For the first time in more than a century of voter-submitted ballot proposals, the filing fee for Initiatives to the Washington Legislature has moved from $5 to an inflation-indexed amount, currently set at $156. Similar adjustments to the filing fees for referenda and Initiatives to the People will take effect in January, the beginning of the next filing period for each.
According to a news release from the Washington Secretary of State’s Office, the fee has remained static for more than a century, despite inflation. In 1912, voters approved Amendment 7 of the Washington State Constitution to create the ability to file initiatives and referenda, starting in 1913. That year, the filing fee was set at $5 to mirror contemporaneous state filing costs. At that time, home prices averaged $3,500, a gallon of milk was around 35 cents, and movie tickets were 7 cents. The change indexes the filing fees for initiatives and referenda to the modern equivalent of $5 in 1913, using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics valuation, and ensures that annual review and adjustment will keep the relative value current.
An additional rule change will randomize the numbers assigned to each initiative rather than numbering them sequentially in order of filing. The numbers will be assigned by rolling 10-sided dice.
