OLYMPIA — Voters get a chance this election to store millions of taxpayer dollars beyond the easy reach of those running state government.
Senate Joint Resolution 8206 would require the Legislature to deposit a portion of state revenues each year in an account from which no withdrawals could be made, except under specific terms and conditions.
For added strength, this measure writes the mandate into the state constitution.
Supporters say this will force lawmakers to save, most importantly when a strong economy is generating a sizable surplus, as it is now.
“Regardless of who is in charge, there is too much demand on the Legislature to spend everything that comes in. This will help us to say no,” said Sen. Joseph Zarelli, R-Ridgefield, the most vocal proponent of the idea.
Opponents contend creating a so-called rainy day fund as this does is an unneeded restriction on lawmakers. The majority party in the Legislature in particular could find that the mechanism hampers its ability to fully finance its legislative agenda.
“It’s a philosophical issue,” said Rep. Ruth Kagi, D-Lake Forest Park, who signed the ballot statement against the measure.
“The voters elect the Legislature and the majority must have the ability to rule. They are the ones that are held accountable,” she said.
The Legislature passed SJR 8206 by margins of 45-3 in the Senate and 74-23 in the House. Opposition in both chambers came solely from Democrats.
With voter approval, the state constitution would be amended to create a “budget stabilization account” into which 1 percent of state government revenue would go each fiscal year.
Lawmakers would need a vote of 60 percent in both chambers to spend any of it. There are exceptions. If a governor declares an emergency or job growth dips below 1 percent — a harbinger of a souring economy — a simple majority is enough to use the fund.
“If we are facing some kind of serious problem in the state and the governor does not declare an emergency, it really does tie the Legislature’s hands,” Kagi said.
Alternatively, if the account eclipses 10 percent of estimated state revenues, the excess could be shifted into school construction with a simple majority vote.
The governor’s budget office estimates the fund will grow by about $150 million a year.
But if the measure passes, the initial deposit on July 1, could be up to $431 million; $136 million for the first year of revenues plus a rollover of $295 million from the state emergency reserve that the rainy day fund would replace.
Zarelli said this fund will buffer the state budget against choppy flows of revenue as a result of a surging and receding economy.
“History shows we’re not good planners,” Zarelli said. “We’re not clear-thinking of how we spend money and what we leave for the future.”
It would be a welcome boost in bad times.
In good times — and it’s been good for three years with the housing boom — it should end the “shenanigans” of lawmakers who’ve figured out how to sock extra dollars into special accounts rather than put them into the emergency reserve, which cannot be tapped without a supermajority vote.
“These types of things may continue, but at least by statute we’d be required to save some money,” he said.
Democrats rebuffed Zarelli’s efforts in 2006 and sought to show they can save by transferring funds into special accounts dedicated to education, health care and the pension.
“This majority has demonstrated that when we have excess revenues over what is needed, we’ve set them aside for future years,” Kagi said.
The tide turned this year when Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire voiced her support for the idea and worked hard to get it passed in the House of Representatives, where nearly half the Democrats opposed it.
“We’ve got to have a savings account,” she said last month.
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