New Policy Brief: 2010 Initiatives Could Impact Public Services

In November, voters in Washington State will make decisions on a range of ballot initiatives. Five of these measures could significantly impact our state’s ability to meet fundamental public needs. These measures include:

• I-1053, a measure that would diminish legislators’ ability to make balanced, rational decisions as the state recovers from the recession. The initiative would subject all future tax increases, no matter how small, to a public referendum vote or a supermajority (two-thirds) vote in the legislature coupled with a nonbinding public advisory vote.
• I-1098 offers Washingtonians an opportunity to enact important long-term reforms to our state’s inadequate revenue structure. The measure would reduce taxes for homeowners and small businesses while providing additional resources for education and health care through a new tax on high incomes.
• Two initiatives (I-1100 and I-1105) would privatize the sale of hard liquor in Washington. The net impact of these measures on the state general fund is yet unclear. It is possible that these measures could significantly reduce state resources in the coming years.
• I- 1107 would significantly reduce state resources in the current fiscal year and in coming years. It would repeal a portion of the revenue increases enacted earlier this year. Eliminating these revenue instruments would add $250-300 million to the fiscal gap faced by the state over the next three years.

To read the entire paper, please visit our website.