Signatures on marijuana petition would put initiative on the ballot, unless Legislature passes it

By Evan Smith

Contributing Writer

Broadcast news reports have been saying that Initiative 502 has enough signatures to bring marijuana legalization to the fall ballot.

That’s wrong.

It’s wrong because I-502 is an initiative to the Legislature rather than the initiative to the people that we’re accustomed to.

We see initiatives to the Legislature less than half as often as initiatives to the people.

An initiative to the Legislature that gets enough signatures becomes a bill in the coming legislative session.

The Legislature can do one of four things with the measure: Pass it; reject it; ignore it; or amend it.

If the Legislature would pass the measure, it would become law 60 days after the end of the session unless the governor vetoes it. Opponents would have 60 days to collect signatures for a referendum that would suspend the law pending the November vote.

If the legislature rejects the law or the governor vetoes it or the Legislature does nothing, the initiative goes to a November vote.

If the Legislature amends the initiative, both the original version and the amended version go to the November ballot. Voters would face two questions. First, they’d vote yes or no on marijuana legalization. Second, whether they vote yes or no, they would vote between the original version and the amended version.

So, expect the measure to be on the ballot unless the Legislature passes it without amending it and there’s no referendum to repeal it.