Legislature OKs three initiatives

By Laurel Demkovich, Grace Deng, Jerry Cornfield and Bill Lucia

OLYMPIA – Three citizen initiatives designed to lift restrictions on police vehicle pursuits, prohibit income taxes and establish a “bill of rights” for parents of K-12 students are set to become law in Washington after winning approval in the state House and Senate on Monday.

The initiatives do not require the governor’s signature. They will take effect 90 days after the legislative session ends – so in early June if lawmakers wrap up their work for the year as expected on Thursday.

Passage of three initiatives in one day is historic in Olympia. State lawmakers have only enacted citizen initiatives about a half-dozen times during the past 110 years, according to the secretary of state’s office. Only once – in 1995 when two were approved – did the Legislature approve more than one of these initiatives in a single year. The group Let’s Go Washington, with financial support from investor Brian Heywood, gathered hundreds of thousands of signatures for six initiatives sent to the Legislature this year. 

Democrats, who hold majorities in both the House and Senate, agreed to advance three of the measures to floor votes. The three other initiatives – to repeal the state’s capital gains tax, scrap the Climate Commitment Act and its carbon market and make it easier for workers to opt out of Washington’s new long-term care insurance program – are headed to voters this fall.

Approval of the three initiatives marks a win for Republicans in the Legislature, who generally support all six of the measures and fought to get them hearings and floor votes.

Income tax

Initiative 2111 would prohibit Washington state and its local governments from imposing taxes on personal income.

In the Senate, 38 lawmakers voted for the initiative and 11 – all Democrats – voted against it. In the House, it passed 76-21.

“This initiative is designed to do one thing, which is to codify in law the state’s longstanding tradition of not having a tax based on personal income,” Senate Ways and Means Committee Chair June Robinson, D-Everett, said.

The proposal will not change any current laws. Washington does not have an income tax and there are no serious proposals in the Legislature to impose one.

The Washington Supreme Court has long ruled that a statewide graduated income tax in Washington is unconstitutional. On 10 occasions since 1934, Washington voters have shot down ballot measures that could have allowed the state to adopt personal or corporate income taxes, according to the secretary of state.

Opponents of the tax initiative said an income tax could be a tool to help make Washington’s tax code less regressive, where the tax burden is heavier for lower earners. 

Rep. Chipalo Street, D-Seattle, said Washington needs to be working to make its tax code more balanced. 

“We could do better,” Street said. “We should consider all methods of doing so.”

Parental rights 

Initiative 2081, or the “parents’ bill of rights,” would require public school materials, such as textbooks, curriculum and a child’s medical records, to be easily available for review by parents. It would also allow parents to opt their child out of assignments and other activities involving questions about the student’s sexual experiences or their family’s religious beliefs.

It passed unanimously through the Washington Senate.

Many of the rights outlined in the initiative are already in state or federal law.

“This initiative seeks to clarify all these rights and inform parents in clear and straightforward terms what they can expect to know,” said Sen. Lisa Wellman, D-Mercer Island.

Police pursuits 

Initiative 2113 would give police in Washington more leeway to pursue suspected criminals by erasing restrictions on when they can undertake vehicle pursuits.

The Legislature put limits in place in 2021 as part of a suite of policing changes passed in response to the 2020 murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and other high-profile police killings – reforms aimed at reducing the potential for violence and death in police responses.

Today, an officer can initiate a chase if they have reasonable suspicion that a person in a vehicle has committed or is committing a violent offense, a sex offense, domestic violence-related offenses, driving under the influence of alcohol, or trying to escape arrest. 

Under the initiative, an officer will be able to engage in a pursuit if they have reasonable suspicion a person has violated the law.

The Senate passed the measure 36-13 with only Democrats opposed.

In the House, floor speeches spanned an hour before the measure passed 77-20.

Initiatives to the Legislature

In Washington, citizens can gather signatures on a measure to send to voters on the ballot or to the Legislature to enact into law.

If an initiative sent to the Legislature is certified, with the secretary of state verifying it has enough people signed on in support, the Legislature has three options: 

They can adopt the initiative into law as proposed. 

They can reject the initiative, sending it to the ballot for voters to decide. 

Or they can propose an alternative measure to send to voters alongside the original. 

If passed by the House and Senate, the initiatives become law and do not require action by the governor.

First published March 4. Copyright 2024, Washington State Standard. Reprinted with permission. More at: https://washingtonstatestandard.com