OLYMPIA – Initiative activist Tim Eyman didn’t qualify either of his ballot measures this year, but on Monday said he is coming back in 2007, returning to a familiar theme: making it harder to raise state taxes and fees.
His latest would require the state to provide a flood of information about every tax bill introduced in Olympia, including an estimate of how much it would cost taxpayers over 10 years, and more statewide public votes.
Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire said the handcuffs aren’t needed. Legislators have used their taxing authority with discretion and voters backed them up on transportation and education taxes, she said.
House Finance Chairman Jim McIntire, D-Seattle, said the measure is unnecessary and has an anti-government tone. “They want to pour sand in the gears,” he said.
Eyman has had a bumpy ride as the state’s premier initiative promoter. Last year, he won landslide approval for Initiative 900, a sweeping performance audit program for public agencies. This year, though, he failed to collect enough signatures to earn a public vote on the new gay-rights law and a perennial proposal to roll back the tax on vehicle registrations to $30 a year.
Eyman’s new plan, with the ultimate goal of restraining taxes, would require much more public attention on tax legislation in Olympia and require a two-thirds vote in both houses or voter approval. It also would authorize a nonbinding public vote in some cases.
He said the measure builds on some of his previous initiatives – including greater transparency of government decisions and more voter participation.
“For taxpayers, this is the whole ballgame: How much of your paycheck do you get to keep? That is the overriding concern of every family,” he said.
“The goal is to ensure more legislative transparency, broader discussion and wider agreement before tax bills are approved. We say, let the public know and give them a voice.”
Eyman’s “Taxpayer Protection Initiative” will be introduced in January after revisions this month. It will appear on the November 2007 ballot if he secures at least 224,880 valid signatures by midsummer.
Highlights include:
* Speedy studies by the state budget office on the price tag, including a 10-year total, of all tax and fee bills. The studies would be posted on the agency’s Web site and would be distributed to each of the 147 legislators. The initiative would require the agency to list the names and contact information for the sponsors.
* Tax and fee hikes would require a two-thirds vote in both chambers. This is already required under terms of voter-approved Initiative 601, but lawmakers have suspended it on some occasions and adopted increases by simple majority vote. The $400 million tax package from last year, for instance, included higher “sin taxes” on liquor and cigarettes and reimposed the state estate tax. All were adopted by simple majority.
* An advisory vote would be automatic if lawmakers didn’t place the increases on the ballot. It would be nonbinding, but might cue lawmakers to repeal any wildly unpopular items.
Asked about the potentially large price tag for the extra budget office work and elections on myriad tax increases, Eyman said, “It’s a small price to pay for the public to know what’s going on. The Legislature has complete control over how much work this will entail. If they go hogwild and introduce thousands of fees and taxes, well … .
“This initiative doesn’t stop legislators from thinking about or talking about anything, but once they introduce a bill, that is a legislator really getting serious about taxes.”
The governor said the current system protects taxpayers just fine.
Last year, lawmakers passed a four-step gas tax increase of 9.5 cents a gallon to raise billions for transportation projects, and voters sustained Olympia, she said. Last month, voters ratified the Legislature’s decision to reimpose an estate tax that raises about $100 million a year for education, she added.
“There’s a system out there for our voters to be able to undo whatever the Legislature may do,” she said, adding, “At this point, I believe the system is working for the voters exactly as it’s intended to.”
McIntire said lawmakers already get detailed fiscal notes on every bill involving spending or taxes, but that the greater speed and frequency envisioned by Eyman could be very expensive.
The state has projected budget reserves of $1.9 billion and Gregoire has indicated she’ll oppose any tax increases this winter, he noted. “I don’t foresee any legislators who disagree with that,” he said.
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