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Orcutt seeks voter approval for
taxing district use of 'banked capacity'
Kalama
Republican says '1 percent means 1 percent'
As lawmakers voted
Thursday to reinstate the 1 percent levy limit of Initiative 747,
Rep. Ed Orcutt introduced legislation to provide further taxpayer protections
by requiring taxing districts to seek voter approval before using their
"banked capacity." Orcutt's intent is to make sure that 1 percent
means 1 percent.
Under current law, any local
government that does not levy an increase in any year could "bank" that
amount for a future year, allowing them the opportunity for future increases
greater than 1 percent. Some cities, counties and special taxing
districts have stockpiled that banked capacity, which means that even
though the Legislature has adopted a 1 percent levy limit, they are
still able to use that capacity, resulting in increases higher than 1
percent.
Orcutt,
ranking Republican on the House Finance Committee, said his proposal,
House Bill 2418, would ensure the 1 percent limit sought by voters is
respected.
"This would complete the
work we started when we approved re-enacting the 1 percent levy limit.
We've heard a lot of talk about how we need to uphold the will of the
voters, but we've only partially accomplished that goal," said Orcutt,
R-Kalama.
"We must look back to 2000
when voters passed Initiative 722, a measure that eliminated banked
capacity. The court ruled against it just weeks before citizens
voted for I-747. The ruling came too late to be addressed in I-747. We
had the opportunity to provide the
protections voters were seeking when they approved both of these
initiatives, but only a portion of the voters' will was restored,"
he added.
"All we are saying here is
that 1 percent should mean 1 percent. Because we didn't address this issue, the
limit is not truly 1 percent. With this previous banked capacity, the
local governments that have wanted to raise their taxes by more than 1
percent can do an end-run around the limit we just passed," noted
Orcutt. "They will be able to use that capacity and go to increases of 6
percent, 10 percent, perhaps as high as 35 percent. We need to prevent that."
In a procedural motion,
Orcutt moved that the bill he sponsored be brought directly to the House floor for a
vote. The majority party defeated the motion, 59-35.
"I'm very disappointed
that the majority party would not allow us to complete the will of the
people. Taxpayers are now left to hope that we uphold the will of the voters on banked
capacity in the 2008 session," concluded Orcutt.
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For more information, contact:
John
Sattgast, Senior Information Officer: (360) 786-7257
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