OLYMPIA — Initiative 1125, which would have placed restrictions on how tolls can be levied and spent, is officially a loser.

Although the fate of the proposal seemed fairly likely when it ended Election Night behind, The Associated Press night called it for the No camp Wednesday evening after another day of ballot counting in some of the state's biggest counties.

Among them, a 71,000 vote margin on the side of the opposition in King County. Other counties voting No included Spokane, Snohomish, Thurston, Whitman, Garfield and Adams. Overall, I-1125 is down by about 40,000 votes out of nearly 1.3 million cast, or about 51.5 percent No and 48.5 percent Yes.

For a map of the county-by-county results on I-1125, click here.

OLYMPIA – A coalition of House Democrats and education advocates are asking the courts to void the supermajority required for tax increases, arguing that it’s an unconstitutional limit on legislative authority.
State Republicans and the sponsor of initiatives that have repeatedly resulted in voters imposing that two-thirds majority quickly denounced the lawsuit as ignoring the will of the voters.
Tim Eyman, who had another such initiative certified Monday for this November’s ballot, said the suit could boost that measure. It could also provide campaign fodder for Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna, who as state attorney general will have the task of defending the supermajority requirement in the courts.
“This is going to bode well for us,” Eyman said of Initiative 1125. “It’s an extraordinary gift they’ve given to the McKenna campaign.”

To read the rest of this story, or to comment, click here to go inside the blog.
  

Initiative sponsors Tim Eyman (right) and Mike Fagan hold a press conference Friday while elections workers begin counting their petitions.

OLYMPIA — Supporters of an initiative to limit the use of road taxes and tolls dropped off their petitions Friday morning with a comfortable cushion that suggests they'll be on the November ballot.

Sponsors Tim Eyman and Mike Fagan wheeled in boxes of petitions they said held some 327,000 signatures for Initiative 1125, an effort to rein in tolls, taxes and fares and force any increases to be approved by the Legislature.

“These kinds of decisions need to be made by elected officials,” Eyman said. Tolls would also come off of different projects when the bonds sold to build them are paid off.

Waiting for Eyman and company were members of a forming coalition against the plan. Former State Transportation Secretary Doug MacDonald called the proposal “a mish mash” of ideas that doesn't understand modern systems of tolling. It could cause problems for plans to enlarge the 520 bridge across Lake Washington by restricting the use of funds from tolls on the I-90 bridge, he said.

Assuming that the cost of a road or bridge stops when the bonds are paid off is like assuming the cost of owning a house stops when the mortgage is paid off, he said; tolls need to continue to pay for ongoing maintenance.

OLYMPIA — Earlier in the week, Spin Control mentioned that inveterate initiative sponsor and sometime gubernatorial critic Tim Eyman would be attending the final bill signing ceremony that included all those little bills — the operating budget, the capital budget, workers compensation reform, government streamlining.

Spin Control might also have implied that some antics were expected, considering Eyman had in previous appearances made some gestures that signified he didn't much like a particular bill while posing for the ceremonial post-signing photo.

It seems only fair to note that Eyman was what mom would have called a good guest Wednesday. Not only did he not give anything a thumbs down, stick out his tongue or make rabbit ears behind Gov. Chris Gregoire during photos, he brought her a bouquet of flowers.

It would be safe to say Gregoire was surprised, and touched.

He was around when Gregoire signed the budget and said she was not vetoing a shift of money from the state auditor's account that Brian Sonntag said could affect his ability to do performance audits. She said she didn't agree with the shift, and will watch it carefully but “I'm not worried about the Legislature turning its back on perfromance audits.”

Later he called to say that while he was disappointed that she didn't line-item veto that piece of the budget, he thought the Legislature essentially left Gregoire with no choice in the matter, and that they should be blamed, not her.

Initiative-meister and red-light camera-hater Tim Eyman is urging adherents to send e-mails to city leaders around the state decrying the tactics of a leading camera purveyor. 

The Spokane mayor and city councilmember were included in his missive this week to supporters, asking them to urge leaders to take a stand on “sleazeball” tactics of ATS, the red-light company that operates the systems in Spokane and many other communities. It's a response to a story in the Everett Herald this week that indicates a company executive waged an “Astroturf” campaign on that paper’s website to support the systems when locals criticized them.

Spokane city spokeswoman Marlene Feist said city officials had only received a handful of e-mails Thursday. That seemed low, prompting some worrying that Eyman was slipping, until a check of his  e-mail links showed addresses were incorrect for several Spokane officials.

