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February 16, 2010
House panel votes to dump I-960 – Political cover for at-risk Legislators seen as key reason
In comments made during a House Finance Committee hearing on a bill to suspend most of I-960’s provisions, Rep. Carey Condotta, R-Wenatchee, contended that the unspoken political motive behind the move was to give vulnerable Democratic legislators who represent swing districts the ability to cast fake “no” votes on tax measures in order to make themselves look good at home.
In a packed hearing room in the Legislature’s O’Brien Building, better than 135 people sat for several hours waiting to offer testimony or observe. Dozens more stood against the walls, and over 400 others filled three overflow rooms in the building.
Before the committee, where Democrats outnumbered Republicans two to one, were two measures: Substitute Senate Bill 6130, which would suspend most of I-960’s provisions until July 2011, and House Bill 3176, a Mulligan-stew measure of 14 tax hikes or closures of alleged tax loopholes that would, according to committee staff, raise over $400 million.
280 people signed up to testify on SB 6130, while 300 signed up to testify on HB 3176.
Committee Chair Ross Hunter, D-Medina, opened the hearing saying that there was “nothing pithy or entertaining” that could be said about the state’s $2.8 billion hole. 48 states were in a similar situation, he said. Hunter called HB 3176 the first substantive revenue proposal that the committee would address.
Ranking Republican, Rep Ed Orcutt of Kalama, echoed Hunter’s concern about the budget problem. He reminded the committee that voters had supported limiting the ability to raise taxes three times over the past few years.
Evergreen Freedom Foundation CEO, Lynn Harsh, was one of the first to testify. She acknowledged the need to help the vulnerable. But overall state spending was up, she said, and something needed to be done about that, especially after several years of unrealistically high spending. She urged the committee to respect the will of the people when they voted in favor of I-960. She encouraged the Legislature to prioritize its spending and told them that raising taxes in a lagging economy will result in greater unemployment.
Dr. Susan Powell, a family physician at a Community Health Care clinic in Spanaway, said that she would gladly pay more taxes to keep her state-dependent patients healthy.
Marilyn Mason Plunkett, the CEO of Hopelink, an east King County social services agency, testified that they’re seeing a 30 percent increase in demand for their food bank.
Tim Eyman, who was largely responsible for I-960, testified that the suspension attempt was an admission by Democrats that they can’t function if they’re forced to follow it. When he continued his criticism of Democrats, he was sharply rebuked by Chairman
Hunter who then proceeded to caution those who applauded his comments toward Eyman.
When Eyman’s time expired, Hunter curtly cut him off.
Eyman later acknowledged that he and his I-960 supporters made a mistake by not drafting the initiative to prevent its suspension. “We blew it,” he said.
When asked whether the almost-certain suspension of I-960 would have resulted in a different outcome for Initiative 1033, his revenue-limit measure defeated by voters last November, he said it would. The Legislature has “shown an inability to restrain themselves,” he said.
Pinning ultimate responsibility for the whole budget mess squarely on Gov. Christine Gregoire’s shoulders, Eyman accused Democrats of using the most vulnerable people in the state as props and pawns all the while tossing them under a political bus because of their inability to prioritize spending.
As an example, he pointed to the numerous performance audits conducted by the State Auditor’s Office that identified $3 billion in savings opportunity. Yet, Eyman said, instead of taking advantage of them, they cut funding for audits.
While many of those testifying in favor of keeping 960 intact acknowledged the need to fund human service programs, none of those who favored its repeal offered any consolation to those who will be paying increased taxes.a
Jeff Einbender came not expecting to be able to speak, so he hand lettered a T-shirt do his talking for him. On it he wrote, “The business of government is to uphold the vote of the people.”
The message was a rebuttal to comments made by Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam, who was quoted in The Seattle Times saying that was necessary to “suspend the will of the people for a period of time in order to do our business here.”
