OLYMPIA — Voters weighing in on future statewide initiatives may know exactly how much the policy they’re considering would cost in potential tax increases or program cuts, under a measure the Washington state Senate passed Monday.
Senate Bill 5715, sponsored by Republican Sen. Joe Fain, passed on a strongly bipartisan 41-8 vote and now heads to the House for consideration. It seeks to include the potential fiscal impact of the measure on the actual ballot if it costs or reduces spending by more than $25 million over two years. The wording on the ballot would tell voters that “other state spending may need to be reduced or taxes increased to implement the proposal.”
Fain said that over the years, there have been a number of initiatives that come with “big bold ideas, but very often the funding to implement those ideas isn’t attached.” The result, he said, is that the Legislature is tasked with either raising taxes or making cuts to state programs.
“Providing an extra piece of information to the voters will help bring a more complete picture when folks are sitting around the kitchen table being asked to vote on these important initiatives,” he said.
The bill follows the passage of Initiative 1351 in November — a measure that would decrease class sizes and is projected to cost about $2 billion through the middle of 2017.
In addition to writing a two-year state budget, lawmakers this session are tasked with addressing education funding in the state after the state Supreme Court found the state in contempt last September for lawmakers’ lack progress on that issue.
Under Washington law, voter-approved initiatives cannot be changed or suspended within two years of passage unless lawmakers approve it by a two-thirds vote in both chambers. After two years, they just need a simple majority vote for such changes.
Lawmakers have not hesitated to take such action on initiatives — including measures on teacher raises and class sizes — during tough budget years.
Opponents argued that the measure was unnecessary because voters already receive a voter’s guide that includes the pros and cons of each ballot measure.
Sen. Michael Baumgartner, a Republican from Spokane, said that while he understood the sentiment behind the bill, “I don’t think this is the right bill at the right time.”
Sen. Pam Roach, a Republican from Auburn who was serving as the presiding officer of the Senate while Lt. Gov. Brad Owen was away, ruled that the bill should be subject to a higher vote threshold because it relates to constitutional language around initiatives. The measure easily surpassed the 33 votes required.
The measure would take effect on Jan. 1, 2016.
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