Rep. Sherry Appleton says she'll introduce a bill today prohibiting paying initiative signature gatherers a per-signature bounty. There have been several attempts in the past to regulate the signature business. Courts have said that the state cannot ban paid signature gathering all together, and proposals to require hourly pay and residency and age requirements have failed to pass the Legislature.

But Appleton's latest measure is simpler. It says:

A person who pays or receives consideration based on the number of signatures obtained on an initiative or referendum petition is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable to the same extent as a misdemeanor that is punishable under RCW 9A.20.021.

The findings section of the legislation says:

The legislature finds that paying workers based on the number of signatures obtained on an initiative or referendum petition increases the possibility of fraud in the signature gathering process. This practice may encourage the signature gatherer to misrepresent a ballot measure, to apply undue pressure on a person to sign a petition that the person is not qualified to sign, to encourage signing even if the person has previously signed, or to invite forgery.

This morning Appleton said she had 30 co-sponsors for the legislation, including four Republicans.

I've asked Tim Eyman, who has used paid signature gatherers extensively, for his reaction.

UPDATE: Eyman responds by saying he thinks the proposal would be unconstitutional and unfair.

The courts have ruled that as long as legislators and their staffs can be compensated, so too can citizens for exercising their political free speech rights. But politicians claim they're not banning compensation, only ONE METHOD of compensation. Bull hockey. They know this bill locks it up in the courts for years with their legal bills being paid by taxpayers. THIS REQUIREMENT WOULD DOUBLE THE COST OF GETTING INITIATIVES QUALIFIED FOR THE BALLOT.

...

This radically increases the cost of qualifying an initiative for the ballot. This won't impact the big guys -- doctors, lawyers, teachers'
unions, and other special interest groups -- they've got the money to overcome this doubling of the cost. Who's affected? Initiative campaigns like ours that draw thousands of small contributions from thousands of heroic supporters.