In an interview, Einbender, a married father of three grown children from Enumclaw, said that the Legislature needs to be responsible with the money that it has. Referring to taxes, he asked “when will it end?”
“I care about our government and what it’s supposed to do for the citizens,” he said.
Laid off from his 30-year job as a fork lift operator in 2008, Einbender said that he had never been to a social service agency despite being out of work for a long time. Now working, but at a job that pays half his former salary, he said that he got by because he managed what he had. He said the Legislature should do the same.
“Government is irresponsible in their stewardship,” he said. “The budget crisis was created because of a 30 percent increase in spending. We wouldn’t need an I-960 if government lived within its means.”
Chris Hardin, an individual care provider for the disabled, brought his client, George, with him. They both testified.
Interviewed after his testimony, Hardin said that he cares for two to four clients at any given time, and he was concerned that a failure to suspend I-960 will mean cuts in funding to state programs that support individual care providers.
“Times have changed – we weren’t in the situation we’re in now when I-960 passed. We’re having to fight to keep even,” he said.
“What we need to do is consider what Oregon has done. Raise taxes on the rich so that we can lower taxes on the middle class.”
His home state of Connecticut taxes everybody across the board – sales tax, income tax, property tax – and he said that’s what needs to happen in Washington state. When asked whether he thought state spending priorities might need adjusting, he said he was a caregiver, not an economist, and he didn’t know anything about whether government should prioritize.
He said he would like to have sympathy for those whose taxes will be raised, but if someone can afford to own an airplane (referring to one of the HB 3176 provisions) then they can afford to pay more taxes.
“The budget shouldn’t be balanced of the backs of the poor. Services shouldn’t suffer because of the economy,” he said.
Hardin, who kept referring to himself as a social worker, not an economist, said he had had problems with big business and the private sector trying to take advantage of the system when it results in hurting the poor.
HB 3176 came next. 14 measures ranging from raising taxes on non-resident firms to repealing the sales-tax exemption for purchases made by out-of-state residents to hiking the excise tax on general aviation aircraft to taxing instate portions of interstate hauls of goods were taken up together.
A bevy of business lobbyists testified on the impacts the various proposals would have on jobs. They all agreed that it would be bad. Officials from several area port commissions testified, with longshoreman and Port of Tacoma Commissioner Dick Marzano’s remarks echoing what they all said.
“Any extra cost will be a direct move for (shippers) to look elsewhere,” he said.
Several aircraft owners and others testified that some of the measures in HB 3176 may cause them to dispose of their property or move business out of state.
During a hearing recess, Amber Carter of the Association of Washington Business said that the suspension of I-960 was politically inevitable. She said HB 3176 “dropped out of the blue,” and it was a hodge-podge approach put together for political reasons.
She said the Legislature should tighten their belts and focus on going back to the Initiative 601 spending limits and creating a strong rainy-day fund.
Prior to taking a committee vote on HB 6031, Rep. Hunter amended the bill to restore the transparency provisions of I-601 requiring e-mail notifications of tax increases to be sent to the public.
During committee debate, Rep. Orcutt said that the public should have the final say on tax increases.
Rep. Mark Ericks, D-Bothell, said he would vote in favor of suspending I-690 irrespective of any consequences he might suffer at the polls.
The committee vote went as expected: six to three in favor of suspending I-960. HB 3176 was left on the table for further study.
Some thought that the HB 6031 would get consideration before the full House that day, but it didn’t happen. Rumors as to when it would eventually make it to the floor were as numerous as the raindrops that were falling outside the Capitol Building. By 1:00 a.m. Sunday, however, a number of sources pegged the measure’s vote for Tuesday in order not to conflict with planned pro and con tax-hike protests scheduled for Monday.
Several Republican sources said that they were prepared to string the House floor debate on suspending I-960 out as long as possible in order to galvanize public attention on the consequences of it. They said that they were prepared to have a six or seven hour debate in order to make their point, but they conceded that suspension of I-960 was inevitable.
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