On February 25, the Washington State Court of Appeals ruled that local initiatives that are only advisory are not permitted in the state. See the decision here in City of Monroe v Seeds of Liberty, 68473-6. An initiative petition had attempted to obtain a public vote on red-light traffic cameras in the city. The city has such cameras and the initiative proponents wanted to eliminate them.

The Appeals Court said that the legislature had not authorized cities themselves to determine whether to use red-light-cameras; the legislature had only authorized city councils to make that decision. Initiative backers said they still wanted their measure on the ballot as an advisory, non-binding measurement of public opinion, but the Court said the entire subject is off-limits for initiatives, whether binding or advisory.

An initiative, I-517, recently qualified for the statewide ballot in Washington state. It says that local and state initiatives that have enough valid signatures must be placed on the ballot, regardless of their subject matter. Under I-517, if an initiative passes and it is believed that the initiative is unconstitutional or unlawful, that must be adjudicated after the initiative passes, not before the election is held. Washington state voters will vote on I-517 in November 2013.

This article describes the Connecticut legislative hearing held on February 25 on the National Popular Vote Plan bill.

On February 20, the South Dakota Senate defeated SB 82, which would have altered how parties nominate candidates for Attorney General, Secretary of State, Auditor, Treasurer, Land Commissioner, and Public Utilities Commission. Current law says party nominees for those positions are chosen in state conventions. The bill would have ended nomination by convention for those offices, and instead provided for primaries.

The vote in the Senate was 11-22. All Democrats who participated in the roll call supported the bill, but Republicans rejected it 4-22. Four Republican Senators who had voted for the bill in Committee voted against it on the Senate floor. The State Chair of the Republican Party had urged the defeat of the bill after it had passed Committee.