Olympia's gutlessness, and our Initiative to stop it

Olympia overspent. Spending and tax income are not going to balance. The legislature did not have the fortitude required to cut unnecessary spending. The unresolved spending problem is around $5.5 billion.

But the legislative session is over for now, and Legislature has gone home. Like a bowl of rotten oatmeal, the Legislature left a bad taste and a likely intestinal problem. Why does this Legislature think they can spend our money better than we can spend our money?

Initiative Momentum
by Tim Eyman

Last year's 64% vote for Initiative 1053 was extraordinary. Not only did it receive a supermajority level of public support, it was the 4th time voters approved its taxpayer protection policies. Voters clearly said they'd had it with Olympia's insatiable appetite for taking more of the people's money. Even so, before this year's session started, Gregoire signaled her obstruction: "I'm not gonna let 1053 stand in the way of me moving forward for what I think is right."

That's exactly what she/they did. In direct conflict with what the voters said, the Legislature fundamentally undermined and sidestepped I-1053 in various ways during this year's session. It's shocking how brazen and disrespectful they were of the people's decision. We would need several initiatives to reverse everything they did to I-1053 -- we simply can't do that. Instead, we are focusing on their worst violations.

Totally contrary to I-1053's policies, the Legislature re-empowered Gregoire's Transportation Commission -- a bunch of unelected bureaucrats -- to unilaterally impose tolls on our state's streets, roads, highways, and bridges.

With our state's slow-growing economy and high unemployment rates, families and businesses are struggling just handling their existing burdens -- they're hard pressed to take on any more. Despite the fact that Washington has the highest gas tax in the nation, they're planning on forcing us to pay twice with sky-high tolls. It shows a complete lack of compassion for the taxpayers' plight and totally ignores what the voters said in November.

The Governor's and the Legislature's arrogance and disrespect for the voters has spurred this year's initiative. I-1125 does the following:

• Resurrects I-1053's policy that the Legislature, and not Gregoire's Transportation Commission, set tolls so we can hold toll-crazy politicians accountable;
• Requires that transportation taxes and tolls only go toward transportation, prohibiting raids and diversions to non-transportation purposes;
• Reinforces current law that requires that tolls be project-specific, preventing tolls from becoming de facto taxes;
• Requires that tolls GO AWAY/STOP/EXPIRE after the project is paid for (that's the way it's always been, but Olympia recently changed it so tolls will now go on FOREVER -- I-1125 says NO to never-ending tolls).
• Prohibits gas-tax-funded lanes on state highways from being transferred or used for non-highway purposes (our state Constitution -- the 18th Amendment -- already prohibits this, but politicians are still trying to weasel out of this constitutional prohibition); and
• Ensures that tolls are uniform and consistent.

This year's I-1125 reinforces protections in our state Constitution and resurrects policies approved by voters with I-1053.

Tim Eyman's website