I-1053 Would Likely Block Tax Hikes Next Year -- is Fourth Ballot Measure to Pass State Signature Check

Tim Eyman, flanked by state Sens. Pam Roach and Don Benton, turns in signatures July 2.

By Erik Smith

Staff writer/ Washington State Wire

OLYMPIA, June 19.—Washington voters this year will get a chance to impose a tough two-thirds vote requirement on the state Legislature before it can impose tax increases, and if it all sounds a little familiar, there’s a reason.

            Initiative 1053 is a repeat of I-960, a measure that passed in 2007 and effectively blocked the Legislature from raising taxes for two years, during one of the toughest budget crises the state has ever faced. The problem hasn’t gone away, but the initiative has – lawmakers suspended it this year and promptly raised taxes. And that’s why it’s back again.

            State elections officials announced  Monday that the measure had passed the state signature check and will advance to the November ballot. It was backed by Tim Eyman, the state’s leading initiative promoter, and supported financially by a wide variety of grass-roots contributors and business organizations.

            The I-1053 campaign turned in nearly 338,000 signatures, giving it a healthy cushion to pass the state’s signature check. Some 20 percent of signatures were rejected by state elections officials in their random sampling, but only 241,000 are required.

            Big Implications Next Year

Next year lawmakers will face another $3 billion budget shortfall. That follows $12 billion in shortfalls they have had to deal with over the last two years. Lawmakers say they have already made all the easy cuts, and tax increases are far more likely to be on the table if the initiative does not pass. Democrats have big majorities in the House and Senate, but not enough to pass a tax increase with a two-thirds vote unless Republicans cooperate.

So how come voters are being asked to pass it again?

Washington’s constitution says an initiative can be modified by a simple majority of the Legislature two years after it takes effect. So this year a majority of lawmakers was able to dispose of a requirement for a supermajority vote. Technically they “suspended” the requirement for two years – but they can always do it again.

Outraged Republicans staged a 15-hour debate in the House and Senate this year to make the vote as painful as possible. But they couldn’t affect the outcome.

During the first two years, however, a change to an initiative requires a two-thirds vote, meaning that the initiative offers an effective block to tax increases only during that period.

           Memories of 960

Eyman, who promoted I-960 the last time around, was back again for this one. But this time he had big help from the business community, which launched an independent campaign and raised more than $300,000 to pay the signature gathering company that obtained the signatures. That’s on top of the nearly $600,000 raised by Eyman and his team. And it represents something of a watershed – never before has the business community participated in such a degree in an Eyman-sponsored tax revolt measure.

In a statement, Eyman said, “We're thrilled that voters get to vote on I-1053 in November.

“Three times the voters have passed initiatives requiring either a two-thirds vote of the Legislature or majority vote of the people to raise taxes. Three times. Yet without hesitation, Gov. Gregoire and the Democrat majority in Olympia took it away.  Voters strongly oppose what they did.  KING 5’s statewide poll:  68 percent thought it was wrong thing to do, 24 percent the right thing. When asked whether tax increases should require a two-thirds vote or a majority vote, a whopping 74 percent said two-thirds. Voters want tax increases to be an absolute last resort.

“We will work very hard over the coming months to advocate and defend I-1053's common sense taxpayer protection policy.” 

            Fourth Initiative to Make Ballot

The measure is the fourth to hit the mark imposed by the state. Already making the ballot are I-1082, a measure that would allow private competition for the state workers’ compensation system, I-1098, an income-tax measure promoted by unions and liberal activist organizations, and I-1100, a retailer-backed liquor-store privatization measure.