{"id":2225882,"date":"2024-04-20T11:03:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-20T15:03:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/clock-running-on-gathering-signatures-on-three-new-initiatives-to-people-of-washington\/"},"modified":"2024-04-20T11:07:28","modified_gmt":"2024-04-20T15:07:28","slug":"clock-running-on-gathering-signatures-on-three-new-initiatives-to-people-of-washington","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/clock-running-on-gathering-signatures-on-three-new-initiatives-to-people-of-washington\/","title":{"rendered":"Time is ticking to collect signatures for three new initiatives in Washington state"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fclock-running-on-gathering-signatures-on-three-new-initiatives-to-people-of-washington%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2225882&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Backers of three new initiatives in Washington have a limited\u200b timeframe of around eleven weeks to gather signatures for potential inclusion on the November ballot. The initiatives aim to repeal House \u200cBill 1589 concerning natural gas, eliminate sanctuary state policies, and address squatters&#8217; rights. These issues have <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/calif-dems-float-mandating-gender-affirmation-for-child-custody\/\" title=\"Calif. Dems propose requiring gender affirmation in child custody.\">sparked significant debate<\/a> and concern among Washington residents and\u2064 officials\u2062 like State Representative Jim Walsh.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>(The Center Square)\u00a0\u2013 Backers of three new initiatives to the people of Washington state have around eleven weeks to gather signatures, if they hope to qualify for the November ballot.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a heavy lift,\u201d said Washington State Republican Party Chair Jim Walsh, who is also a state representative from Aberdeen. \u201cI went around the state holding town halls, and these are the three main things people frankly ranted about.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The new initiatives would\u00a0repeal House Bill 1589 that phases out natural gas,\u00a0eliminate sanctuary state polices that prevent local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration agencies, and put an end to squatters\u2019 rights.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Repealing House Bill 1589<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe main one, the biggest one by a long stretch, is this issue of banning or beginning the process of banning natural gas as an energy source,\u201d Walsh said.<\/p>\n<p>The governor reportedly had to lean on members of his own party to find enough votes to get the controversial measure passed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInslee used what little bit of fleeting capital he has left to push <a href=\"https:\/\/app.leg.wa.gov\/billsummary?BillNumber=1589&#038;Year=2023&#038;Initiative=false\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>HB 1589<\/strong><\/a>, when even his own party didn\u2019t want to support it,\u201d Walsh said.<\/p>\n<p>He noted HB 1589 doesn\u2019t <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nyc-council-votes-to-ban-natural-gas-in-new-buildings\/\" title=\"NYC Council Votes To Ban Natural Gas in New Buildings\">ban natural gas<\/a> per se, \u201cbut it begins the process that would move us to eventually ban natural gas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The new law, he said, is concerning for the general public.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOf most concern for working families now is it puts in place a series of mechanisms that allow utilities, namely Puget Sound Energy, to raise rates both for natural gas service and for electricity, basically to fund the destruction of existing capital assets that are involved in the supply of natural gas,\u201d Walsh said. <\/p>\n<p>That means, according to Walsh, PSE will have to write down its assets, including the pipeline system, the hardware and the trucks that deliver natural gas.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt creates a paper hardship for PSE,\u201d he said. \u201cThen they use that loss as justification for raising all rates, not just natural gas, but all of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>PSE and supporters of the measure argue the Utilities and Transportation Commission is nonpartisan and designed to look out for the public when it comes to rates.<\/p>\n<p>Walsh isn\u2019t buying that.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe UTC is, frankly, instructed by the bill to rubber stamp what the utility would say,\u201d he contended.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Rolling back Washington\u2019s sanctuary state status<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople are frustrated by Washington\u2019s so<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/u-s-army-vet-who-converted-to-islam-and-supported-violent-jihad-convicted-in-plot-to-bomb-california-rally\/\" title=\"U.S. Army Vet Who Converted To Islam And Supported Violent Jihad Convicted In Plot To Bomb California Rally\">-called sanctuary state<\/a> and policies, and they want those basically overturned or undone,\u201d Walsh told The Center Square.<\/p>\n<p>Walsh went on to explain, \u201cSanctuary state policies are primarily a series of executive orders that the outgoing governor, Jay Inslee, has made.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s not to say there is no mention in state statutes concerning sanctuary policies, \u201cbut mostly it\u2019s been these executive orders,\u201d according Walsh.<\/p>\n<p>In 2019, Gov. Jay Inslee signed into law a bill that restricts state and local authorities from asking about people\u2019s immigration status. <\/p>\n<p>Sanctuary-state opponents argue the policy has allowed wanted felons to escape justice and led to community harm. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Doing away with squatters\u2019 rights in Washington<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnother issue people said they care a lot about is this matter of squatters\u2019 rights, with a couple of high-profile stories and cases in the Puget Sound that have really brought this issue to point,\u201d Walsh noted. <\/p>\n<p>In Bellevue, Sang Kim, who along with his family, moved into a $2 million home owned by\u00a0Jaskaran\u00a0Singh\u00a0Sarao in early 2022. Kim put a stated income on the rental application of $400,000 and then, after paying the first month, stopped paying.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe idea that someone can illegally occupy another person\u2019s property or legally rent it, but then violate the lease and continue to live there, just rubs people as wrong,\u201d Walsh said.<\/p>\n<p>Supporters have less than three months to gather about 324,500 valid signatures to get each initiative on the ballot. The signatures are due by 5 p.m. on July 5.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTime is so tight here and we may not be able to do all of them, so we\u2019re trying to use our experience with the six from last year\u00a0and figure out what the best approach is,\u201d Walsh said, referencing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecentersquare.com\/washington\/article_891eda70-da92-11ee-b7be-d3c95d16efa4.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>three of six<\/strong><\/a> conservative-backed ballot initiatives passed and adopted by the state Legislature. The fate of the three remaining initiatives will be decided by voters this November. <\/p>\n<p>The Center Square reached out to the Washington State Democratic Party for comment on the three new proposed initiatives.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s clear that the Washington GOP has given up on recruiting candidates who can inspire voters and win elections so they are instead focusing their turnout operation on putting forward divisive initiatives that will take our state backwards,\u201d Shasti Conrad, party chair, said in an email. \u201cThese new initiatives are transparent ploys to muddy the waters and hide from the GOP\u2019s shameful record on the environment, human rights, and keeping our communities safe. We know the GOP wants dirty air, dirty water, and doesn\u2019t view undocumented people as human beings with needs and rights. We won\u2019t stand for it and we don\u2019t think Washingtonians will either.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Supporters of three fresh initiatives in Washington state have approximately eleven weeks to amass signatures for a shot at the November ballot. Washington State Republican Party Chair Jim Walsh, also a state representative from Aberdeen, acknowledged the challenge ahead, calling it a significant endeavor while traveling across the state<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2225883,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP24014160623172-1-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2225882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP24014160623172-1-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2225882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2225882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2225882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2225883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2225882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2225882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2225882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}