Fain: voters deserve final say on increasing requirements to raise taxes

Published 2:03 pm Friday, February 12, 2016

For the Reporter

A proposed constitutional amendment giving voters the final say on whether the Legislature should require a two-thirds majority vote to increase taxes failed today on the Senate floor.

Sen. Joe Fain, R-Auburn, voted for the plan, which needed a two-thirds vote of the Senate and only received 26 votes, even though the initiative was approved in 44 of the state’s 49 legislative districts.

“As policymakers in Olympia we frequently hear from special interests asking for government to do more for them, but too often we don’t hear enough from the people at home in the districts we represent – the real world,” said Fain, who represents the 47th Legislative District, which supported I-1366 by a 70 percent margin. “The initiative process gives state residents the opportunity to make their voice heard and makes it clear that if lawmakers are going to raise taxes, they better have a very good reason.”

Amendments to the state constitution require a two-thirds vote of lawmakers in the Senate, House of Representatives and ultimately on a statewide ballot. Since 1993, Washington voters have affirmed or approved the two-thirds requirement six times. Supermajority votes already exist for certain items in the Legislature, including the use of long-term bonds for state infrastructure projects.