The Kennewick courier. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1905-1914, 1911-03-10
NIGHT SESSIONS
FOR LEGISLATORS
Closing Days are Strenuous---Ref.
erendum Becomes a Law
Commission Plan Passes

lature were stirring ones. Nigh
sessions were the rule for the las
ten days and much of the time boil
houses were operated under call
doors being locked and no member;
permitted to leave the hall for hour.
at time
| The house did the greater amount
of work in the closing days. The
senate, over which President w. H
Paulhamus never had the best O.
control was further rent by ar
eleventh-hour break between Paul
hamus and J. A. Falconer, floor
leader for the administration forces
Much of the final time of the upper
house was spent in filibustering il
an attempt to delay action on the
employers liability law.
In the house the democrats made
occasional TRADES at the republican
organization but speaker Taylor
machine worked smoothly and
bowled over all opposition.
Initiative and Referendum Pass
In spite of severe opposition the
senate has passed the house bill pro-
viding for the initiative and refer
endum. All possibility of the bill
failing through pickering between
the two houses has ended, the house
having adopted the amendments
passed by the senate, which make
the bill rather more stringent.
As the bill passed, petition
signed by 10 per cent of the electors
who voted at the last gubernatorial
election can place any desired law
ON the ballot at the next general
election. A six per cent petition
can cause any law passed by the
legislature to be submitted to the
people before it can become effective
At least one-third of the voters
who cast their ballots at the election
must vote on each proposed law,
however, or the question fails. The
bill also provides that arguments
for and against any proposed law
which is to be voted ON by the peo-
pie must be mailed by the state to
each voter in advance of the cleo
ton.
The Washing law closely follows
the general lines of the Oregon law
but the percentages required are
slightly higher.
Pass Commission Bill
Cities of 40, 900 and less may now
adopt the commission form of gov
ernment. Senator Frank Allen s
bill to this effect, which previously
passed in the senate, was adopted
in the lower house last week, i'm
mediately following the decision of
the supreme court in the Spokane
case, establishing the constitutions
ality of the commission plan.
| The Allen bill provides for only
three commissioners, as against the
five in Spokane and Vacoma. One
of these is to be mayor. The house
made IA few slight changes in the
bill, lowering the salaries of the
commissioners in the smaller towns.
Elect Large
There will be no congressional re-
districting of Washington into five
instead of three, congressional dis
tricts by this legislature and the re-
| will probably be that in 1912 Wash
ington will elect twocongressmen
at large" Every elector will have
a chance to vote for three members
of Congress, one from his own dis
trict and the two at large"
This is the result of the failure OF
congress to pass a congressional re-
apportiOnment measure at this ses-
sion. The legislature therefore could
not divide the state into five dis
tricts, as had been planned.
The next congress will undoubted.
ly pass an apportionment bill, how
ever, and there is little doubt but
that Washington will get two addi.
tional congressman. The law pro.
lvides that in such an event the two