Judge takes measure blocking drug injection sites off ballot I-27 gathered nearly 70K signatures, but 'extends beyond the scope of the local initiative power'

Richard Chenery injects heroin he bought on the street at the Insite safe injection clinic in Vancouver, B.C., on Wednesday May 11, 2011. Richard Chenery injects heroin he bought on the street at the Insite safe injection clinic in Vancouver, B.C., on Wednesday May 11, 2011. Photo: DARRYL DYCK/ASSOCIATED PRESS Photo: DARRYL DYCK/ASSOCIATED PRESS Image 1 of / 14 Caption Close Judge takes measure blocking drug injection sites off ballot 1 / 14 Back to Gallery

A ban on legal drug injection sites inside King County will not appear on the February ballot after a judge ruled the proposal violated state law.

On Monday, King County Superior Court Judge Veronica Alicia-Galvan ruled in favor of the August lawsuit filed by nonprofit Protect Public Health -- to which the City of Seattle was later added as a co-plaintiff -- that asked for Initiative 27 to be left off the Feb. 13 ballot.

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I-27, which would cut off funding for supervised injection sites inside King County, gathered nearly 70,000 signatures in a two-month period last spring, but narrowly missed the deadline to appear on the November ballot.

Protect Public Health and the city argued that I-27 infringed on public health policy-making, which is to be made administratively, not legislatively, per state law. After both sides made their cases in a hearing Friday, Galvan agreed.

Galvan found that I-27 "proposes to engage in the appropriations process through prohibition of funding and therefore impinges upon the legislative authority of the county" and "interferes with the duties and obligations of the Board and County Council by subjugating public health officials and the County Council to potential criminal and civil liability if they attempt to fulfill the mandates which have been placed upon them by state law."

"Local initiative cannot usurp state law," Galvan wrote in her ruling. "I-27 in its entirety extends beyond the scope of the local initiative power."

Impaction, the political action committee that sponsored I-27, is expected to appeal Galvan's decision to the state supreme court.

Earlier in the day, the King County Council considered whether or not to place its own proposal on supervised injection sites on the February ballot as an alternative to I-27.

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The county's deadline for measures to be submitted for the February ballot is Dec. 15. If supporters of I-27 win their appeal after the deadline, King County Elections officials will need to consult with the county prosecutor's office to determine how to proceed.

The opening of two supervised injection sites, or Community Health Engagement Locations (CHELs), were one of eight recommendations made by the King County Heroin and Prescription Opiate Task Force in September 2016 as part of a comprehensive plan to combat the county's opioid crisis.

The sites, proponents argue, help keep users from overdosing and spreading disease by providing anti-overdose medication, clean needles and care providers who might eventually convince users to seek treatment.

Seattlepi.com reporter Stephen Cohen can be reached at 206-448-8313 or stephencohen@seattlepi.com. Follow Stephen on Twitter at @scohenPI.