722 thrown out

greenspun.com : LUSENET : I-695 Thirty Dollar License Tab Initiative : One Thread

I told you so.

http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/local/init23ww.shtml

Another Eyman tax initiative struck down Tax-cutting I-722 declared unconstitutional

Friday, February 23, 2001

By REBECCA COOK THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

OLYMPIA -- A Thurston County Superior Court judge struck down tax-cutting Initiative 722 Friday, saying it violates the state Constitution.

Judge Christine Pomeroy said the initiative, sponsored by anti-tax crusader Tim Eyman and approved by voters in November, addressed two things: rolling back taxes and implementing a new tax system.

Under the state Constitution, voter-approved initiatives are only supposed to address one issue.

Pomeroy also said I-722 violates the ban on gifts of public funds by offering refunds to voters, and violates the full-disclosure law because the initiative did not explain its full effects.

Attorneys for the state and the initiative argued that the initiative has one subject -- limiting taxes -- and voters knew what they were doing when they approved it. They promised to appeal Pomeroy's ruling to the state Supreme Court.

Initiative 722 required a refund of taxes and fees imposed in the last half of 1999. It also limited property tax growth to 2 percent a year or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower.

A number of cities and counties had asked the court to delay the initiative from taking effect.

Tom Ahearn, a lawyer representing the cities and counties that sued to block I-722, said reasons behind the decision to strike down the measure were similar to those behind last year's decision to overturn Initiative 695, another Eyman initiative.

I-695 imposed a limit on taxes and fees and replaced the unpopular motor vehicle excise tax with a $30 fee.

Ahearn said it's the court's job to sometimes make unpopular decisions.

"The sadder parts of our history are when courts have failed to do that," he said.

I-722 passed last year with 56 percent of the vote.

Tim Eyman said Friday's ruling will "throw gasoline on the fire of enthusiasm" for his new Initiative 747, which would limit property tax increases to 1 percent without the express approval of voters.

He said he thinks there's a double standard when it's easy for the Legislature to raise taxes but his tax initiatives keep getting slapped down by the courts.

"But hey, life's not fair," he said. "Welcome to the world of politics."

-- BB (bbquax@hotmail.com), February 23, 2001


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