Judge rules for OFM in dispute with Eyman

Thurston County Superior Court Judge Richard Hicks has rejected Tim Eyman's legal challenge of I-1033's fiscal impact statement prepared by the Office of Financial Management (OFM). This means OFM's I-1033 analysis will be included without alteration in the voters' pamphlet. According to OFM, passage of Initiative 1033 would result in approximately $5.9 billion in state property tax rebates and $2.8 billion in local property tax rebates going to citizens by 2015. At the same time state and local revenue available for spending increases would grow each year by an amount based on population growth plus inflation. These tables (click link) show the year-by-year revenue growth, I-1033 fiscal growth factor and forecasted property tax rebates projected by OFM. Yesterday the Washington Research Council released its analysis of I-1033. Here is the Council's conclusion . . . READ MORE

OFM responds to Eyman's I-1033 fiscal note challenge

Earlier this week I mentioned Tim Eyman's lawsuit against the Office of Financial Management (OFM) to change the details in the fiscal note the agency created for the voters' pamphlet for Initiative 1033. Here is a copy of OFM's response to Eyman's lawsuit. Of note from OFM's brief . . . READ MORE

Eyman sues OFM over I-1033 fiscal note

As reported by The Olympian, Tim Eyman is suing the Office of Financial Management (OFM) to change the details in the fiscal note the agency created for the voters' pamphlet for Initiative 1033. I-1033 would create a new revenue limit for the state and several local governments with the goal of annually reducing property taxes. As required by law, OFM conducted the fiscal impact statement on I-1033. According to Eyman's lawsuit . . . READ MORE

Indiana Governor warns colleagues on spending

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels wrote a must read opinion editorial for the Wall Street Journal on the new realities of budgeting for states. Daniels notes: "Most governors I've talked to are so busy bailing that they haven't checked the long-range forecast. What the radar tells me is that we ain't seen nothin' yet. What we are being hit by isn't a tropical storm that will come and go, with sunshine soon to follow. It's much more likely that we're facing a near permanent reduction in state tax revenues that will require us to reduce the size and scope of our state governments. And the time to prepare for this new reality is already at hand. The coming state government reset will be particularly wrenching after the happy binge that preceded this recession. During the last decade, states increased their spending by an average of 6% per year, gusting to 8% during 2007-08. Much of the government institutions built up in those years will now have to be dismantled" . . . READ MORE

Senator challenges press on public records exemption

Yesterday the state Sunshine Committee voted 8-1 to recommend the Legislature repeal its exemption to the public records act for legislative records. State legislators are currently the only officials in the state with this exemption. The lone no vote was Sen. Adam Kline, Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Reporting on the vote Crosscut notes: In this state, the 2007 Legislature passed a law that shields journalists from having to reveal their sources in court. Kline was prime sponsor of that shield-law Senate bill. Representative Lynn Kessler, another Sunshine Committee member, was prime sponsor of the identical House version, which became law . . . READ MORE