Legislature kills I-601 spending limit

“This is a sad, sad day for Washington state taxpayers,” says Zarelli OLYMPIA… The Washington State Legislature approved legislation today effectively killing a voter-approved initiative that has kept government spending in check for the last decade.”This is a sad, sad day for Washington state taxpayers,” said Sen. Joe Zarelli, R-Ridgefield, and ranking Republican on the budget-writing Senate Ways and Means Committee. “I fear we’re heading back to the days of double-digit state budget increases and consistent tax increases. We shouldn’t be making it easier to raise taxes, we should be making it more difficult.”Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6078 was approved in the Senate by a vote of 25-16. The legislation allows the Democrat-controlled Legislature a two-year window to pass taxes with a 50 percent majority vote, repealing the two-thirds majority requirement for new taxes established when Washington voters approved Initiative 601 in 1993.”The citizens were sending a clear and concise message to state government when they approved Initiative 601 in the first place: live within your means and stop turning to tax increases as a first resort when solving your budget problems. Well, those days are over, I guess. Now, there is no reason – no motivation – for the government to spend wisely or efficiently. It can always just lean on taxpayers for more and more,” Zarelli said.Because the bill contains an emergency clause, citizens are denied their constitutional right to repeal the bill via referendum.”This is most definitely a slap in the face to the voters,” Zarelli said. “The Democrat majority in the Legislature is basically silencing the voice of a majority of voters.”