Washington state Senate votes to suspend tax-limiting initiative

The state Senate voted late Wednesday to temporarily suspend tax-limiting Initiative 960 in its entirety, including a requirement for a public-advisory vote on tax increases that are deemed an emergency by lawmakers.

The 26-22 vote was the second attempt by majority Democrats to amend the voter-approved initiative, and came a day after majority Democrats said they accidentally voted on the wrong version of the bill. The measure now heads to the House, where a public hearing has been scheduled Saturday morning before the House Finance Committee.

I-960 requires that two-thirds of the Legislature approve any tax increase, a significant hurdle compared to the simple majority approval needed for other bills.

The Senate 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.

Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam, said that he doesn't take tax increases lightly, but "this is a crisis."

Democrats had to scramble to fix their Tuesday vote, which only removed the two-thirds vote requirement, but left in several other provisions, including the advisory vote and extensive public notices about legislative bills.

Hargrove, who was a sponsor of the bill, said there was a miscommunication between staff members and senators over what a recent draft of the bill did.

Democratic lawmakers plan to increase taxes and cut spending to balance the state's 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.

Republicans weren't happy with the bill when it just removed the two-thirds requirement, and debated why removal of the other provisions, including the nonbinding public-advisory vote, was necessary.