The 3 of the 6 measures submitted to the Washington Legislature, that would outlaw income taxes, enact a “parents’ bill of rights,” and loosen some limitations on when law enforcement can pursue suspects, were approved by the legislature on Monday.
If a referendum is filed, the measures shall become law and go into effect around 3 months after the session concludes. Thursday is the last day of the session.
The first three projects were all approved with large margins. After the House debated the initiatives for roughly two hours in the afternoon, the Senate moved quickly to pass the legislation late on Monday morning.
The three proposals’ approval On Monday, the 3 further pending proposals before the Legislature will be the only ones on the ballot in the 2024 election cycle.
The three additional bills that are currently in front of the Legislature will do away with the state’s carbon market, a capital gains tax, and alternative payroll tax to fund the state’s long-term care insurance plan. Legislative leaders have stated that they would not take action on these measures. All 3 of these candidates are going on the November ballot if the Legislature does not take action.
Jim Walsh, the chair of the state Republican Party and an Aberdeen state legislator, filed all 6 of them, with financial support from Redmond businessman Brian Heywood.
In a statement, Heywood stated, “The job’s never done.” “There must to have been hearings for each of the initiatives, yet voters today get to choose which three to support.”
The votes to approve all 3 measures “undermine Heywood and Walsh’s conservative ambitions of turning back progress,” according to an email from Aaron Ostrom, executive director of the progressive organization Fuse Washington.
“The Legislature is short-circuiting their plan by removing their 3 culture war diversions off the ballot. Their goal was to take out liberals by stretching us excessively thin and spark their backers with empty rhetoric,” Ostrum stated.