UPDATE: Thanks to an alert reader, I need to revise a bit of the original post.
I had written a Thurston County Superior Court judge will soon be fixing a goof made by state lawmakers in how the school bond measure is described on the ballot. The upcoming hearing is about making clear on the ballot that passage of the bond measure will result in extending the life of the sales tax on bottled water indefinitely.
Turns out it may not have been a goof at all. The state Senate debated describing the measure in a way that mention of the tax is made. Then they decided not to make any changes. Jason Mercier wrote about it here for the Washington Policy Center.
So I’ve lopped off the top of my earlier post and pick up here.
(The issue) involves Referendum 52, the measure put on the ballot by the Legislature to sell $505 million in bonds to pay for energy-saving retrofits and other modernization projects at public schools, colleges and universities.
As I reported today, the Association of Washington Business has a beef with how it is proposed to be described on the ballot. That’s only part of the story.
Rep. Hans Dunshee, D-Snohomish, who sponsored the measure nicknamed “Hans Bonds” for his perseverance in getting it passed, also has a beef.
Here’s why.
In the final hours of the extra session, the state Senate rewrote a part of the measure to spell out the bonds are intended to be paid off by making the sales tax on bottled water permanent rather than let it expire in 2013 as now planned.
The House of Representatives concurred in the change.
But what lawmakers failed to do is make sure this information is part of the description of the bond measure that will be on the ballot.
Hence, AWB went to court Monday and filed a challenge. .
By then Dunshee had already contacted the Office of the Attorney General to get the description change and he offered a suggestion.
Dunshee told me this morning that he did so because wants to be sure the title and description are accurate and legally defensible.
Dan Sytman, spokesman for the AG’s office, said today the verbiage is getting reworked so it is clear that if the referendum is passed it will make the bottled water tax permanent.
Meanwhile, Yes for Schools and Jobs, a political action committee formed to support the measure, may also show up in court to present language it wants considered.
The hearing is set for May 28 in front of Judge Carol Murphy.
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