(1) Any legal voter, or organization of legal voters of Pierce County may file an initiative proposal with the filing officer who, within five business days after receipt thereof, shall give the proposed initiative a number, which shall thereafter be the identifying number for the measure. The filing voter or organization shall submit the petition in substantially the same form and style as prescribed for state initiatives by Chapter 29A.72 RCW and Chapter 434-379 WAC, as now enacted or hereinafter amended.

(2) The filing officer shall then transmit a copy of the proposal to the Prosecuting Attorney who, within 15 business days after receipt thereof, shall formulate a concise statement, posed as a positive question, not to exceed 20 words, which shall express and give a true and impartial statement of the purpose of the measure. Such concise statement will be the ballot title.

(3) The petitioner shall then have 120 calendar days to collect the signatures of the registered voters of the County equal in number to not less than 10 percent of the number of votes cast (to include votes cast for candidates and write-ins, not to include overvotes or undervotes) in the County in the last election for the office of Executive. Each petition shall contain the full text of the proposed measure, ordinance, or amendment to an ordinance and the ballot title.

(4) The filing officer shall verify the sufficiency of the signatures on the petition, and if it is validated, submit the proposal to the people at the next general election that is not less than 120 calendar days after submittal of signatures to the filing officer for validation, unless the Council enacts the proposal without change or amendment.

(5) If the Council does not adopt the proposed measure and adopts a substitute measure concerning the same subject matter, the substitute proposal shall be placed on the same ballot with the initiative proposal; and the voters shall be given the choice of accepting either or rejecting both and then be given the choice of accepting one and rejecting the other. If a majority of the voters voting on the first issue is for accepting either, then the measure receiving the majority of the votes cast on the second issue shall be deemed approved. If a majority of those voting on the first issue is for rejecting both, then neither measure shall be approved regardless of the vote on the second issue. (Amendment No. 49 proposed by Ordinance No. 2018-52, Approved November 6, 2018; Originally Adopted November 4, 1980)