Senate votes to retain tax advisory votes

The Senate has voted to "temporarily" suspend the 2/3 vote requirements for tax increases enacted multiple times by voters. The vote was 26 to 23. Instead of approving the bill as referred by the Senate Ways and Means Committee, the full Senate adopted an amendment that limited its changes to only the 2/3 vote restriction. This means the current requirement for non-binding advisory votes for tax increases not sent first to the voters for approval would remain in effect. Based on the number of tax increase proposals being considered by the Legislature, it could be a long ballot for voters in November. Next up for the proposal is debate in the House.

Senate moves step closer to tax increases

Washingtonians are a step closer to seeing their taxes increased as a result of a vote yesterday in the Senate Ways and Means Committee. The Committee adopted the proposed suspension of the state's 2/3 requirement for tax increases. Voting in favor of the suspension were Senators . . . READ MORE

Audit: School districts owe state $699,000

The State Auditor's Office released two audits this morning on K-12 school districts' compliance with state law. The audits found that school districts owe the state at least $699,219 due to reporting errors that resulted in overpayments. Reporting errors also resulted in just under $118,000 in underpayments to school districts. The state also overpaid an additional $463,000 to school districts for the Learning Assistance Program (LAP) in 2008. According to the State Auditor . . . READ MORE

Bill introduced to amend I-960

Nine Democratic Senators (Prentice, Murray, Kohl-Welles, Regala, Fairley, Ranker, McDermott, Kline, Keiser) introduced a bill today to amend the provisions of the voter approved I-960. Here are the details on SB 6843 . . . READ MORE

Should tax increases require a 2/3 vote?

The worst kept secret of the 2010 Legislative Session is the majority party's plan to "suspend" the state's 2/3 vote requirement for tax increases. If they follow through with this decision, this would be the third time voter approved tax restrictions have been "temporarily" set aside by lawmakers. Previous suspensions occurred in 2002 and 2005. This disregard for the voter's intent is despite the fact on three separate occasions citizens have voiced their support for requiring lawmakers to reach a broad consensus and secure a 2/3 vote to raise taxes. Votes in support of the 2/3 restriction occurred in 1993, 1999, and 2007 . . . READ MORE