Tag Archives: No 1053

Washington State Anti-Tax Initiatives and the Shrinking of Public Services

Posted on October 28th, 2010 | Comments Off on Washington State Anti-Tax Initiatives and the Shrinking of Public Services

Conservative anti-tax proponents pushing initiatives like I-1053 and I-1107 on this year’s Washington State ballot are pushing lies about our ever-expanding state government.  The fact is that the percentage of our state’s resources (as measured by collective personal income) devoted to public services like education and health care for seniors and children continues to decline.

The following is taken from a post by the Washington State Budget and Policy Center and deserves wide distribution to help educate the public:

Despite the claims being made by Initiative 1107 and Initiative 1053’s proponents, Washington actually devotes a smaller share of its resources to public services like education and health care than a decade ago. And given the magnitude of the recession, the state will likely continue to devote a smaller share of its economy to public services than before.

Typically, economists measure changes in government spending over time by analyzing how much of a state’s total personal income – or the sum of its collective resources – goes for public services. But as the graph below shows:

•The share of our resources that are spent on education, health care, public safety, and other important services has actually dropped since the late-1990s;

•As of June 2010, state spending in the current 2009-11 biennium is projected to fall to about 5.4 percent of total personal income in Washington – lower than the 6 percent share that went for public priorities the late-1990s.

This percentage will decline even further due to the recently-announced, 6.3 percent across-the-board budget cuts.

In other words, a smaller share of our collective resources is going to public priorities like educating our kids or providing health care than before.

And it is declining.

The post adds a link to get more detailed information. See the full report by Andy Nichols entitled Budget Claims Lack Context, Belie Deep and Painful Cuts. 

I urge Washington Voters to vote No on Tim Eyman and Oil Industry giant BP’s Initiative 1053 – which would give 17 out of 147 Washington State Legislators veto power over our state budget. Vote No on I-1107 which would repeal a short term tax on bottled water and soda. The American Beverage Industry is bankrolling this effort.
For more information on the initiatives on the November ballot go to http://www.protectwashington.org/ and http://www.stopgreed.org/.

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Children’s Alliance Urges No Vote on Eyman’s Initiative 1053

Posted on September 10th, 2010 | Comments Off on Children’s Alliance Urges No Vote on Eyman’s Initiative 1053

Initiative 1053 is a recycled Eyman initiative that wants to give a minority of 1/3 of the Legislators of either House veto power over revenue issues. Even if 60 or 65% of the Legislators supported a measure, 17 members of the 49 member Washington State Senate,e.g., could veto passage of the bill. This is a recipe for disaster in trying to fund critical state services like educating our children or providing basic health care.

Here is what the Children’s Alliance has posted on their website about I-1053:

NO on Initiative 1053

I-1053: 2/3-majority vote to raise revenue in the state Legislature (sponsored by Tim Eyman)

Status: On the November 2, 2010 statewide ballot

Opponents: Children’s Alliance and coalition partners who opposed I-960.

No on 1053 campaign: Sandeep Kaushik skaushik100@gmail.com

Details: This initiative is modeled after I-960 and would require an onerous 2/3-majority vote to pass a bill with any new revenue in the state Legislature. This supermajority requirement would effectively prevent our state from raising revenue in times of budget crisis – even when a majority of state lawmakers deem it necessary. It would give a handful of lawmakers veto power over important fiscal decisions.

Impact on children and families: I-1053 would severely restrict the government’s ability to raise new revenue needed to support vital services for children and families, such as Apple Health for Kids, early childhood education, and programs aimed at ending childhood hunger. I-1053 would limit our state’s ability to respond to the needs of kids and families and could force cuts to support systems the Children’s Alliance and our allies have fought hard to protect.

The Childrens Alliance has taken positions on other ballot measures. You can read about more about their positions by going to  “Ballot Measures Affecting Kids and their Families“.

The Children’s Alliance urges you to support I-1098 which cuts taxes and raises money for education and healthcare and Referendum 52 to rehab schools for health and energy efficiency reasons.  In addition to opposing I-1053, they urge you vote No on 1100 and 1105 to deregulate the liquor industry in our state and NO on 1107 sponsored by the Beverage Industry.

