OLYMPIA — A bill that would have lowered the voter passage threshold for school district bonds from 60 percent to a simple majority has failed to pass muster.
The state House Capital Budget Committee panel’s seven Democrats voted for it, while the six Republicans were opposed on Monday.
But committee Chair Steve Tharinger, a 24th District Port Townsend Democrat, said there was no point in passing HB 1226 on to the Rules Committee and a floor vote without any GOP support.
It had passed out of the House Committee on Education by the same 7-6 margin.
The measure would require a two-thirds vote in the House and Senate for passage because it requires amending the state Constitution.
The party split is 57 Democrats-41 Republicans in the House and 28 Democrats-21 Republicans in the Senate.
Voters statewide also would have to approve the measure.
There are no bills in the Senate that are still alive that would reduce the 60 percent threshold, said state Sen. Kevin Van De Wege of Sequim.
A similar bill made it out of committee in the Senate during the 2019 session but did not reach the two-thirds threshold on the Senate floor.
A 2021 Senate bill coupled with a constitutional amendment would have reduced the threshold to 55 percent.
It, too failed.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
