Well...OK. How do you think Tim Eyman feels about the anti-taxpayer bill Gregoire is signing? Photo courtesy The Olympian, Olympia, WA.

Gregoire takes away our right to vote

 

 SEATTLE (4-25-07)---Governor Gregoire took away our right to vote on Friday. She also took away our $30 tabs.

 

In 1999, the voters approved I-695 which required $30 car tabs. In 2000, after the court overturned it, the Legislature and Locke adopted it anyway and promised "$30 license tabs are here to stay."

 

In 2002, the voters approved I-776 and repealed vehicle taxes and fees exceeding $30, including a $15 fee imposed by counties, and said vehicle charges above $30 must be voter approved.

 

In 2004, governor candidate Gregoire promised, if elected, not to increase taxes. In 2005, Gregoire and the Legislature passed a bill that required a public vote for any increase in local vehicle charges.

 

Two votes by the people, two votes by the Legislature, and a

no-new-taxes promise by a Governor -- all five were chucked aside

yesterday.

 

The only effective way to respond is for all of us to redouble our

efforts to donate dollars and gather signatures for Initiative 960 which makes it much, much tougher for state government to take more of the people's money.

 

I-960 also makes it totally impossible for the politicians to jack up taxes and fees without the public knowing about it.

 

Don't get mad, get even.

 

Here's some excerpts from three news stories about it:

 

Associated Press: "Eyman fumes as Gregoire signs tax bill"

Gov. Chris Gregoire on Friday approved legislation to allow Washington cities and counties to impose a vehicle fee of as much as $20, without voter approval, to help finance transportation projects and transit.

 

Tim Eyman, sponsor of the initiative that brought $30 car tabs, said the measure disregards voters' clear demand for a public vote whenever an increase is proposed.

 

He crashed the bill-signing ceremony at the Capitol, standing

near the governor. He grimaced and gave a thumbs-down gesture to the TV and still cameras as Gregoire signed the measure.

 

Afterward, the governor asked Eyman if he wanted a souvenir pen like the bill backers were getting. He said yes, and she gave him one, along with a big smile.

 

He departed, still frowning. Later he said he'd use the pen to gather signatures on his latest initiative, to make it harder for state lawmakers to raise taxes.

 

The measure passed the Legislature on a largely partyline vote, and both supporters and critics had speculated that Gregoire might veto it.

 

During her 2004 campaign, she had promised to resist tax hikes, but later supported a transportation tax package and taxes to close a spending gap in 2005, including 'sin taxes' and restoring the estate tax on large estates.

 

But Gregoire said in an interview that she had no qualms about signing the measure, viewing it as strictly a local-option tool for strapped governments to consider.

 

'It's not Olympia imposing taxes, it's allowing local governments to do what they want to do for local roads,' she said. 'It's not me imposing taxes. I've always had an attitude that Olympia ought to allow local governments more authority.

I've said to the cities and counties, 'Come to us with proposals for more options to use at the local level, closer to the people.' I don't think you should have to constantly come to Olympia for more authority. So this is in keeping with that.'

 

Eyman said lawmakers quietly slipped it through without much public awareness that it was even pending. Voters have said repeatedly that they want $30 car tabs and that any proposed increases should go to the people for a vote, he said.

 

He noted that the 2005 legislation specifically requires a vote for any of the revenue options.

'We've been working for 10 years for $30 car tabs and with one stroke of the pen, it's gone,' he said.

 

Eyman said he'll use this new bill as 'the poster child' for his Initiative 960, which would require broad public notice for all tax increases proposed in the Legislature."

http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/07/05/05/100wir_b6eyman001.cfm

 

Tacoma News Tribune: "Local car tax could return -- New law dodges Eyman's I-776" -- Gov. Chris Gregoire gave cities and counties the authority Friday to collect a $20 annual fee on vehicle registrations without a public vote, replacing a similar tax that was repealed by voters in 2002.

 

The signing upset professional initiative promoter Tim Eyman,

who led the Initiative 776 campaign to repeal the previous local car tax.

Eyman accused the governor and the Legislature of ignoring the wishes of the people. 'It's a really, really, bad, bad, bad bill because it totally breaks faith with what the voters were promised and what the voters said twice,' Eyman said, referring to initiatives that voters passed in 1999 and 2002.

 

Eyman crashed the bill-signing ceremony and posed with the

governor and local government and union officials who want the taxing option. Eyman was photographed wearing a green I-776 campaign shirt in a thumbs-down pose, and he later accepted a souvenir from the governor.

 

'Do you want a pen?' Gregoire asked. 'I'd appreciate it,' Eyman replied. 'I'm not imposing taxes,' she said. 'It allows local governments to do what they want. I think there will be a lot of counties that won't use it.'

 

Since 2003, cities and counties have had the authority to collect as

much as $100 a year from a local car tax, but the tax request had to be put on the ballot and win public approval. None of the 39 counties did so.

 

The measure Gregoire signed Friday lets a county council or a city council levy a $20 fee.

 

Rep. Bill Fromhold, D-Vancouver, who sponsored the new bill, said he wanted to give local officials an option to raise money for transportation projects.

 

'You can't expect every single decision you make to go before the public for a vote,' he said. 'We're elected to make decisions on behalf of those who elected us.'"

http://www.thenewstribune.com/293/story/55317.html

 

Columbian newspaper: "Eyman urges veto of $20 license fee" --

Initiative king Tim Eyman is asking Gov. Chris Gregoire to veto a bill that would allow city and county governments to impose a $20 fee on car licenses without a public vote.

 

Eyman said the legislation violates the will of Washington voters as expressed in two ballot-box decisions regarding car tabs and also breaks a promise made by former Gov. Gary Locke.

 

'In both cases, the voters said if government wanted to increase

tabs above $30, they needed to ask the voters' permission first,' Eyman said. 'How many times do the people have to vote for $30 tabs?'

Under current law, Eyman said, counties are free to impose car license fees of up to $100 - but only with a vote of the people.

 

'They know they can't justify this to voters but they think they can get city councils and county commissions to pass it,' he said. 'It's infuriating. It directly contradicts what the voters have required.'

 

Marty Brown, the governor's legislative director, denied that its enactment breaks any promises made by past governors or Legislatures.

 

'How can anyone renege on a promise someone else made?' he asked. 'A previous Legislature can't bind future Legislatures.'

 

Eyman, who learned of the vehicle license fee bill only in

the session's final weeks, said he hopes its passage will spur voters to support his latest initiative.

 

I-960 would require extensive public notification whenever the Legislature considers a tax increase.

'They sneaked it through,' he said of the fee. 'The one silver lining is that (Gregoire) is pouring gasoline on the flames to get I-960 passed.'"

http://www.columbian.com/news/localNews/05042007news135611.cfm

---Tim Eyman