The results of hard-fought compromise can be eye-catching, as demonstrated by statewide advisory votes on the ballot for the Nov. 7 general election. And while the initial reaction might be akin to sticker shock, The Columbian’s Editorial Board recommends that voters select “Maintained” for advisory votes 16, 17, and 18.
As always, this is merely a recommendation; The Columbian trusts that voters will examine the issues before casting an informed ballot. Advisory votes are non-binding and will serve only to send a message to lawmakers regarding taxes that were approved during this year’s legislative session.
Most notable among the advisory votes is No. 18, for which the ballot reads: “The Legislature imposed, without a vote of the people, an additional state property tax for common schools, costing $12,949,000,000 in the first ten years, for government spending.” That is where the sticker shock arrives, with $12.9 billion looking and sounding ominous. The odds are the few people would vote to maintain that amount of government spending without a full understanding of the reasons behind it.
Those reasons are easily defensible, with the property-tax increase being the result of years of negotiations to solve a school-funding crisis. This would increase state support for schools and require districts to reduce, over time, their reliance upon local levies to pay for basic education. All of this is spelled out in House Bill 2242, which provides the foundation for meeting the mandate spelled out in the state Supreme Court’s McCleary v. Washington ruling.
Voters should recognize the years of negotiations that went into devising the state property-tax increase and understand that it eventually will be offset by reductions to local property taxes. We recommend that Advisory Vote No. 18 be maintained.
We also support maintenance for Advisory Vote No. 17, which also is part of the broad budget compromise hammered out this year. House Bill 2163 will raise more than $400 million in revenue over two years by tweaking certain tax breaks. Among other items, it collects sales tax from online retailers such as eBay and narrows a tax break on extracted fuels that has benefitted oil refineries. The measure, detailed in House Bill 2163, also ends a sales-tax exemption for bottled water.
Advisory Vote No. 16 asks about an increase to commercial fishing license fees that would raise about $1 million over two years. The details can be found in House Bill 1597.
Each of the advisory votes is linked to hard-fought budget negotiations that resulted in what lawmakers believe is a solution to the McCleary issue. While the state Supreme Court will have the final say on whether the Legislature met its paramount duty to amply fund schools, progress has been achieved. Voters should provide lawmakers with a vote of confidence by suggesting that the taxes be maintained.
Again, advisory votes are nothing more than advice. Their appearance on the ballot is mandated by Initiative 960, which was approved in 2007, but the results are not binding; lawmakers are free to ignore those results if they wish. Still, the Legislature must continue to tweak and improve the state’s tax structure. While much effort went into this year’s agreement, the changes are certain to remain a work in progress and require adjustments.
In the meantime, voters can signal their support for the progress that has been made by voting to maintain the issues covered in advisory votes 16, 17, and 18.
