OLYMPIA… The Washington State Legislature passed three of the six initiatives presented to the legislature by the people of Washington. The passage of these three initiatives marks the most ever enacted into law by the legislature. Initiatives passed by the legislature do not require the governor’s signature and will become law 90 days after the session’s close.

“Although the passage of these three initiatives was an enormous victory for Washingtonians, I believe the legislature should have taken the time to consider all initiatives before the legislature,” Sen. Drew MacEwen said.

It’s important to note that the initiatives brought before the legislature were made possible by hundreds of thousands of citizens signing petitions expressing their concerns with previously enacted laws and the current direction of the legislature. These signatures were collected from citizens representing all political parties, Democrat, Republican, and Independents alike. The initiatives that passed the legislature are:

I-2111 bans the adoption of personal income tax. The initiative passed with a vote of 38-11, with all 20 Senate Republicans and 18 Democrats voting yes.

I-2113 passed 36-13, with yes votes from all Republicans and 16 Democrats. This initiative restores the reasonable suspicion standard for police pursuits and takes stronger steps to protect our communities.

I-2081, passed the Senate unanimously and creates a parental bill of rights related to K-12 education.

As previously mentioned, not all initiatives presented to the legislature during this session were acted on. These three initiatives will be on the November ballot: I-2109 repeals the capital gains excise tax, I-2117 repeals the Washington Climate Commitment Act, and I-2124 allows employees to opt out of the Washington Care Act.

I-2117, which would repeal the state’s costly climate policy that was enacted by majority Democrats in 2021 and took full effect early last year.

I-2109, to repeal the state capital-gains income tax that was passed by the Democrat-controlled Legislature in 2021.

I-2124, which would allow individuals to opt out of the mandatory payroll tax for the state-run long-term care program called “WA Cares.”