redemption payments on bonds, the period for which the increased levies are made shall not exceed nine years; (d) Set the levy or levies at a rate less than the maximum rate allowed for the district; or (e)Include any combination of the conditions in this subsection. (5) Except as otherwise expressly stated in an approved ballot . measure under this section, subsequent levies shall be computed as if: (a) The proposition under this section had not been approved; and (b) The taxing district had made levies at the maximum rates which would otherwise have been allowed under this chapter during the years levies were made under the proposition.
16 End Prison Industrial Complex v. King County, No. 95307-4
(Emphasis added.) When this express-statement requirement applies, the ballot
title must comply with it.
EPIC argues that objections based on a ballot title's noncompliance with
former RCW 84.55.050 are not subject to RCW 29A.36.090 because
RCW 29A.36.090 directs a superior court hearing a ballot title objection to "certify
to and file with the county auditor a ballot title that it determines will meet the
requirements of this chapterP (Emphasis added.) We agree that a superior court
must ensure that an objected-to ballot title complies with chapter 29A.36 RCW.
That directive does not, however, limit the superior court's ability to ensure that an
objected-to ballot title also complies with any other applicable requirements,
including those in former RCW 84.55.050. Indeed, RCW 29A.36.090 permits
"any . . . dissatisfied" person to object to a local ballot title. That language is broad
and does not limit dissatisfactions or objections to those rooted in chapter 29A.36
RCW.
EPIC further asserts that objections based on former RCW 84.55.050 are not
subject to RCW 29A.36.090's 10-day time limit because former RCW 84.55.050
does more than regulate levy lid lift ballot titles. In EPIC's view, former RCW
84.55.050 imbues the ballot title for a levy lid lift with the force of law. EPIC
17 End Prison Industrial Complex v. King County, No. 95307-4
argues that the phrases "unless the ballot title expressly states," "[i]f expressly
stated," and "[ejxcept as otherwise expressly stated" of subsections (3),(4), and
(5), respectively, demonstrate that unless the ballot title satisfies the express-
statement requirement, a local government's taxing authority is limited.
The phrases that EPIC highlights contain strong language, to be sure. But
they do not change the fact that a challenge to what a "ballot title expressly
state[s]" constitutes a ballot title challenge. And the legislature mandated that
ballot title challenges must be brought within 10 days and resolved before the
election. RCW 29A.36.090.
Moreover, as this case demonstrates, making ballot title objections based on
former RCW 84.55.050 subject to the statutory 10-day time limit makes sense
from a policy perspective. The levy lid lift at issue in this case increased property
taxes to fund a construction project estimated to cost between $200 million and
$210 million. CP at 92(Ordinance 17304). As of February 2015, approximately
14 months before EPIC filed its complaint. King County fonned a $154 million
contract with a construction company to carry out the project's design and building
work. Pet. for Review (Deck of Jim Burt, App. C). As of February 2017, only
10 months after EPIC filed its complaint. King County had already spent more
18 End Prison Industrial Complex v. King County, No. 95307-4
than $31 million on the construction project. Id. If a levy lid lift ballot title were
to carry substantive force under former RCW 84.55.050, as EPIC believes it does,
and if a ballot title's compliance with former RCW 84.55.050 were subject to
adjudication years after the voters approved the levy lid lift, local governments'
plans and finances could be thrown into disarray. That, of course, would
undermine the will ofthe voters.
IV. Our Precedent Requires Objectors To Raise Statutory Ballot Title Challenges within the Statutory Time Limit
Finally, EPIC contends that we have previously resolved ballot title
objections after an election has taken place and that applying RCW 29A.36.090's
10-day time limit to its claim would break with that precedent. EPIC relies on our
decisions in Washington Ass'nfor Substance Abuse & Violence Prevention v.
State, 174 Wn.2d 642, 278 P.3d 632(2012)(WASAVP); City ofBurien v. Kiga,
144 Wn.2d 819, 31 P.3d 659(2001); Amalgamated Transit Union, 142 Wn.2d 183;
and City ofSequim v. Malkasian, 157 Wn.2d 251, 138 P.3d 943 (2006), for this
argument.
Those cases do not support EPIC's contention. To start, WASAVP involved
a challenge to the constitutionality of a voter-enacted measure on the grounds that
19 End Prison Industrial Complex v. King County, No. 95307-4
it failed to comply with the "single-subject and subject-in-title rules found in
article II, section 19 of the Washington State Constitution." 174 Wn.2d at 646.
Because that constitutional provision applies equally to the legislature's work as to
the people's work and because the legislature may amend the titles of bills as it
considers them, see, e.g., 1 Senate JOURNAL, 60th Leg., Reg. Sess., at 427(Wash.
