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PRESS RELEASE January 20, 2004 House passes school levy bill; EFF comments By a vote of 68-29, the Washington State House of Representatives decided Monday evening to undo the supermajority requirement to pass school levies. A two-thirds vote was required since the supermajority requirement is a part of the state constitution. The measure (HJR 4204) now moves to the Senate for consideration. If the Senate concurs with a two-thirds or higher vote, it will move to the general ballot in November. The supermajority requirement was established as a safeguard for property owners, since levy dollars come from property taxes. Special elections are expensive and easy to manipulate when only a simple majority is required. The people who want to change the levy elections to a simple majority argue that members of Congress and the legislature are elected with a simple majority: Why not school levies, they ask? But those same people will not agree to move the levy election to November when Congress and state lawmakers run for office. Voter turn-out is largest in November, and it would cost far less to put a levy election on the same ballot. "If lawmakers and school officials want to pass levies with a simple majority during 'special' elections alone, only property owners should vote during that election, " said Lynn Harsh, executive director of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation. "Besides, every time a property tax rollback is on the ballot, it passes. What is it lawmakers don't understand about the sentiments of property owners?" The current bill maintains a supermajority requirement for school construction
bonds. Contact: Marsha Richards | Communications Director | 360.956.3482
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1 Part Honesty; 2 Parts Arrogance At a March 23, 2005, House Appropriations hearing on a bill to gut the voter-approved I-601 spending limit, Rep. Jim McIntire (D) asked a supporter of I-601’s two-third supermajority requirement for the legislature to raise taxes the following question: "Can you name a time when we [legislators] have actually not just set it [supermajority requirement] aside by majority vote? I mean, this is in many respects a procedural motion that has no bearing. It’s a statutory constraint that cannot constrain any legislature that chooses as a majority to set it aside . . . have we ever used a supermajority [to raise taxes]?" - Rep. Jim McIntire (D - 46) Despite the arrogance of some state officials, Washington's constitution is clear: "All political power is inherent in the people..." |