The correct e-mails can be found here.
  

Left in the legislative ash heap last week was a bill to revise rules for initiative campaigns by charging as much as $500 to file a ballot measure and putting stricter rules on people paid to gather signatures.
Like previous attempts to change ballot measure rules, SB 5297 brought out Tim Eyman and other initiative entrepreneurs who understandably don’t want the Legislature messing with a system they’ve figured out. Certain progressive “good-government” groups, eager to clean up abuses they see, provided the opposing view and generated heartfelt if conflicting testimony at the hearings.
Eyman is always quotable, in an “Armageddon is the next stop if we get on this railroad” sort of way. The good government groups warned of dastardly deeds by signature collectors, and usually mentioned a case from Spokane involving the mother-daughter team of Theresa and Mercedes Dedeaux.
The Spokesman-Review detailed the case early last year, when it became a cause célèbre for another bill with another set of restrictions on paid signature gatherers which also ultimately died. This seems a good time for an update…
  

OLYMPIA – Cities that want to install cameras to catch motorists who run red lights or speed through school zones would have to get voter approval under bills before the Legislature.
They might also have to make the yellow light last a bit longer at intersections with cameras or set the lights so they are red in all directions for at least a second. They wouldn’t be able to promise a share of the ticket revenue to the company that sells them the cameras.
Traffic ticket cameras started as a pilot project several years ago and “turned into a big problem in Washington state,” Rep. Christopher Hurst, D-Enumclaw, told the House Transportation Committee Tuesday. He proposed two different bills, using different standards for setting up the system; but both would require voter approval whenever a city starts or expands a red light camera program.
  

OLYMPIA — City of Spokane officials might be watching one election result from across the state pretty closely on Nov. 2. Or if not, they should.

The City of Mukilteo has an initiative that severely limits the use of red-light cameras and speeding cameras which issue tickets to motorists they catch running lights or driving too fast. It would require a two-thirds majority of that city council AND a simple majority of voters to approve the devices, and reduce the cost of a fine to the amount of the lowest parking ticket.

The ballot measure, sponsored by Tim Eyman, had huge numbers of signatures at its turn  it, and qualified for the ballot. When one combines the universe of voters unhappy with their government with the universe of voters who don’t like to make it easier for police to issue them speeding and traffic tickets, it’s would seem this proposal has at least a decent chance of passage. (Note deliberate understatement as an literary device.)

A successful campaign in Mukilteo could spread across the state like  BP oil in the Gulf.  It’s also important to note that Eyman’s two chief lieutenants, Jack and Mike Fagan, are Spokane residents.

OLYMPIA — Supporters of the initiative to restore the two-thirds majority required for any tax increase are the latest to do a signature drop.

This morning they turned in what sponsor Tim Eyman estimated was more than 333,000 signatures. Like the other petitions turned in so far, that all but guarantees them a spot on the ballot because the threshold is just over 241,000, and a margin like that allows the Secretary of State’s office to do the simpler “spot-check” for validation.

They followed on the heels of I-1107, a plan to repeal most of the temporary consumer taxes (soda, candy, bottled water, but not beer) enacted by the Legislature this spring, which turned in an estimated 395,000 signatures.

That makes five for the ballot: One to privatize liquor sales, one to add private insurance to the mix on workers compensation, one to institute an income tax on people who make more than $200,000, one to repeal taxes that have gone into effect in the last month, and the two-thirds majority.

Another proposal to privatize liquor sales is due in around lunchtime. The proposal to legalize marijuana use didn’t get enough signatures and has cancelled its 4:20 appointment.

OLYMPIA — Initiative guru Tim Eyman’s latest ballot proposal seeks to ban automated ticketing cameras for running red lights in Mukilteo unless they are approved by two-thirds of that city’s council AND a vote of the public.

Spin Control mentioned this morning that Eyman had an event to unveil a new initiative. This is it.

OLYMPIA — Initiative sponsor par excellance and alert reader Tim Eyman points out an inaccuracy in last Saturday’s item about the tax increases Gov. Chris Gregoire signed.

He and other tax foes in his camp have filed initiatives to repeal six of the taxes passed by the Legislature in its special session. The story said they had filed initiatives to repeal most of the taxes, and that’s numerically incorrect. The Legislature raised 17 taxes, so their initiatives only cover about a third of them.

