The Legislature's House Bill 1158 would eliminate the people's right to review new tax bills. The present system allows the people of the state of Washington to see new taxes the legislature has passed, and vote in an "advisory" capacity. The purpose of the advisory vote is so the legislature can know if they have inordinately ticked off the people.
The bill summary puts it bluntly. The bill
1. Repeals provisions that require legislative tax increases to be subject to
an advisory vote in which voters at the next general election may express
a preference for the tax increases to be repealed or maintained.
2. Requires that certain information about recent state budgets and state and
local expenditures must be included in voters' pamphlets in even numbered
years.
3. Requires the Office of Financial Management to produce fiscal impact
statements for enacted legislation that impacts state revenues.
The bill is deceptively summarized as "Encouraging electoral participation and making ballots more meaningful." All 22 of the bill's sponsors are Democrats.
Contact your legislator and let them know what you think of being "encouraged" in a condescending way. You can look them up by their name or by the district number.
The companion bill in the State Senate is SB 5082.
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