The Clark County Charter Review Commission has passed 10 amendments that will be put to a vote in the November 2026 general election. The amendments cover a range of topics, including requiring a supermajority for the County Council to raise taxes, clarifying nonpartisan office elections, and establishing a five-member ethics commission.

Amendments Passed

The 10 amendments passed by the Commission include:

• Clarifying Nonpartisan Office Elections: This amendment would require that if there are two or fewer candidates for a nonpartisan county executive or legislative office, they would go directly to the general election ballot, bypassing the primary ballot.
• Housing Impact Analysis: This amendment would require Clark County to publish a public analysis of how proposed changes to land use or construction codes could affect land supply and construction costs before adopting any such amendments.
• Requiring a Supermajority Council approval for county taxes: This amendment would require a supermajority vote of the Clark County Council to enact any new councilmanic tax or to increase the rate of any existing councilmanic tax.
• Revise budget transparency and process: This amendment would require earlier and more transparent budget development and publication.
• Performance audits: This amendment would make it clear that the county council or legislative branch may conduct a performance audit of county finances or programs to review effectiveness and efficiency.
• Limitation on consecutive terms for county council members: This amendment would establish a limit of three consecutive terms for members of the Clark County Council.
• Revise Council Powers Regarding Boards and Commissions: This amendment would expand the County Council’s concurrent nomination authority for boards and commissions.
• Require Annual Report Publication by the County Manager: This amendment would change language in the Charter to say the County Manager must provide an annual report and publish broadly and be made accessible to the general public.
• Establishing a five-member ethics commission: This amendment would increase the number of ethics commissioners from three to five.
• Amending the Initiative Mini and Referenda Process: This amendment would lower the requirement for verified signatures on an Initiative or Referendum petition from 10 to 8.

The Commission started with 40 amendments before opting for these final 10 for 2026. The Commission will also be meeting to determine amendments to be voted on in 2027 and 2028.

Original reporting: Clark County Today (Vancouver WA) — read the source article.