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WA · constitutions

Wash. Const. art. VIII, § 3

SPECIAL INDEBTEDNESS, HOW AUTHORIZED

activein force · 2026-09-25 – presentas-observed

Except the debt specified in sections one and two of this article, no debts shall hereafter be contracted by, or on behalf of this state, unless such debt shall be authorized by law for some single work or object to be distinctly specified therein. No such law shall take effect until it shall, at a general election, or a special election called for that purpose, have been submitted to the people and have received a majority of all the votes cast for and against it at such election.

History

[AMENDMENT 60, part, 1971 House Joint Resolution No. 52, part, p 1836. Approved November, 1972.] Amendment 48 (1966) — Art. 8 Section 3 SPECIAL INDEBTEDNESS, HOW AUTHORIZED — Except the debt specified in sections one and two of this article, no debts shall hereafter be contracted by, or on behalf of this state, unless such debt shall be authorized by law for some single work or object to be distinctly specified therein, which law shall provide ways and means, exclusive of loans, for the payment of the interest on such debt as it falls due, and also to pay and discharge the principal of such debt within twenty years from the time of the contracting thereof. No such law shall take effect until it shall, at a general election, have been submitted to the people and have received a majority of all the votes cast for and against it at such election, and all moneys raised by authority of such law shall be applied only to the specific object therein stated, or to the payment of the debt thereby created, and notice that such law will be submitted to the people shall be published at least four times during the four weeks next preceding the election in every legal newspaper in the state: Provided, That failure of any newspaper to publish this notice shall not be interpreted as affecting the outcome of the election. [AMENDMENT 48, 1965 ex.s. House Joint Resolution No. 39, p 2822. Approved November 8, 1966.] Original text — Art. 8 Section 3 SPECIAL INDEBTEDNESS HOW AUTHORIZED — Except the debt specified in sections one and two of this article, no debts shall hereafter be contracted by, or on behalf of this state, unless such debt shall be authorized by law for some single work or object to be distinctly specified therein, which law shall provide ways and means, exclusive of loans, for the payment of the interest on such debt as it falls due, and also to pay and discharge the principal of such debt within twenty years from the time of the contracting thereof. No such law shall take effect until it shall, at a general election, have been submitted to the people and have received a majority of all the votes cast for and against it at such election, and all moneys raised by authority of such law shall be applied only to the specific object therein stated, or to the payment of the debt thereby created, and such law shall be published in at least one newspaper in each county, if one be published therein, throughout the state, for three months next preceding the election at which it is submitted to the people.

Provenance

Source
leg.wa.gov
Retrieved
2026-09-25
Edition
2026-09-25
Content hash
3ee119539d7446f157f73e3b702176f07e8f44e1b61f10571f686832bd85e797
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