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League Of Women Voters Opposes I-1053, I-1100, I-1105, I-1107; Supports I-1098 and Ref 52

Posted on September 10th, 2010 | Comments Off on League Of Women Voters Opposes I-1053, I-1100, I-1105, I-1107; Supports I-1098 and Ref 52

The League Of Women Voters of Washington is urging voters to vote against 4 measures on the November 2, ballot and to support two others.  They urge a NO vote on I-1053 to give a minority of Legislators the power to overrule the majority. This is contrary to the State Constitution. They oppose I-1100 and I-1105 – the two initiatives to deregulate the liquor industry in the state.  They also oppose I-1107 which was put on the ballot by the soft drink industry to repeal a 2 cent tax on pop and candy.

The League is supporting I-1098 to raise new revenue to support our state schools and health care and reduce B&O taxes and state property taxes. They also support Referendum 52 to raise bonds to rehab our schools to make them more healthy and energy efficient, saving taxpayer dollars over the long term.

Here is more specific information on the Leagues positions on these measures:

Yes Referendum Bill 52: Engrossed House Bill 2561 passed the 2010 legislature and was signed by Governor Gregoire. The bill was named the Jobs Act. The bill provides for state general obligation bonds of up to $505 million to fund energy efficiency projects in the state’s K-12 schools and higher education facilities. The bonds would be funded by extending the current state tax on bottled water beyond its current expiration date of 2013. Because this bonding amount exceeds the state’s current debt limit, the bill must be submitted to the state’s voters.

The national League’s positions on Natural Resources, particularly those related to global climate change, together with the extensive work the national League has done in support of national climate change legislation, are the basis for League to support Referendum 52. LWVWA supported EHB 2561 in the 2010 legislative session.

Yes Initiative 1098: concerns establishing a state income tax and reducing other taxes. This measure would tax “adjusted gross income” above $200,000 (individuals) and $400,000 (joint-filers), reduce state property tax levies, reduce certain business and occupation taxes, and direct any increased revenues to education and health.

League of Women Voters of Washington position on tax structure states: Inequities in the distribution of the tax burden should be removed. Ability to pay is an important criterion. Flexibility and recognition of changing times and needs is important in tax policy. Income should be part of the tax base preferably through a graduated net income tax.

The League of Women Voters of Washington Board of Directors has voted to oppose the following:

No Initiative 1053: concerns tax and fee increases imposed by state government. This measure would restate existing statutory requirements that legislative actions raising taxes must be approved by two-thirds legislative majorities or receive voter approval, and that new or increased fees require majority legislative approval.

National League position includes that government must have the knowledge, resources and power to make decisions that meet citizens needs and reconcile conflicting

interests and priorities, and it must be able to function in an efficient manner with a minimum of conflict, wasted time and duplication of effort.

No Initiative Measure No. 1100 concerns liquor (beer, wine and spirits). This measure would close state liquor stores; authorize sale, distribution, and importation of spirits by private parties; and repeal certain requirements that govern the business operations of beer and wine distributors and producers.

According to the Office of Financial Management, I-1100 would lower state revenue approximately $25 million per year through the privatization of liquor.

No Initiative Measure No. 1105 concerns liquor (beer, wine and spirits). This measure would close all state liquor stores and license private parties to sell or distribute spirits. It would revise laws concerning regulation, taxation and government revenues from distribution and sale of spirits.

According to the Office of Financial Management, I-1105 would lower state revenue approximately $100 million per year through the privatization of liquor.

No Initiative 1107 concerns reversing certain 2010 amendments to state tax laws. This measure would end sales tax on candy; end temporary sales tax on some bottled water; end temporary excise taxes on carbonated beverages; and reduce tax rates for certain food processors.

According to the Office of Financial Management, I-1107 would lower state tax revenue by 55 million in the current fiscal year and $218 million in the upcoming biennium by removing the tax on candy, gum, bottled water, soda and reinstating tax loopholes.

