CLEAN v State :: 130 Wn2d 782
Category: Land Use and Property Rights
The Legislature, during special session, established the financing of the Mariner's baseball stadium using the emergency clause. A citizens' group challenged the "emergency" nature of this legislation and sought to declare it invalid. The Supreme Court and the lower court determined that the use of the emergency clause was warranted.
The emergency clause has long been overused to circumvent the will of the people. It removes the citizens' ability and constitutional right to bring the issue before the public for a vote. The premise is that the situation is an emergency and any delay would bring great harm or disaster. Justice Alexander, who wrote the opinion, seems to have forgotten his warning from earlier years on the appellate court. Here is a quote from his dictum in Save Our State Park v Hordyk, 71 WnApp 84 (1993).
. . .we feel that we must say frankly and in all seriousness that the custom of attaching emergency clauses to all sorts of bills, many of which cannot by any stretch of the imagination be regarded as actually emergent. . . has become so general as to make it appear, in light of recent experience, that a number of [formerly established presumptions indulged in favor of legislative declarations of emergencies] can no longer be deemed controlling. [State ex rel. Kennedy v Reeves, 22 Wn2d 677, 683?84 (1945)].
Ex-legislator, Justice Talmadge, in his separate concurring opinion, restated that the Court would never presume the Legislature deliberately intended to infringe upon a constitutional right. [at 819-20, using a quote from Kennedy v Reeves]. Justice Guy agreed that the Stadium Act was otherwise constitutional but disagreed that the act qualified as emergency legislation. [at 820].
Only two justices openly came out on the side of the taxpayer and upholding the citizens' constitutional right of referendum. Justice Sanders wrote that "By judicial fiat the [Court] virtually eliminate the people's constitutional right to referendum by leaving it to the tender mercies of the Legislature.” Madsen concurred with Sanders.
With the help of the Legislature, the Mariners pitched a shut-out game against the Taxpayers. Once again, the Court is on hand to protect the good-ole boy club.
Rating the Usual Suspects:
| pass | Blankinship, John | |
| pass | Eugster, Stephen K | |
| pass | Guy, Richard | |
| pass | Madsen, Barbara | |
| pass | Newman, Shawn | |
| pass | Sanders, Richard | |
| pass | Scannell, John | |
| pass | Sundberg, Kris | |
| fail | Alexander, Gerry | |
| fail | Collins, William B | |
| fail | Dolliver, James | |
| fail | Durham, Barbara | |
| fail | Even, Jeffrey T | |
| fail | Gregoire, Christine | |
| fail | Johnson, Charles | |
| fail | Lawrence, Paul J | |
| fail | Maleng, Norman | |
| fail | McPhee, William Thomas | |
| fail | Pierce, Narda | |
| fail | Slonecker, Susan | |
| fail | Smith, Charles | |
| fail | Talmadge, Phil | |
| fail | Weresch-Doornink, Eileen | |
| fail | Yerxa, Quentin |