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PRESS RELEASE December 16, 2004 Locke taxes and runs OLYMPIA—What a difference a year makes! In a June 26, 2003, press release announcing the signing of a no-new taxes budget, Governor Gary Locke had this to say: "While other states are resorting to creative accounting, tax increases and other short-term solutions, we're making the hard choices that the public expects from its leaders. This will serve us well next year when we will continue to face budget challenges." Today, Governor Locke abandoned this fiscal prudence and is now advocating a $598 million tax increase to fund his $2.9 billion spending increase. This spending increase is more than three times the rate of inflation. Never mind the fact that forecasted revenue for the next budget is actually up by $1.5 billion. Locke's nearly $600 million tax increase will require the legislature to amend the I-601 state spending limit. The legislature will also either have to find a 2/3 majority to approve the tax increases or once again, by a simple majority vote, suspend the I-601 2/3 tax approval requirement. Also compare Locke's 180 degree budget turn to what is happening in Oregon, where lawmakers face a $1 billion budget "deficit." There, Democratic Governor Ted Kulongoski has repeatedly said tax increases are D.O.A. (dead on arrival), including any "sin" taxes. Kulongoski is linking all state programs to his core functions and is asking agencies to demonstrate actual results for the investments in their programs. This should sound familiar to Locke, who won national awards for doing the same thing in his previous budget. "Washington will have $1.5 billion more to spend for the next budget, but that is not enough to satisfy Locke's spending appetite," said Bob Williams, president of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation. "We do not have a revenue shortfall. What the state has is a shortfall of self-discipline, common sense and accountability." Contact: Jason Mercier | Budget Research Analyst | 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..." |
