Under the law today veterans get a 5% ,10% or general preference in public employment. Most common is 10 percent added to a passing civil service exam (think cop or FF test), you score a 90, and your score is converted to 99. ALL these would be eliminated if Referendum Measure 88 becomes the new law.
This is how Referendum Measure eliminates Veteran preference.
Here is how Referendum Measure R-88 would work to eliminate existing veteran preference.
First, the R-88 specifically adds “honorably discharged veteran or military status” to RCW 49.60.400 to prohibit Discrimination, and preferential treatment for veteran status.
Second, Section 3(1) of R-88 plainly states, “(1) The state shall not […] grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of […] honorably discharged veteran or military status in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.” If that becomes state law, the existing veterans preference statutes will go away, i.e. RCW 41.04.010 (Veterans’ scoring criteria in examinations) and RCW 73.16.010 (Preference in public employment). Under the law, a conflict exists if one statute allows what another prohibits or prohibits what another allows. Here this means that where R-88 conflicts with existing laws that provide preferential treatment for veterans in employment, one of those laws has to give way to the other.
Third, Section 6 of R-88, directs that within 3 months, “the office of program research and senate committee services shall prepare a joint memorandum and draft legislation to present to the appropriate committees of the legislature regarding any necessary changes to the Revised Code of Washington to bring nomenclature and processes in line with this act so as to fully effectuate and not interfere in any way with its intent.” What does that mean? Simple, it means to rewrite the existing RCWs (veterans preference statutes) to eliminate veterans preference so there is no conflict with R-88.