Last year’s Initiative 1053 made it tougher for Olympia to increase taxes and fees. It received a whopping 64 percent “yes” vote statewide (70 percent in Spokane County). It was the fourth time voters had approved its policies. The taxpayers’ message was clear: Taking more of the people’s money must be an absolute last resort.

Our state constitution says that initiatives are tamper-proof in their first two years.  Nonetheless, we’ve been watching politicians for months find sneaky, underhanded ways to get around I-1053 and our state constitution. Here’s what Gov. Chris Gregoire said in January:  “I’m not gonna let 1053 stand in the way of me moving forward for what I think is right.”   

I-1053 requires the Legislature to get a two-thirds vote for tax increases and a majority vote for fee increases.  With the two-thirds requirement effectively shutting down tax increases, politicians are going fee-crazy. 

What’s worse, they’re not following the law. 

Our new initiative – I-1125 – is our chance to remind Gregoire and the other politicians in Olympia that the voters really meant it when they gave I-1053 a 64 percent “yes” vote. 

Our initiative not only addresses Olympia’s sidestepping of I-1053 but also brings a few urgent transportation policy decisions to the attention of the public.  Special-interest groups and politicians don’t want an open debate on this. They prefer cutting backroom deals and keeping the voters in the dark about what they’re doing.  Our initiative puts a spotlight on these critical issues and gives the public the chance to weigh in.

Here are the main things this year’s Initiative 1125 does:

• Just like last year’s I-1053, I-1125 mandates that our elected representatives in the Legislature, and not unelected bureaucrats on Gregoire’s Transportation Commission, vote on tolls.

There is no decision that government makes that has more impact on our lives than the power to take more of the people’s money. That decision must be made by elected representatives who can be held accountable by their constituents at the ballot box. Our country was founded on the principle of “no taxation without representation,” and that should certainly apply to the imposition of billions of dollars in new or increased tolls.

I-1053 required that tolls be decided by the Legislature, but a provision in the pending transportation budget re-empowers unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats on Gregoire’s Transportation Commission to decide on and impose tolls. That’s not what the voters said they wanted when they approved I-1053. I-1125 returns toll-setting authority back to our elected representatives in the Legislature.

• Reinforcing the 18th Amendment to our state constitution, I-1125 requires that transportation taxes be spent for transportation. Politicians in Olympia are making it a habit to raid dedicated funds to balance the state’s budget shortfall. I-1125 essentially puts a “don’t steal” sign on our critical, limited transportation money.

• Current law requires that tolls on a project be spent on that project and may not be diverted and spent on other things. I-1125 re-enacts that requirement. Too many politicians see dollar signs in their eyes when it comes to tolls. But tolls aren’t a piggy bank for politicians to spend any way they want. I-1125 guarantees that if tolls are imposed on Spokane’s North-South Corridor, for example, they can’t be stolen and spent somewhere else.

Transportation projects are expensive enough when tolls stay dedicated to the project; they’d be exponentially more expensive if those limited dollars get diverted away and spent on other things besides the project itself.

Last November, 70 percent of Spokane’s voters approved last year’s I-1053. It’s not too much to ask that the Legislature abide by it. This year’s I-1125 not only reinstates I-1053’s voter-approved protections, but also prods politicians to not violate existing laws and existing constitutional protections when it comes to transportation and tolls. Citizens have to follow the law and abide by the Constitution; government should too.

“Tyranny is defined as that which is legal for the government but illegal for the citizenry.” – Thomas Jefferson.