Wash. Senate to try do-over of I-960 amendment

The state Senate will attempt a do-over on amending tax-limiting Initiative 960, after Democratic senators said they accidentally voted on the wrong version of their own bill.

Approved by voters in 2007, I-960 requires that two-thirds of the Legislature approve any tax increase, opposed to the simple majority approval needed for other bills.

Tuesday's 26-23 vote endorsed suspension of that rule until July 2011, when the next two-year budget cycle begins. It's a move majority Democrats said they needed to make as they deal with patching a $2.6 billion budget deficit.

Democrats, however, said they actually meant to suspend I-960 in its entirety, including the requirement for public advisory votes on tax increases that are deemed an emergency by lawmakers, and extensive public notices about legislative bills.

Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam, who was a sponsor of the bill, said there was a miscommunication between staff and senators over what a recent draft of the bill did.

"I ultimately have to take responsibility for not having read that closer," he said. "Sometimes with the way things are moving as quickly as they are moving, we don't check as closely as we can."

But Republicans noted their caucus was fully aware that the notification and advisory measures were left in when they voted on it.

"It's pretty hard to not know what you were voting on," said Sen. Joe Zarelli, R-Ridgefield.

A new bill was quickly passed out of committee Tuesday night and could be taken up on the floor as early as Wednesday evening.

Republicans weren't happy with the bill when it just removed the two-thirds requirement. They're even less happy about the fact that they will return to the floor to debate fully suspending the initiative.

"The taxpayers should be outraged," said Senate Minority Leader Mike Hewitt, R-Walla Walla. "They're removing the transparency they put in place."

Tim Eyman, the conservative activist who sponsored I-960, said that the goal of the initiative is to make sure lawmakers are following the law and keeping people informed of what they are doing.

"With transparency, you get less sneaky stuff being done," he said.

Democratic lawmakers plan to increase taxes and cut spending to balance the state's $2.6 billion budget deficit, but they don't have enough members to get a two-thirds vote in either the Senate or House.

Lawmakers can amend initiatives with a simple majority vote after they've been on the books for two years, making this the first legislative session that Democrats can suspend I-960.

The changes to I-960 must clear both chambers and be signed into law by Gov. Chris Gregoire before lawmakers can move ahead with tax-raising votes. Gregoire is expected to approve the Legislature's plan.

House leaders said that the delay doesn't set them back too far, and they've already set up a Saturday morning public hearing on the bill on the assumption that the Senate will pass it soon.

"It's pretty urgent," said House Majority Leader Lynn Kessler, D-Hoquiam. "We cannot move forward without that suspension."

---

The original I-960 suspension was Senate Bill 6843. The new bill is Senate Bill 6130.

---

On the Net:

Washington state Legislature: http://www.leg.wa.gov