A MONTH AND a day are scant time to sort through nine confusing statewide ballot issues.
Six are initiatives, from petitions signed by voters proposing changes to state law.
Three are referendums, placed on the ballot by the Legislature, asking voters to amend the state constitution or agree to change a law.
When direct democracy collides with convoluted issues, impacts aren’t always readily apparent.
Tax reduction proposals and proposals that support worthy causes both appeal to voters.
Presented on the ballot separately, a measure that reduces revenue going to government, and another measure that requires government to increase spending may be simultaneously approved.
At other times, voters pass new initiatives without realizing they are effectively repealing a former ballot issue.
For example, in 2002 when voters approved I-776, which dropped state automotive license tab fees to $30, they were oblivious to its effect on the transportation infrastructure referendum they had approved the previous election cycle.
Not only are initiatives decided in something of a budgetary vacuum, voters frequently vote for candidates who oppose the very ballot issues the voters favor.
I-960, which passed in 2007 to make it harder for the Legislature to raise tax rates, is a prime example of an initiative that was never liked by the legislative majority, which suspended it this year to make it easier to resolve a major budget shortfall.
I-960 promoters reacted by placing I-1053 on this November’s ballot, again to require two-thirds legislative majorities, or voter approval, to raise taxes or add or increase fees.
Some of the taxes the legislators passed after they suspended I-960 also drew the ire of initiative writers.
Making it to the ballot is I-1107, which would stop sales tax collections on candy and bottled water; end the excise taxes temporarily imposed on carbonated beverages; and reduce tax rates for certain food processors.
Contrarily, the carbonated beverage tax would become permanent, instead of expiring in 2013, if voters approve Referendum 52, which finances energy efficiency projects in public schools and higher education buildings.
If I-1107 and R-52 both pass, the courts will sort out the conflict.
On the flip side of tax debates, I-1098 would levy a state income tax on individual adjusted gross incomes above $200,000 or $400,000 for couples filing jointly, and reduce state (but not local) property tax levies and specified business and occupation taxes.
Any increased revenues would be designated for education and health — as allocated by the Legislature, of course.
Another initiative that could be implemented by its opponents is I-1082.
Legislators would have until March 1, 2012, to enact laws under which employers could purchase private industrial insurance beginning July 1, 2012.
Remembering my mother’s career as a claims examiner for Industrial Indemnity in Idaho, private insurance doesn’t scare me, but folks voting for I-1082 had better choose their legislators cautiously.
Also on the ballot are I-1100 and I-1105. Both would get the state out of the liquor business, but the alcohol advocates couldn’t agree on the details.
Impacts on the state budget are debatable, but there’s no debating that consumption always increases when alcoholic beverages become more readily available and more heavily marketed. Some see profits, others only tragedy.
This year’s other two ballot measures would amend the state Constitution.
Senate Joint Resolution 8225 is an arcane issue affecting how the state’s constitutional debt limit is calculated. (Please explain it to me, if you can.)
Engrossed Substitute House Joint Resolution 4220 responds to the murder of four Lakewood police officers by a man who was out on bail.
It would allow courts to deny bail under very narrow circumstances, only when the accused faces life in prison or death and has clearly displayed “a propensity for violence that would likely endanger persons.”
Legislative debate nearly gutted ESHJR 4220, providing further evidence of the importance of looking beyond winning smiles when voting for candidates.
This coming Monday is the deadline for changing your address or registering to vote in the Nov. 2 general election.
Visit your county auditor’s office or go online to www.vote.wa.gov and click on voter information.
Representative democracy demands your attention.
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Martha Ireland was a Clallam County commissioner from 1996 through 1999 and is the secretary of the Republican Women of Clallam County, among other community endeavors.
Martha and her husband, Dale, live on a Carlsborg-area farm. Her column appears every Friday.
E-mail: irelands@olypen.com.
