Companion Bill to Cancel 2012 Washington Presidential Primary Introduced in the State House

The House companion of the state Senate bill introduced last week to cancel Washington state's 2012 presidential primary was introduced on Tuesday. Both the vice chair (Sherry Appleton - D) and another member (John McCoy - D) of the committee to which the bill has been referred -- State Government and Tribal Affairs -- are serving as co-sponsors of the legislation. Like SB 5119, HB 1324 would cancel the 2012 presidential primary in the Evergreen state and allow for a January 2013 expiration of the change to the law. That sunset means that the cancelation is only in effect for the 2012 cycle and that future cancelations would be up to future state legislatures.

Both bills -- House and Senate -- were introduced at the request of the governor and secretary of state and are projected to save the state $10 million if passed and signed into law. In both cases, the bills were introduced by either chairs or vice chairs of the relevant committees that will review the legislation and appear to be fast-tracked -- to some degree -- for passage. Washington's state legislature is controlled by the Democratic Party and there seems to be enough support for the bill's passage at the top (executive branch and committee leadership) to get the bill through both chambers quickly.

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