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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eyman measure again tackles taxes

Richard Roesler Staff writer

OLYMPIA – After two high-profile failures last year, initiative promoter Tim Eyman is returning to his time-tested formula: beating the drum against taxes.

“There’s no decision they make in Olympia that is more important than taking more of the people’s money,” says Eyman. “Everything pales in comparison, and everything flows from that decision.”

And so: Initiative 960, which Eyman says simply holds state lawmakers accountable. Voters will decide next month if I-960 becomes law.

Eyman’s opponents – who include AARP, environmental groups, unions, the state hospital association and childrens’ advocates – say the proposal would hamstring lawmakers and saddle perplexed voters with dozens of nonbinding votes every November.

“Initiative 960 is a half-baked solution in search of a problem,” said Christian Sinderman, spokesman for No on I-960.

The complex measure would:

“Reaffirm an existing – but often bypassed – state law that says it takes a two-thirds majority of state lawmakers to pass a tax increase.

“Require extensive public notices any time state lawmakers launch a tax bill, hold hearings on it, or vote on it.

“Require state budget officials to calculate the 10-year cost of any new taxes.

“Send most state-agency fee increases, large or small, to state lawmakers for a vote.

Also, the proposal includes an unusual provision intended to discourage lawmakers from declaring tax increases a state emergency – a move that makes it impossible for voters to gather signatures for a referendum vetoing the tax.

In such cases, I-960 says, the tax hike must automatically be placed on the November ballot for a nonbinding “advisory vote.” And the state voters’ pamphlet would include a list of how every state lawmaker voted on that measure in Olympia.

“Olympia is the most dangerous when they don’t think we’re looking,” Eyman said. “And under 960, they’ll know that we’re looking over their shoulder all the time.”

The measure would apply to statewide taxes, such as most of the sales tax and gas tax. But it would have little or no impact on taxes that are primarily local, such as most property taxes, utility taxes and gambling taxes.

Eyman, 41, has made a political career – and a profession – out of running ballot measures like this. State campaign finance records show that a “compensation fund” for Eyman and two associates, the Spokane-based father-and-son team of Jack and Mike Fagan, has collected more than $600,000 over the past four years. Since 1998, he’s worked on 14 initiatives, including last year’s attempts to repeal a gay rights bill and pass a new version of his “$30 car tabs” initiative. His largest financial backer in recent years, by far, is a retired Woodinville investor named Mike Dunmire.

Critics such as Sinderman say Eyman’s playing a dangerous game, exploiting – and worsening – public cynicism about government. Sinderman is also a professional political consultant. Campaign records show his firm, Northwest Passage, was paid $5,000 in August by No on 960. But regardless of who’s behind the proposal, Sinderman said, it’s a terrible idea.

“At its face value, it’s a bad initiative,” he said. “We believe we’ve got a good shot at defeating it when people realize they’re buying a pig in a poke.”

Eyman scoffs at the assertion that his proposal would just add to the bureaucracy that would mire down Olympia in endless budget rules.

“There are ridiculous bills they make time for in Olympia,” he said, naming several of this year’s bills. “Are they too busy impeaching Bush, naming a state amphibian and allowing dogs in bars?”

A report from the Washington Policy Center concluded that Eyman’s measure would “close the loopholes” surrounding tax increases, but wouldn’t require a two-thirds vote for routine legislation like passing a budget or transferring money.

A key question for voters, the center’s Jason Mercier wrote, is whether the additional information for voters about tax and fee increases is worth the extra costs and workload for state government. The state budget office pegs the cost at $1.8 million a year, mostly for “advisory votes.” Critics argue that bill reports and voting records are already available to anyone on Web sites like www.leg.wa.gov or www.washingtonvotes.org.

An unrelated think tank, the Washington State Budget and Policy Center, says the measure is “inefficient and ambiguous.” I-960 would require lawmakers to weigh in on “the most minor fee increases,” such as a 25-cent increase in state parking. The group applauded the idea of more transparency in government – particularly the cheap idea of e-mailing information to interested Washingtonians – and agrees with Eyman that the state’s Web sites are often hard to understand. But it concludes that 960 is too heavy-handed, mandating one-sided notices and potentially clogging the ballot with advisory votes.

“We want legislators to work on our priorities, like education, transportation and health care,” said Sinderman. “If they’re spending a lot of time debating an apple commission surcharge, that’s a waste of the public’s time.”