OLYMPIA — Two of the three legislators representing the North Olympic Peninsula said they think a recent state Supreme Court decision striking down the state Legislature’s two-thirds vote requirement for new taxes will not have much impact on the current legislative session.
Both state Rep. Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim, and Sen. Jim Hargrove, D-Hoquiam, said there is little support for new taxes this session, no matter what the rules for passage.
Fellow Democratic Rep. Steve Tharinger of Sequim, however, said he thinks the decision could open the door for repeal of various state tax breaks that could help close a state budget deficit.
The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a citizens initiative requiring a two-thirds majority vote in the state Legislature was in conflict with the state constitution.
Tharinger said he supports the ruling and that it could allow some tax breaks currently in place for established businesses — such as national out-of-state banks operating in Washington — to be more easily repealed.
The money raised from the repeal of such breaks, which up until the court decision required a simply majority to pass but a supermajority to repeal, could be re-aimed at funding education or health care in the state, he said.
“I think it’s a case-by-case basis,” Tharinger said Thursday, “[but] I think you’ll see support for repealing some of these [tax breaks].”
Tharinger, Van De Wege and Hargrove represent the 24th Legislative District, which comprises Clallam and Jefferson counties and a third of Grays Harbor County.
Hargrove said he doesn’t think the court decision will change much this session.
He said there is little support for new taxes and new revenue in the Senate, and that the ruling is unlikely to change anyone’s mind.
“It won’t change anything in Olympia,” Hargrove said.
“We don’t have the votes for taxes down here.”
While options for new revenue are never completely off the table, Hargrove said, any change that might increases taxes would have to have broad bipartisan support or even go to a vote of the people.
Van De Wege echoed Hargrove’s sentiment about the difficulty this session will present in passing any new taxes, even without the two-thirds majority requirement.
Additionally, Van De Wege, who called the citizens initiative “clearly unconstitutional” in a Thursday interview, said he was not taken aback at all by the ruling, adding that the decision will not affect day-to-day business much this legislative session.
“Whether you are a Democrat or a Republican, no one was surprised by the outcome of the ruling,” Van De Wege said.
Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
