Illustrates management failure, disturbing trends in Washington state government

Sen. Drew MacEwen, R-Shelton, released this statement following the last-minute introduction of a bill in the state Senate by majority Senate Democrats that would allow annual property tax increases to triple. Senate Bill 5770, introduced Tuesday, is sponsored by 20 of 29 Senate Democrats. The bill would allow property taxes, currently capped at 1 percent annual growth, to increase by as much as 3 percent. MacEwen said:

“A few weeks ago, when our Democratic colleagues released their operating budget proposal for the next two years, we heard considerable crowing about the fact that it contained no new taxes. Now that we’ve gotten a look at their latest proposal to raise taxes, the celebration seems a bit empty.

“This new proposal would allow property taxes to increase three times as fast as they already do — a hit to taxpayers of about $3 billion by 2027-2029.

“We’ve been talking about affordable housing all session long – and now this? At a time when seniors worry about being priced out of their own homes and the young worry they will never be able to buy one, this is one of the most tone-deaf proposals I can imagine.

“The timing of this bill introduction ought to tell us this is a serious proposal. If our majority colleagues had introduced this bill a couple of days later, our state constitution would have required a two-thirds vote of the Legislature, because we would be within 10 days of adjournment. That would have set an impossible bar. But this bill was introduced just under the wire, and because our colleagues hold the majority in the House and the Senate, they have all the votes they need to pass it.

“This bill should be taken as a symbol of a legislative leadership incapable of self-reflection. State spending has doubled in the last decade. Our problems as a state appear to have doubled, too. Now our colleagues propose to address them by doubling down on taxes.

“This isn’t the only tax proposal under consideration in the Legislature’s final days. Other bills would expand the new state income tax and raise estate and real estate taxes. Meanwhile –

• Opioid deaths increased 35 percent in 2020 and 2021.
• Violent crimes are at a 15-year high.
• Murder rates are at an all-time high.
• Our homeless population has increased 10 percent since 2020 despite massive spending
• Washington has fewer law enforcement officers per resident than any other state in nation.

“These are indicators of failure. There are many more. And now, in the midst of an affordable housing crisis, our colleagues are talking about raising property taxes and making housing more unaffordable. I hope the people of Washington will contact our majority colleagues and let them know what they think of this proposal. More than that, I hope can reverse these trends and restore sensible leadership to our state.”