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Judge validates Republicans’ claim that
budget violated taxpayers’ wishes
Statement from
Rep. Gary
Alexander on Snohomish County court decision:
“My Republican colleagues
and I are relieved that the court has stepped in on behalf of the
taxpayers and those of us who have fought to put a stop to the
irresponsible budget tactics we’ve seen over the past two years. With
Democrats in control of both chambers and the governor’s office, the
majority-party budget writers have used budget shifts and other
accounting moves to artificially inflate the legal spending limit and
raise taxes with impunity.
“With Friday’s decision, the court has blown the whistle on these
budget-writing maneuvers. The judge said budget writers ‘exploited a
loophole in I-601 to avoid a vote’ and called the approach ‘artificial
manipulation’ – descriptions strikingly similar to the terms Republican
have used to describe the Democrat budgeting practices.
“The next move is the
governor’s, and we would encourage her to not appeal this court
decision. It’s her job to represent the citizens’ interests, not engage
them in a legal battle at their expense. The right approach is to fix
what is wrong with the budget by eliminating the needless money shifts
and stopping the collection of these added taxes the court says were
enacted illegally.”
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Rep. Gary
Alexander, R-Olympia, is the ranking Republican on the budget-writing
House Appropriations Committee.
For more information, contact:
Brendon Wold, Public
Information Officer: (360) 786-7698
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