2008)(recording Senate's approval of motion to amend bill title); Engrossed S.B.
6641, 60th Leg., Reg. Sess.(Wash. 2008), we have always permitted claims based
on article II, section 19 to be raised postenactment. Cf. Brown v. Owen,
165 Wn.2d 706, 720-24, 206 P.3d 310(2009)(detailing limits on the judiciary's
ability to examine the internal workings of the legislature). WASA VP did not
involve an objection to a voter-enacted law on the basis that its ballot title failed to
comply with statutory requirements.
Our decisions in Kiga and Amalgamated Transit Union are similar to our
decision in WASA VP in that respect. They resolved postenactment, article II,
WASA VP did not involve an objection to a voter-enacted law on the basis that its ballot title had failed to comply with former ROW 84.55.050's express-statement requirement. But the voter-enacted law at issue in that case was not a property tax inerease, so former ROW 84.55.050 had no bearing on the ballot title. 174 Wn.2d at 646-47 (describing an initiative concerning liquor laws).
20 End Prison Industrial Complex v. King County, No. 95307-4
section 19 constitutional challenges. Kiga, 144 Wn.2d at 822-23; Amalg. Transit
Union, 142 Wn.2d at 206-27. They did not involve objections based on statutory
requirements.'^ Kiga, 144 Wn.2d at 822-23; Amalg. Transit Union, 142 Wn.2d at
206-27.
Our decision in Malkasian did not involve an objection to a ballot title based
on statutory requirements either.'^ That decision addressed the scope of the local
initiative power. 157 Wn.2d at 254. We noted that whether a court considered that
question preenactment or postenactment,"the subject matter of the initiative is
either proper for direct legislation or it is not." Id. at 260 (citing Coppernoll v.
Reed, 155 Wn.2d 290, 299, 119 P.3d 318 (2005)). And if a local initiative exceeds
the scope ofthe local initiative power, superior courts can grant relief either
" Kiga and Amalgamated Transit Union did not involve objections based on former RCW 84.55.050's express-statement requirement. But like WASAVP,they did not involve measures that would increase property taxes, so former RCW 84.55.050 had no bearing on the ballot titles. Kiga, 144 Wn.2d at 822-23 (describing an initiative concerning the reduction and limitation of property taxes); Amalg. Transit Union, 142 Wn.2d at 193 (describing an initiative concerning license tab fees).
Like the other three decisions on which EPIC relies, Malkasian could not have involved an objection based on former RCW 84.55.050's express-statement requirement because the measure at issue in that case would not have increased property taxes. 157 Wn.2d at 255 (describing an initiative concerning voter ratification of city-issued bonds).
21 End Prison Industrial Complex v. King County, No. 95307-4
preenactment(by ordering it off the ballot) or postenactment(by striking down the
measure). Id. at 260-61. But postenactment review of that type does not involve
the ballot title's clarity or accuracy—issues that are subject to quick and conclusive
resolution. RCW 29A.36.090.
In fact, another decision, Washington Federation ofState Employees v.
State, shows precisely how our review of these types of claims differs. 127 Wn.2d
544, 901 P.2d 1028 (1995). In that case, we addressed a postenactment challenge
to the constitutionality of a voter-enacted law under article II, section 19 ofthe
Washington Constitution. Id. at 555-57. At the same time, we declined to
consider the postenactment objection to the law's ballot title based on its alleged
noncompliance with the clarity and accuracy requirements of former RCW
29.79.040 (1992). Id. at 560.'^ Thus, Washington Federation confirms that
Former RCW 29.79.040(1992) is substantively similar to current statutory accuracy and clarity requirements: it required the ballot title at issue in Washington Federation to be true, impartial, and concise. 127 Wn.2d at 557-58. We held that the objectors' "failure to timely challenge the ballot title [before the election] under [former RCW 29.79.060 (1992)] preclude[d] their claim of noncompliance with [former] RCW 29.79.040." Id. at 560. Just as former RCW 29.79.040 is substantively similar to present statutory accuracy and clarity requirements, former RCW 29.79.060 is substantively similar to current RCW 29A.36.090. Former RCW 29.79.060 provided a five-day window within which to object to a ballot title drafted by the attorney general, and it directed the superior court to give "first priority" to resolving the objections. Like
22 End Prison Industrial Complex v. King County, No. 95307-4
challenges to a ballot title based on failure to comply with statutory accuracy and
clarity requirements must be raised during the statutory time limit.
Conclusion
We hold that EPIC's claim is untimely. The decision of the Court of
Appeals is reversed, and the judgment of the superior court is affirmed.
current RCW 29A.36.090, former RCW 29.79.060 provided that the superior court's resolution of the objections would be "final."
23 End Prison Industrial Complex v. King County, No. 95307-4
WE CONCUR:
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