Senate committee removes signature requirement in candidate-filing bill substitute

The Senate State Government, Tribal Affairs and Elections Committee on Feb. 11 adopted a proposed substitute to Senate Bill 5225 that removes provisions on filing fees and candidate signature petitions for certain offices while leaving rules for candidates with similar names.

Committee staff described the substitute as striking the provisions relating to filing fees and signature petitions for candidates for the Washington State Legislature, statewide offices and the U.S. Congress while retaining the two provisions that address situations when candidates for the same office have similar names.

Committee chair moved the adoption of proposed substitute A; after brief remarks and an indication from members that the bill needed further vetting, the committee voted and the chair ruled that the substitute passed. The chair then said the bill "has passed subject to signatures."

Senator John Lubbock (introducing other legislation earlier) and other members commented that the provisions on signature petitions had not been fully vetted during the hearing record. Senator Wilson said the bill "needs a lot more work" and indicated her side would not seek to block further progress but expected continued discussion as the bill moves forward.

The substitute narrows the subject matter removed to the filing-fee/signature-petition sections; staff noted the substitute does not affect the provisions addressing candidate name similarity. No formal vote tally was announced in the hearing record. No additional amendments or fiscal impacts were reported during the executive-session action.

The committee’s action advances the bill to the next steps in the legislative process; sponsors and staff indicated they expect continued work on the measure as it moves forward.