This bill amends RCW 29A.72.240 to add a specific, expedited judicial review and notice process for disputes over whether an initiative or referendum petition has the required number of signatures. Under the amended section, citizens who are dissatisfied with the Secretary of State’s determination about signature sufficiency may, within five days of that determination, apply to the Superior Court of Thurston County for a citation to require the Secretary of State to submit the petition to the court for examination, for a writ of mandate compelling certification of the measure and petition, or for an injunction to prevent certification to the legislature. Those applications and proceedings take precedence over other cases and must be speedily heard and determined. The Superior Court’s decision granting or refusing a writ or injunction may be reviewed by the Washington Supreme Court if review is sought within five days of the Superior Court decision. If the Supreme Court decides a writ or injunction should issue, it must issue the writ directed to the Secretary of State; otherwise it dismisses the proceedings. The Supreme Court clerk must promptly notify the Secretary of State of the court’s decision. Separately, the Secretary of State must notify the chair and ranking member of the appropriate legislative committees within five days of any challenge to the sufficiency of signatures. This is a procedural change to existing law establishing an expedited judicial remedy and specific notice requirements; it does not create a new crime or change criminal penalties. Affected entities named in the text include the Secretary of State, the Superior Court of Thurston County, the Washington Supreme Court, the Supreme Court clerk, and legislative committee leadership. The text does not define which committees are meant by “appropriate legislative committees,” does not show how this section fits with related statutes, and does not fully specify procedural details of what constitutes a “challenge.”

If enacted, the bill gives people who disagree with the Secretary of State’s decision about whether an initiative or referendum has enough signatures a fast judicial route: within five days they can ask the Thurston County Superior Court to require the Secretary to submit the petition for court review, to issue an order forcing certification, or to block certification to the legislature. Those cases must be prioritized and quickly decided, and the Superior Court’s ruling can be appealed to the Washington Supreme Court within five days; the Supreme Court will either issue the order to the Secretary of State or dismiss the case, and its clerk must immediately notify the Secretary of State of that decision. The most affected parties are citizens who file challenges, the Secretary of State, the Thurston County Superior Court, and the Washington Supreme Court and its clerk. Practically, the change is likely to increase urgent workload and scheduling pressure on those courts and on Secretary of State staff, require quicker administrative notifications to legislative committee leaders, and may create short-term staffing or processing costs to meet tight deadlines. The statute does not specify which legislative committees count as “appropriate” or exactly how a challenge must be filed, so some implementation details remain unclear.