(1) Any legal voter, or organization of legal voters of Pierce County may file a referendum proposal against any enacted ordinance, or portion thereof, with the filing officer within 15 calendar days after the ordinance is passed by the Council. The filing voter or organization shall submit the referendum proposal in substantially the same form and style as prescribed for state referenda by Chapter 29A.72 RCW and Chapter 434-379 WAC, as now enacted or hereinafter amended.

(2) Within five business days after receipt thereof, the filing officer shall give the referendum proposal a number, which shall thereafter be the identifying number for the measure. 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 measure being referred. Such concise statement will be the ballot title. Also within the same 15-business day period, the Prosecuting Attorney or designee shall notify the petitioner if, in the Prosecutor's opinion, the referendum is not legal.

(3) The petitioner shall then have 120 calendar days to collect the signatures of registered voters of the County equal in number to not less than 8 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 measure being referred and the ballot title. The filing officer shall verify the sufficiency of the signatures on the petition, and if it is validated, submit the measure to the people at the next general election occurring not less than 120 calendar days after submittal of signatures to the filing officer for validation.

(4) Should the County file a legal challenge to any referendum and the court determine that the referendum filer is the prevailing party, the referendum filer may, in the discretion of the court, be entitled to reasonable attorney's fees incurred in defending the challenge. The 120-calendar day signature gathering period is tolled (suspended) for up to 45 calendar days while awaiting the outcome of the legal challenge.

(5) The County Council may establish, by Ordinance, a referendum filing fee not to exceed the amount imposed by the State for each referendum filed. (Amendment No. 49 proposed by Ordinance No. 2018-52, Approved November 6, 2018; Amendment No. 43, Approved November 8, 2016; Amendment No. 35 proposed by Ordinance No. 2007-66, Approved November 6, 2007; Originally Adopted November 4, 1980)