Rep. Norma Smith urges constituents to offer feedback on attempt to overturn taxpayer protections
On Feb. 10, the Senate Democrats passed Senate Bill 6130, which repeals all the provisions of the 2007 voter-approved taxpayer protection act, Initiative 960. Senate Bill 6130 is scheduled for a public hearing on Saturday, Feb. 13, at 9:00 a.m. in the House Finance Committee.
The greatest concerns to Rep. Norma Smith, R-Clinton, are the majority party removing all the taxpayer transparency provisions in I-960 and suspending the two-thirds majority vote of the Legislature, and voter approval, to pass bills that create or increase taxes. She had this to say about Senate Bill 6130:
“It’s bad enough the Senate bill opens the flood gates to passing as many as 75 House bills that create or increase taxes and fees, but it removes critical transparency measures that give the public a closer look at the cost of legislation, who is sponsoring it and how legislators voted. I have heard from people of all political affiliations and areas of the 10th Legislative District that they do not want the initiative repealed, and are very frustrated by the removal of transparency pieces.
“To the best of our knowledge, Senate Bill 6130 will have a public hearing this Saturday morning. The bill will then be fast-tracked to the House floor for debate and a vote as early as Sunday at 12:01 a.m. This barely gives my constituents time to comment on the bill before it is voted on in the dead of night. This is not the kind of process that builds public trust and I simply cannot support it or the bill repealing the key elements that help citizens better understand how legislative measures impact them.”
Smith encourages citizens to share their thoughts on repealing taxpayer protections with key leaders prior to the hearing and vote. They can be reached at:
- Speaker of the House Frank Chopp: (360) 786-7920
- Chair of the House Finance Committee, Rep. Ross Hunter: (360) 786-7936
- Governor Christine Gregoire: (360) 902-4111
- Contact information for all members of the House Finance Committee can be found here.
Smith can be contacted at (360) 786-7884 or smith.norma@leg.wa.gov.
