As state lawmakers head into the final weekend of this year’s legislative session, some key issues still remain to be resolved.
Agreement on a state spending plan for the 2021-23 biennium appears to have been reached by budget writers who have been meeting behind closed doors to iron out differences between House and Senate version.
The budget bill, however, will not be made available to lawmakers, nor to the public, until Saturday.
House leaders plan to bring it up for debate and vote on the same day, while the Senate will likely debate and vote on it on Sunday, the last day of session.
The proposed income tax on capital gains, SB 5096, which is a key component of the Democrats’ budget plans, passed the House on Wednesday, after hours of debate on amendments on Tuesday, followed by lengthy debate the following day.
The bill initially passed by a 53-45 vote, but was voted on again to allow a Republican member who had mistakenly voted “Yes” to change his vote. The final tally of the vote was 52-46.
House Republicans also made a last-ditch effort last week to bring up a vote on a bi-partisan measure to curb the governor’s emergency powers with a motion (HCR 4402) to bring back HB 1557, bill to curb the governor’s emergency powers, that had not survived an earlier cut-off.
Senate Bill 5096 — Concerning an excise tax on gains from the sale or exchange of certain capital assets
Passed the House on April 21 by a vote of 52-46
This bill would impose a 7-percent percent tax on income derived from the capital gains resulting from the sale of long-term assets.
The tax would exempt some assets, such as real estate, and would be levied on income over $250,000 for all taxpayers required to file for the tax.
The tax would be calculated on the basis of a taxpayer’s federal income tax return, which would be required to be included in the state filing.
The bill passed the Senate in March by a narrow 25-24 margin, after an emergency clause that would prevent a referendum vote by the people this fall was removed.
The House version of the bill contains language stating that the proposed tax is “necessary for the support of state government and its existing public institutions,” which is essentially the wording of an emergency clause.
Opponents argued that this constituted a “Stealth Emergency Clause,” and proposed amendments to remove it. The amendments were defeated along party-line votes (see roll calls below).
The Senate has refused to agree to the changes made in the House, and the bill is currently in dispute.
A conference committee will attempt to work out the differences and bring the bill to a final vote before session ends on Sunday.
Rep. Mike Chapman (D-Port Angeles) No
Rep. Steve Tharinger (D-Port Townsend) Yes
Senate Bill 5096 — Amendment to remove reference to the tax as necessary for the support of state government and existing public institutions
Failed in the House on April 20 by a vote of 47-51
This amendment was offered by Rep. Ed Orcutt (R-Kalama) to remove language from the bill that would constitute an emergency clause, preventing a referendum vote on the bill by the people. Removing the language would restore the opportunity for the people to vote on the bill this fall.
Rep. Chapman Yes
Rep. Steve Tharinger No
Senate Bill 5096 — Amendment to add a referendum clause to the bill
Failed in the House on April 20 by a vote of 48-50
This amendment was offered by Rep. Ed Orcutt (R-Kalama) to remove the section of the bill that states the tax levied is necessary for the support of state government and its existing institutions. Instead, it would add a specific referendum clause to the bill, requiring the Secretary of State to submit the bill to a vote of the people in next November’s election.
Rep. Chapman Yes
Rep. Steve Tharinger No
House Concurrent Resolution 4402 — Exempting certain bills from legislative cutoff dates
Failed in the House on April 16 by a vote of 41-56 (one member excused)
This is a so-called “8th Order of Business” motion made by minority Republicans to bring back a bill that had not survived an earlier legislative cut-off deadline.
The motion aimed to bring HB 1557, a bi-partisan measure to limit the governor’s emergency proclamations to 60 days unless an extension is approved by the Legislature, to a recorded vote in the House.
Under House rules, the motion was not debatable, but proponents in announcing the move said that such limitations are standard in other states.
They said this legislature should re-assume its proper role as an equal branch of government, pointing out that Gov. Inslee has governed the state by executive order for over 400 days under his sole emergency powers.
Moreover, under current law, only he will decide when a public emergency is over, they said.
Rep. Chapman No
Rep. Steve Tharinger No