Through various initiatives, Eyman et al want to repeal the new soda tax, the bottled water tax, the beer tax, the candy tax, the cigarette tax and the service industry business and occupation tax increase.

While these are the most recognizable (some might say notorious) tax changes coming out of the special session, there are about a dozen other smaller ones, such as the clarification of taxes on electricity from Public Utility Districts, taxes for officers of a failed limited liability corporation or the end to the sales tax exemption for handling livestock nutrients at dairies.

In terms of dollar figures, they are seeking to repeal taxes that would provide more than half of the new revenues the state expects to collect. But that’s different than “most of the taxes,” which is the phrase used in the item.

OLYMPIA – There was no drama, but plenty of theatrics, as Gov. Chris Gregoire signed a bill Wednesday making it easier for the Legislature to raise taxes.
Gregoire signed a 16-month suspension of some provisions of Initiative 960 as its prime sponsor Tim Eyman looked on, sometimes with a disapproving frown on his face, at one point holding his nose and pointing one thumb down.
“Now, you must behave,” Gregoire told Eyman at one point.
“I am behaving. This is my self-control,” he replied.

To read the rest of this story, click to go inside the blog.

OLYMPIA — Tim Eyman, the prime sponsor of Initiative 960, warned “citizens are watching arrogant Democrats who think the law doesn’t apply to them.”

This bill means you are above the Constitution. Voters have made clear that if state government is going to raise taxes, it must be a two-thirds vote or a vote of the people. You’re violating the law, you’re sidestepping the constitution … and believe the voters don’t have a right to know what you’re doing.”

The system is working, he said: “If you can’t get two-thirds of your colleagues to sign on to the bill, put it before the voters. You haven’t even done that.”

“Drop this stuff about the transparency provisions. The two-thirds is bad enough.”

Sen. Adam Kline, D-Seattle, told Eyman the Legislature has to balance many things, including the need for revenue as well as the need.for spending.

“You’ve talked about one side, as you usually do. I’d like you to speak about the other side.”

Voters passed an initiative requiring performance audits, Eyman said.

“You’re not answering my question,” Kline said.

OLYMPIA — Senate Democrats formally proposed this afternoon a plan to suspend the super majority required to raise taxes through the middle of 2011 and make other permanent changes to the tax-limiting initiative voters approved two years ago

Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, called Initiative 960 a “straightjacket on our state in a time of economic crisis” and a requirement that gives a minority the ability to obstruct the Legislature.

Senate Bill 6843 would suspend through June 2011 the requirement that all tax increases must pass with a two-thirds majority, and make a simple majority the permanent rule for any tax increase needed to carry out a policy approved by voters in an initiative that didn’t come with its own source of taxes.

The most obvious examples of the latter would be money needed for smaller classroom sizes and for pay raises for teachers, which were both passed in voter initiatives in 2000 but have been suspended in tight state budgets.

It also would allow the Legislature to “clarify legislative intent” on tax policy if the state Supreme Court were to interpret the law as not allowing a particular tax or tax exemption. That’s significant in light of a court decision last fall that ruled against a tax for Dot Foods, an out of state supplier. That ruling is estimated to drop state tax revenues by  $137 million per year.

Sen. Minority Leader Mike Hewitt, R-Walla Walla, said the proposal was a prelude to raising taxes to bail out poor state budget decisions of the past. “It creates a climate of fear and apprehension that will only quash job creation and put more people out of work.”

Democrats have talked of their intentions to suspend the super majority since before the session began and Republicans have talked just as long that such a move would flaunt the will of the people.

Republicans have introduced a bill to “reaffirm” the two-thirds majority and initiative sponsor Tim Eyman has already begun gathering signatures on a ballot measure asking voters to reinstate the super majority in November. He and other co-sponsors filed the initiative on the first day of the legislative session.

The bill is one of two proposals being discussed by Democrats looking for a way around the two-thirds majority requirement imposed in I-960. The other would be to repeal it entirely, Brown said.

The bill has a title that some might regard as “high-faluting.” It is official called “Preserving essential public services by temporarily suspending the two-thirds vote requirement for tax increases and permanently modifying provisions of Initiative Measure No. 960 for improved efficiency and consistency with state budgeting.”

The bill will get a hearing in the Senate Ways and Means Committee Thursday afternoon, and likely  come to the Senate floor sometime next week, Brown said.

Eyman vs. Gregoire

Roach vs. Gregoire

Washington’s most active initiative sponsor dismissed a suggestion that he run for office rather than run initiative campaigns.

