Washington Initiative 1185 was a 2012

initiative Popular initiative A popular initiative (also citizens' initiative) is a form of direct democracy by which a petition meeting certain hurdles can force a legal procedure on a proposition. In direct initiative, the proposition is put direct ...

Washington state Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

. It passed with 63.91% of the

vote Voting is the process of choosing officials or policies by casting a ballot, a document used by people to formally express their preferences. Republics and representative democracies are governments where the population chooses representative ...

, but portions were declared

unconstitutional In constitutional law, constitutionality is said to be the condition of acting in accordance with an applicable constitution; "Webster On Line" the status of a law, a procedure, or an act's accordance with the laws or set forth in the applic ...

in February 2013.

Ballot measure title and summary

The full text of the measure is available

online In computer technology and telecommunications, online indicates a state of connectivity, and offline indicates a disconnected state. In modern terminology, this usually refers to an Internet connection, but (especially when expressed as "on lin ...

. As described by the Secretary of State's office, I-1185 "concerns tax and fee increases imposed by state government."

Support and opposition

Statements for and against each ballot measure are also available online as part of the official online voter's guide. As per RCW 42.17A on "campaign disclosure and contribution," the

Washington State Public Disclosure Commission The Washington State Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) is an agency of the Washington state government that regulates candidates, campaigns and lobbyists. It enforces the state's disclosure and campaign finances laws, and provides public access ...

also posts campaign information online, including information for referendums and initiatives The primary sponsor registered for I-1185 was

Tim Eyman Timothy Donald Eyman (born December 22, 1965) is an American anti-tax activist and businessman. Since 1997, Eyman has become the most prolific sponsor of Washington ballot measures in its history, having qualified seventeen statewide initiatives ...

, who proposed 25 initiatives for 2012. Additional sponsors were Leo J. Fagan and M.J. Fagan. Approximately 95% of the money to support the initiative was reportedly from "corporate behemoths such as oil companies ... the national beer and soda-pop industries and big pharmaceutical firms."

References

{{reflist Electoral system ballot measures in the United States Taxation in Washington (state) 2012 Washington (state) ballot measures Initiatives in the United States