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PRESS RELEASE January 20, 2004 EFF to host legislative briefing on details
of Boeing contract – January 21 @ 7:30 a.m. OLYMPIA—The Evergreen Freedom Foundation has obtained details of the state’s agreement with Boeing, which the state has tried to keep secret. The agreement confirms that a $3.2 billion tax break and long-needed unemployment insurance reforms were not enough to convince Boeing to continue doing business in our state. “Our state’s business climate is so bad the governor had to cut a special, secret deal to convince Boeing to stick around,” said Bob Williams, EFF’s president. “The company got far more incentive than what we’ve heard about publicly. In the meantime, many other businesses in our state are still suffering.” The agreement includes instructions to “withhold or redact” all details of the agreement “to the fullest extent permitted by law.” EFF obtained the documents through public records requests. “We do not fault Boeing officials for cutting the best deal they could for their company,” said Williams. “But we do think the governor, and now the legislature, should make a contract with all businesses in our state to give them a competitive business environment.” Williams will present the details of the contract at a legislative briefing on Wednesday, January 21 at 7:30 a.m. in the John L. O’Brien Building, Conference Room A. Media and members of the public are invited to attend. 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..." |