Tim Eyman also rejected Gov. Chris Gregoire’s suggestion that Washington could go the way of California and be “initiatived to death.”

“One or two initiatives a year, tops, ever qualify for the ballot,” Eyman said as he and others filed an initiative to return a requirement that the state needs a two-thirds majority to raise taxes.

The state has such a law now, enacted by voters in 2007 with another Eyman initiative, I-960. But Democrats say they will try to modify or repeal that law before any discussion of raising taxes. Anticipating such a move, Eyman and company filed to give voters a change to reinstate it in November if they can gather enough signatures.

Non-profit agencies that work on housing and children’s issues are putting out a call for volunteers to work against a state initiative to limit government spending.

Recent polls that show Initiative 1033 with a comfortable lead has groups concerned about a loss of grant funding for programs, said Mary Ann Murphy, executive director of Partners with Families and Children: Spokane, who forwarded the request for help with a phone bank:. “I did get alarmed that perhaps people didn’t know all the implications of how this will play out.”

The sponsor of the initiative questioned whether the agencies should be campaigning for or against any ballot measure, but doubted they’d have much impact.

“If we thought it was going to be really effective, we’d be more upset,” Tim Eyman said.

Tim Eyman, the state’s premier initiative entrepreneur, endorsed Spokane City Council Candidate Mike Fagan this week.

This should come as no huge surprise to anyone with the remotest knowledge of state politics, considering Fagan is Eyman’s longtime cohort in a dozen or so years of initiative pushes, including I-1033, which will share a few lines on the ballot with Spokane’s 1st District Council race in November. Fagan faces Amber Waldref for the seat being vacated by Al French; there’s only two of them, so there’s no primary in August.

But Eyman’s announcement is noteworthy in several respects.

It’s the first candidate Eyman has ever endorsed, he said. Not that other candidates haven’t asked, but up to this point, the standard response was “we do initiatives.”

It’s also a sign that the race could get pointed after the primary. Or as he puts it “raising the discourse level.”

Don’t know if this is going to generate any controversy or not, but a funny thing happened on the way to Initiative 1033’s ballot placement Wednesday.

Initiative entrepeneur and chief sponsor Tim Eyman sent out an embargoed e-mail saying that the petitions turned in were “the cleanest ever” and had a rejection rate of less than 10 percent.

About 30 minutes later, the Secretary of State’s office announced that I-1033 was cleared for the ballot with “an unusually high” validation rate. But it was about 12 percent. No superlatives reported.

In truth, all of this is an estimate, because the Secretary of State’s office does not check every signature on every petition unless it absolutely has to. The requirement right now is 241,153 valid signatures from individual registered voters (that is, you gotta be registered, and if you sign more than once, it don’t count.)

If a group turns in 241,152, or less, the office doesn’t count, period.

If it turns 241,154 or a few thousand more, it starts counting, and keeping track of rejections. When it passes the number in the cushion — the difference between the total needed and the total submitted — it stops counting and the initiative doesn’t make it.

If a group turns in about 20 percent or more than the total needed, the office does a random sample, determines how many of the random sample were valid, then applies a formula to determine whether the total number is likely to be above the threshhold.

It’s a complicated formula, and those interested in math can read the formula used and applied to I-1033 here. Warning: for math-o-phobes, this could result in nightmares where you square a root, carry the one, move a decimal and have your integer lopped off

Initiative 1033 will be on the November ballot.

The Secretary of State’s office announced this afternoon that it’s way over the minimum for signatures required to make the grade.

It turned in so many signatures that the office does a random sample check. In the check, they had a rejection rate of about 12 percent, which is unusually low, the state elections office noted.

If approved by voters, the initiative would limit the growth in state, county and city government revenues based on a formula that’s adjusted for inflation and population growth, unless voters approve increases. You can read more about it here.

In other signature gathering news, supporters of Referendum 71, which would repeal the state’s latest domestic partnership law, said over the weekend they had about 75,000 signatures. They’ll need a minimum of 120,000 by July 25, which could be a real scramble.

Tim Eyman and other promoters of Initiative 1033 turned in 315,444 signatures on their petitions last week, the Secretary of State’s office reported today.

That’s significantly more than the 241,153 needed (if they are valid signatures from registered state voters) to get the proposal on the ballot.

At least one Spin Control reader was skeptical of Eyman’s estimate last week of “more than 314,000” sigs. Turns out he was low-balling, ever so slightly.