Democratic state Rep. Luis Moscoso says that the state Supreme Court decision overturning the requirement that tax increases require a two-thirds vote in both houses of the Legislature is a victory for the principle of “one person, one vote.”
Two years ago, Moscoso joined state Reps. Cindy Ryu and Derek Stanford and other first-year legislators in proposing to end a tax preference for out-of-state banks and using the proceeds for elementary education. The proposal got a majority vote in the House of Representatives but fell short of the required two-thirds vote.
Some of the legislators joined the suit brought by the League of Education Voters in challenging the constitutionality of the two-thirds rule.
Last week, the Supreme Court ruled by a 6-3 vote that the two-thirds rule violates a provision in the State constitution that says legislation requires a majority vote of the elected members of the House and Senate.
Moscoso said Wednesday that he is glad that the vourt finally settled what had been an uncertainty in the law and was relieved that the court had decided to back rule by a simple majority.
“I am relieved that the court has finally decided this matter,” he said. “If the supermajority had been found constitutional, it would mean that instead of ‘one person, one vote,’ some votes would be worth more than others. This is undemocratic and perverts the concept of simple majority rule — 50 percent plus 1.
Moscoso represents the 1st Legislative District, including most of Mountlake Terrace, all of Brier and Bothell, north Kirkland, unincorporated areas of King County between Bothell and Kirkland, and unincorporated areas of Snohomish County north and east of Bothell.
Evan Smith can be reached at schsmith@frontier.com
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