Not all Democrats are pleased about today's special session of the Washington Legislature. Gov. Chris Gregoire, a Democrat, called the one-day gathering to reinstate Initiative 747, the 1 percent cap on non-voter-approved property tax increases. Earlier this month, the Washington state Supreme Court threw out the cap on a technicality. "I do think we've panicked on it," observes state Sen. Ken Jacobsen, a Seattle Democrat. Jacobsen says it's pretty obvious the governor and Democratic leaders in the Legislature called the special session - at least in part – because next year is an election year. "I assume they wanted to take an issue away" from Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi and initiative promoter Tim Eyman, says Jacobsen. Majority Democrats in Olympia have not forgotten what happened to them in the early 1990s. They lost their majorities after raising taxes. It's a mistake they're determined not to repeat. Senator Craig Pridemore, a Democrat from Vancouver, declined to speculate about the motives of his party's leaders "apart from observing that the new members to the Senate, people who weren't around in the early '90s, seem to be more willing to consider alternatives than folks that were." Pridemore says he plans to vote no on the 1 percent cap bill. "I'm a former county commissioner. I know the impacts this will have on local government, law enforcement abilities, and all of the other critical local services. I can't vote yes for that," he says. Pridemore says he would support the bill if it included a sunset provision allowing the 1 percent cap to expire in a year. "That would give us time to be much more responsible and thoughtful about how we respond to the situation. I think that would be a much better alternative than to be taking action today." Majority Democrats also plan to pass a property tax deferral for families that make less than the median income of $57,000 a year. This is for homeowners on the verge of losing their homes. The catch is you have to pay the taxes back, plus interest, when you sell your home or when you die. Republican critics say the proposal amounts to predatory lending on the part of the state.
A Democrat in Olympia thinks his party has panicked over I-747
Not all Democrats are pleased about today's special session of the Washington Legislature. Gov. Chris Gregoire, a Democrat, called the one-day gathering to reinstate Initiative 747, the 1 percent cap on non-voter-approved property tax increases. Earlier this month, the Washington state Supreme Court threw out the cap on a technicality.
"I do think we've panicked on it," observes state Sen. Ken Jacobsen, a Seattle Democrat. Jacobsen says it's pretty obvious the governor and Democratic leaders in the Legislature called the special session - at least in part – because next year is an election year. "I assume they wanted to take an issue away" from Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi and initiative promoter Tim Eyman, says Jacobsen.
Not all Democrats are pleased about today's special session of the Washington Legislature. Gov. Chris Gregoire, a Democrat, called the one-day gathering to reinstate Initiative 747, the 1 percent cap on non-voter-approved property tax increases. Earlier this month, the Washington state Supreme Court threw out the cap on a technicality.
"I do think we've panicked on it," observes state Sen. Ken Jacobsen, a Seattle Democrat. Jacobsen says it's pretty obvious the governor and Democratic leaders in the Legislature called the special session - at least in part – because next year is an election year. "I assume they wanted to take an issue away" from Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi and initiative promoter Tim Eyman, says Jacobsen.
