WA Lege Day 37: Tax bill out of House

OLYMPIA — The House approved a bill that gives local governments more authority to impose a one-tenth of a cent local sales taxes through 2014, primarily for public safety concerns, without submitting them to a public vote.

It also allows counties to levy a utility tax, cities to impose a utilty tax on water sewer districts, allows a real-estate excise tax to be collected for parks.

In revising the bill, however, the House used some of the language first proposed by Rep. Kevin Parker, R-Spokane, that restricts local hotel-motel taxes to be used for tourism projects and not siphoned off for general government purposes.

(Spin Control Fact Check note: The earlier versions of this post refered to the language from Parker as an amendment. It was actually part of the “striker” which is used for a more general revision, than an amendment, which goes to a specific part.)

“I was thrilled” that the bill included that language, Parker said. Not so thrilled that he voted for the bill itself when it came up for a vote later, mind you.

“The bill was a massive tax increase,” Parker said. “The amendment made a bad bill a little bit better.”

It passed 51-47 and heads for the Senate. For the roll call of the bill on final passage, go inside the blog.

ESHB 3179

Local excise tax provisions

House vote on Final Passage

2/16/2010

Yeas: 51   Nays: 47   Absent: 0   Excused: 0

Voting Yea:  Representatives Appleton, Blake, Carlyle, Chase, Clibborn, Cody, Conway, Darneille, Dickerson, Dunshee, Eddy, Ericks, Finn, Flannigan, Goodman, Haigh, Hudgins, Hunt, Hunter, Jacks, Kagi, Kenney, Kessler, Kirby, Linville, Maxwell, McCoy, Moeller, Morrell, Morris, Nelson, O’Brien, Ormsby, Orwall, Pedersen, Pettigrew, Quall, Roberts, Rolfes, Santos, Seaquist, Sells, Simpson, Springer, Sullivan, Takko, Upthegrove, White, Williams, Wood, and Mr. Speaker
Voting Nay:  Representatives Alexander, Anderson, Angel, Armstrong, Bailey, Campbell, Chandler, Condotta, Crouse, Dammeier, DeBolt, Driscoll, Ericksen, Fagan, Green, Haler, Hasegawa, Herrera, Hinkle, Hope, Hurst, Johnson, Kelley, Klippert, Kretz, Kristiansen, Liias, McCune, Miloscia, Nealey, Orcutt, Parker, Pearson, Priest, Probst, Roach, Rodne, Ross, Schmick, Shea, Short, Smith, Taylor, Van De Wege, Wallace, Walsh, and Warnick