Majority party in Olympia sets the stage for tax increases

 

Dear Friends and Neighbors of Camas - Washougal,

The Washington State Senate has introduced a bill that affects voter-approved Initiative 960. The legislation, Senate Bill 6843, was just introduced today and is already scheduled for a public hearing in the Senate Ways and Means Committee this afternoon at 1:30 p.m

The voters approved Initiative 960 in 2007. The Initiative requires any tax increase to be approved by either a 2/3 vote of the Legislature or by a vote of the people. Senate Bill 6843 would strip away those requirements and make it much easier for the Legislature to raise taxes. 

Senate Bill 6843 is sponsored by Sen. Margarita Prentice from the South Seattle/Renton area.  The bill would suspend the protections voters approved in 2007 when they (overwhelmingly in the 18th District) passed I-960.  In essence, the majority party will use a SIMPLE MAJORITY VOTE to do away with the TWO-THIRDS MAJORITY VOTE REQUIREMENT to raise taxes!

The following Senators are sponsoring Senate Bill 6843:

Sen. Margarita Prentice - (360) 786-7616

Sen. Ed Murray - (360) 786-7628

Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles - (360) 786-7670

Sen. Debbie Regala - (360) 786-7652

Sen. Darlene Fairley - (360) 786-7662

Sen. Kevin Ranker - (360) 786-7678

Sen. Joe McDermott - (360) 786-7667

Sen. Adam Kline - (360) 786-7688

Sen. Karen Keiser - (360) 786-7664

 

You also need to know about House Bill 3176 which would be used to raise taxes once Senate Bill 6843 passes the Legislature.  House Bill 3176 is 90 pages long and contains between $250-$300 million in tax and fee increases.

The following legislators are sponsoring House Bill 3176:

Rep. Ross Hunter - (360) 786-7936

Rep. Bob Hasegawa - (360) 786-7862

Rep. Mark Ericks - (360) 786-7900

Rep. Steve Conway - (360) 786-7906

Rep. Larry Springer - (360) 786-7822

I would encourage 18th District residents to voice their opinions as soon as possible as both these bills appear to be on a “fast track” through the legislative process.

I want you to know that I am adamantly opposed to both of these bills.  I do not believe the Legislature should engage in backdoor maneuvers to thwart the will of the people.  And I do NOT believe that raising taxes is the answer to our state’s spending problem.  I hope you will join me in actively working against these two proposals.

Sincerely,

Rep. Ed Orcutt, 18th District and

Jaime Herrera
State Representative
herrera.jaime@leg.wa.gov

http://houserepublicans.wa.gov/herrera

(360) 786-7850