A RESOLUTION submitting a proposition to the qualified electors of the City, at an election to be held on November 7, 2006, to amend Section 3 of Article XVIII of the Charter of the City of Seattle to bring this section of the Charter into conformity with the other sections of the Charter dealing with publication of ballot measures; calling on the City Clerk to certify the proposed amendment to the Director of the Department of Records and Elections of King County and requesting and directing such Director to call a special election and submit the proposition to City voters; and providing for the publication of such proposed amendment.

WHEREAS, Section 3 of Article XVIII of the City Charter currently directs that certain ballot measures be "posted" and published for thirty days prior to the election at which the measures will appear on the ballot; and

WHEREAS, Section 3 of Article XVIII of the City Charter is worded exactly the same today as it was in 1946 when the current version of the City Charter was adopted, and there is evidence that the same wording existed prior to the 1946 Charter; and

WHEREAS, since 1946 other methods of notifying the public about ballot measures have become the norm methods such as voters' pamphlets and wide-spread and widely accessible media coverage; and

WHEREAS, in November 2002 the City of Seattle placed Charter Amendment No. 2 on the ballot, asking voters to approve amendments to Section 1 and Section 2 of Article XX of the City Charter; and

WHEREAS, City of Seattle voters approved November 2002 Charter Amendment No. 2; and

WHEREAS, Charter Amendment No. 2 allowed the City to modify the pre1946 publication provision and publish certain future ballot measures in accordance with state law; and

WHEREAS, Section 3 of Article XVIII contains the same publication requirement that was changed in Section 1 and Section 2 of Article XX in November 2002, and should have been included on the ballot at that time; and

WHEREAS, amending Section 3 of Article XVIII would allow the City to publish other future ballot measures in accordance with publishing requirements set forth in state law, reduce publication costs, and bring Section 3 of Article XVIII into conformity with the Article and Sections likewise amended in 2002; NOW THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEATTLE AS

FOLLOWS:

Section 1. Subject to the approval of a proposition by a majority of the qualified electors casting votes thereon, Section 3 of Article XVIII of the Charter of the City of Seattle is amended as follows:

ARTICLE XVIII. Elections

Sec. 3. SUBMITTING QUESTIONS TO VOTERS: Whenever any question is to be submitted to the electors of the City and the method of such submission is not specially provided by this Charter or by general law, the same may be submitted at either a general or special election, and the method of submission shall be substantially as follows: The City Clerk shall prepare a notice containing the proposition in full, and shall cause the same to be posted, and to be published in full in the City official newspaper in accordance with state law for thirty days next proceeding the day of election, and the ballots at such election shall contain such statement of the proposition as shall be prescribed by ordinance.

Section 2. The King County Director of Records and Elections, as ex officio supervisor of elections, is hereby requested to call a special election and is directed to submit the charter amendment proposed herein to the qualified electors of the City at the election on November 7, 2006.

Section 3. The City Clerk shall certify to the Director of the Department of Records and Elections of King County as Supervisor of Elections the charter amendment proposed herein in the form of a ballot title prepared by the City Attorney pursuant to RCW 29A.36.071, and shall certify a copy of the proposed Charter amendment, and the same shall be published by the City Clerk in accordance with state law.

Adopted by the City Council the _____ day of _____________, 2006, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its adoption this _____ day of ________________, 2006.

________________________________________

President __________ of the City Council

Filed by me this ______ day of _________________, 2006.

________________________________________

City Clerk

(Seal)

JP:gts

07/07/06

Charter Amend Publication.doc

(Ver. 1)

1