Savings, yes; lock, no

A proposed constitutional amendment creating a protected emergency savings account — a constitutionally protected rainy-day fund — is a stroke of political genius for Gov. Christine Gregoire. It is the ultimate in triangulation — as in, stealing the other party's best ideas.

Republicans and state business leaders have been angling for years for such an invention.

Political savviness, however, does not lead to a recommended "yes" vote on Senate Joint Resolution 8206. The measure would automatically set aside 1 percent of state government revenue each year, or roughly $150 million. We are all for the savings account — yes, plenty of money in savings — but philosophically opposed to the constitutional lock on it.

The proposed amendment allows lawmakers to tap the budget-stabilization account during recession, or in the case of earthquake, terrorist event or other disaster, by a simple majority. Lawmakers can also tap the account in other situations with a 60-percent supermajority.

Voters should say "no" because this measure binds future legislatures to the thinking of today and does so in an all but permanent way.

Anyone who believes in representative democracy — and in lawmakers in future years making important budget decisions based on what they know at the time — should decline this obviously tempting measure.

Gregoire is correct when she says the state needs a sizable savings account and that legislatures of the past have not been good at saving money in good times for lesser times. The fix is pretty easy. Put the money in the savings account without fiddling with the constitution.

The desire for savings, the distrust of future legislatures, should not lead to changing the constitution to force lawmakers of the future to abide by rules imposed today.

While most everyone can agree on the need for a state savings account, how best to achieve it is a philosophical debate. This proposed amendment calls for a "no" vote because today's lawmakers should not be allowed to forecast or predict the problems the state might face in the future.