League believes all initiatives proposed should “require how revenue losses or budget increases might be covered, either through program cuts or increases in revenue sources.” (League position on Initiatives, IR-4)

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Washington Education Association Opposes Initiative 1053

Posted on September 9th, 2010 | Comments Off on Washington Education Association Opposes Initiative 1053

The Washington Education Association is urging voters to oppose Initiative 1053 which would allow a minority of 1/3 of the Legislators in either House of the Legislature to block any new revenue going to support education.

Here is their explanation from their webpage:

NO on I-1053: Two-thirds supermajority legislative vote to approve new state revenue.

 If I-1053 passes, it will be nearly impossible for the Legislature to raise the revenue needed to fully fund public education, including things like all-day kindergarten, smaller class sizes and the promised restoration of I-732 cost-of-living adjustments for school employees.


It’s another misguided initiative sponsored by Tim Eyman.


I-1053 impact on public education: Essentially prevents the Legislature from raising the revenue needed to fully fund K- 12 and higher education.

The Washington Education is urging No votes on I-1053, I-1082, I-1100, I-1105 and I-1107.
Thet are urging yes votes on I-1098 and Ref 52. You can read more details about their positions on their
webpage.

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Posted in Elections, Initiatives, Washington State Legislature

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Madison and Hamilton Would Have Voted NO on I-1053

Posted on September 5th, 2010 | 1 comment

Two of the founders of our country, James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, would have voted No on Tim Eyman’s Initiative 1053 if they were alive today.  They spelled out their reasoning in The Federalist Papers in which they discussed the wisdom and necessity of majority rules for voting, instead of requiring a supermajority vote. Their arguments, which helped to frame the majority voting provisions in the US Constitution, are still as relevant today as when they were first written.

Initiative 1053 is an attempt to rewrite the rules by which Washington State Legislators make their decisions and vote. Article II, Section 22 of the Washington State Constitution says the Washington State Legislature shall make decisions by a majority vote. Eyman wants to change this to require that a 2/3 vote is needed by both Houses of the Legislature to pass revenue measures to fund state services or to repeal special interest tax exemptions that only benefit large corporations.

James Madison in The Federalist Papers No 58 had this to say about requiring supermajority votes:

It has been said that more than a majority ought to have been required for a quorum; and in particular cases, if not in all, more than a majority of a quorum for a decision. That some advantages might have resulted from such a precaution, cannot be denied. It might have been an additional shield to some particular interests, and another obstacle generally to hasty and partial measures. But these considerations are outweighed by the inconveniences in the opposite scale. In all cases where justice or the general good might require new laws to be passed, or active measures to be pursued, the fundamental principle of free government would be reversed. It would be no longer the majority that would rule: the power would be transferred to the minority. Were the defensive privilege limited to particular cases, an interested minority might take advantage of it to screen themselves from equitable sacrifices to the general weal, or, in particular emergencies, to extort unreasonable indulgences.

Alexander Hamilton in The Federalist Papers No 22 likewise stated:

what at first sight may seem a remedy, is, in reality, a poison. To give a minority a negative upon the majority (which is always the case where more than a majority is requisite to a decision), is, in its tendency, to subject the sense of the greater number to that of the lesser. …

This is one of those refinements which, in practice, has an effect the reverse of what is expected from it in theory. The necessity of unanimity in public bodies, or of something approaching towards it, has been founded upon a supposition that it would contribute to security. But its real operation is to embarrass the administration, to destroy the energy of the government, and to substitute the pleasure, caprice, or artifices of an insignificant, turbulent, or corrupt junto, to the regular deliberations and decisions of a respectable majority. …

If a pertinacious minority can control the opinion of a majority, respecting the best mode of conducting it, the majority, in order that something may be done, must conform to the views of the minority; and thus the sense of the smaller number will overrule that of the greater, … Hence, tedious delays; continual negotiation and intrigue; contemptible compromises of the public good. And yet, in such a system, it is even happy when such compromises can take place: for upon some occasions things will not admit of accommodation; and then the measures of government must be injuriously suspended, or fatally defeated. It is often, by the impracticability of obtaining the concurrence of the necessary number of votes, kept in a state of inaction. Its situation must always savor of weakness, sometimes border upon anarchy.

These arguments for majority votes still ring true today. Washington State voters should vote NO on Initiative 1053 and uphold our State Constitution.

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