CLEAN v. City of Spokane

(dissenting) — I disagree with the majority regarding the validity of the declaration of emergency in the Spokane ordinance at issue. Relying on CLEAN v. State, 130 Wn.2d 782, 928 P.2d 1054 (1996), the majority concludes that a bare legislative assertion of an emergency, unless obviously false, forecloses the people’s referendum right. This court has never granted such deference to a Legislature’s conclusory assertion that an emergency exists. Rather, deference is granted only to the declaration of facts that constitute the alleged emergency. It remains a judicial question whether those facts…