Today I
attended a tax day tea party here in Olympia. I
appreciate all of you who attended events in Moses Lake,
Cle Elum and Yakima. It's important to hold the line on
spending and tax increases, and I want
you to know I am working hard here to oppose any tax or
fee increase. In honor of this day, I would like to
share some of the tax, bond and fee proposals for our
state.
Tax proposals Just today, on the very same
day thousands of people around the state gathered to
tell their local, state and federal leaders they
didn't want more taxes, a $1 billion
tax proposal was introduced in the House.
House Bill 2377 would ask voters for a temporary
sales tax increase to pay for cuts to health and human
services. There is also word we could see another tax
proposal for education. It is astonishing to me how
disconnected the majority is from the
people in this state.
Senate Bill 6147 proposes to levy an income tax
on
the most wealthy in our state. I believe this is a
slippery slope that could lead to all of us paying an
income tax; something I will not support. Voters spoke
clearly all across the nation today that they have been
Taxed Enough Already,
and I agree.
We
don't know exactly what the final proposals will look like
on the ballot, but I assure you that we don't need more
taxes to balance the budget, we need priorities in
government.
Bonding Just
this week, I voted against a bill in the Capital Budget
Committee to send a proposal to voters asking for a
$3
billion bond to pay for school building improvements.
There are clearly many important needs
for school buildings that need to be addressed. In our
own area we have seen serious problems in our school
buildings.
However, I don’t think a 20-year bond should be used to
help fix these buildings. We would have a $210 million
in debt service to pay off each year from the operating
budget. This proposal would pay off $80 million of the
debt by what proponents say comes from realizing energy
savings. It is unknown how the other $130
million would be paid off.
I’m concerned
that this proposal pulls at our desire to do right by
our children by putting more debt on to our
future budgets. I wonder why this issue hasn’t
been successfully addressed in the past with education
funding or in past capital budgets. We need to
address this critical issue with funding in the
operating budget, placing liability on contractors who
have failed to build safe buildings and by preserving
funding in the capital budget for projects like this.
Fee increases Though we
are required by voters to have a supermajority in the
Legislature to increase taxes on the people, fee
increases are allowed to slip by with just a simple
majority. One such fee increase being proposed would
help pay for cuts to parks. Currently on your car tabs,
you have an option to make a donation to parks. This is
called an "opt-in" fee, and it looks like this:
A proposal in the Legislature would require
vehicle owners to "opt-out" of an automatic
fee, unless they check a box to
not
pay a fee on parks. This is a sneaky way to pay for
a state service that is already paid for by
taxpayers.My seatmate,
Rep. Bill Hinkle, is working on an amendment in the
overall budget prohibiting the Washington Parks
Commission from closing any parks
within the required budget cuts.
Scholar athletes
Last week, the House of Representatives honored
scholar
athletes from across the state who have excelled in
higher education and in their respective sports. These
students have shown through sheer will power their
ability to succeed, and have set a great example for
their peers. Pictured at left is myself with
Central Washington University scholar athletes.
I'm especially proud of the players at
Central Washington University who made the national news
when they carried an injured opposing player over the
plates for a winning home run. We can all learn
from student athletes
like these young people!
Please feel free to call or e-mail meon these or any other
issue. My contact information
is at the top.
Sincerely,
Rep. Judy Warnick 13th District State
Representative
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Last week, the House of Representatives honored
scholar
athletes from across the state who have excelled in
higher education and in their respective sports. These
students have shown through sheer will power their
ability to succeed, and have set a great example for
their peers. Pictured at left is myself with
Central Washington University scholar athletes.