I-1366 lets legislative minority grab majority power
We’re glad that Initiative 1366 is on the ballot after a failed attempt to kill the measure before the voters could get to it.
Now that it’s on the ballot, the voters should kill it themselves.
I-1366, another product of the Tim Eyman initiative factory, is a threat to public education. And the problem it purports to solve — a Legislature that raises taxes at every turn — doesn’t exist.
The goal of Eyman’s crew was to require a two-thirds majority in both House and Senate for any tax increase. (An increase, by the way, could include ending a tax break for an industry that’s been enjoying a sweetheart deal.)
But there’s an obstacle: The Washington Constitution specifies simple majorities for tax votes, and constitutional provisions can’t be overridden by initiative. Nor can initiatives amend the constitution. Amendments must first be proposed by a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate, then ratified by the voters.
Because I-1366 couldn’t impose a supermajority rule directly, it proposes to do so indirectly, by coercing legislators.
If enacted, it would reduce the state portion of the sales tax by a penny, from 6.5 cents to 5.5 cents per dollar, come this April. That would knock roughly $1.5 billion a year out of the state’s operational budget — just as lawmakers are looking under every rug and sofa cushion for enough money to fully fund public education at the state level.
The sales tax cut is meant as leverage. If the Legislature decided to put the supermajority amendment up for a public vote next fall, the sales tax would remain at 6.5 cents.
It’s not likely this convoluted scheme would survive a court challenge. If it did, there’s no assurance that lawmakers would meekly put the desired amendment on the ballot. The Legislature has proven quite capable of gridlocking over issues this tricky. If that happened, public education would get nuked.
Citizens who think I-1366 is needed to rein in a runaway Legislature should consider the actual track record of Washington’s lawmakers.
They’ve been extremely reluctant to enact general revenue increases, though they have cut specific tax preferences — by extending the sales tax to candy and beverages, for example. During the Great Recession and its aftermath, the Legislature chose to cannibalize higher education, mental health care and other social services rather than backfill with taxes. Yes, there are some liberal Democrats who’ve long wanted a income tax, but they’ve lost that battle year after year.
Tax opponents have been doing pretty well in Olympia, with the exception of transportation packages that clearly benefit the state as a whole. But public benefits mean little to people who oppose any new tax, any time, for any purpose. And the whole purpose of I-1366 is to empower them.
A supermajority requirement makes sense for something as fundamental and permanent as a constitutional amendment. It doesn’t for the regular business of the Legislature. State operating budgets shouldn’t be hostage to tax cranks who could effectively wield twice the voting power of other lawmakers.
I-1366 is all about giving the minority an unfair share of legislative influence. The majority of voters ought to reject it.
This story was originally published September 24, 2015 at 10:30 AM with the headline "I-1366 lets legislative minority grab majority power."