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Armstrong: Democrats turned their backs on
property tax relief
Motion to consider legislation to reinstate 1
percent levy limit rejected
House Democrat leaders
Tuesday blocked what may be the last opportunity during the 2007
legislative session to reinstate provisions of Initiative 747 that limit
property tax increases to 1 percent per year.
House Bill 2403 would have reinstated the 1 percent levy lid which
was struck down last year by King County Superior Court Judge Mary
Roberts.
Rep. Mike
Armstrong and other House
Republicans wanted to bring the bill directly to the House floor for a
vote through a procedural motion. However, House Democrat leaders ruled
the motion out of order.
Armstrong, R-Wenatchee,
said he's deeply disappointed that the majority party refused to allow
the bill to move forward, especially since party leaders had promised
earlier in the session to address the issue of skyrocketing property
taxes.
"This is an issue we feel
strongly about. We've heard lip service from the other side of the aisle
that they feel strongly about it. We thought we'd give them the
opportunity to match their words with some action, and they quickly shut
us down," said Armstrong. "It became obvious when majority Democrats
refused to budge that they had no intention of addressing the property
tax issue at all. We've offered a number of bills to provide property
tax relief and they've allowed none of them to move forward. It's
extremely clear to us that Republicans are in this property tax fight
alone."
Armstrong said the
toughest part for him is going back home and seeing firsthand the
effects of skyrocketing property taxes.
"When I go back home and
there are people who cannot afford their property taxes and have to sell
their homes, or know the assessed value of their property will soar
because someone has purchased a neighboring property at a much higher
rate, it is very difficult," said Armstrong. "I'm especially concerned
for those folks who live on fixed incomes and will be struggling to keep
their homes."
Armstrong said he had two
objectives coming into the 2007 legislative session in January: provide
meaningful property tax relief and create a secure rainy-day fund to
protect taxpayers from future downturns in the economy.
"We have a 2.2 billion
dollar surplus and yet we can't provide tax relief? That's absurd," said
Armstrong. "The Legislature should have rebated some of that money back
in the form of property tax relief to help people keep their homes. When
we have such a large surplus, that means only one thing -- that we are
overcharging people on their taxes.
"We had the opportunity to
provide relief with that huge surplus. Instead, the majority Democrats
decided they would grab that money and spend it every which way they
could. This will put us into a deficit in two to four years. Republicans
were the lone voice in this battle," added Armstrong. "Citizens spoke
loudly through Initiative 747. The court struck that down and we had an
opportunity to reinstate those provisions and uphold the will of the
people. Unfortunately, by shutting down our motion, majority Democrats
have turn their backs on the citizens of our state."
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For more information, contact:
John
Sattgast, Public Information Officer: (360) 786-7257
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