Previewing this year's statewide ballot measures

There are several statewide measures that Washington voters will decide the fate of in next month's general election, as well as a plethora of non-binding advisory votes.

For Adams County, ballots were mailed out to voters last week. Ballots need to be returned to a drop box or postmarked by Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Initiative 976

Initiative 976-spearheaded by Tim Eyman, an anti-tax activist-is an Initiative to the Legislature that collected enough valid signatures in 2018 and was certified to appear before the legislature.

The initiative would:

-Limit annual license fees for vehicles weighing under 10,000 pounds at $30;

-Base vehicle taxes on the Kelley Blue Book value rather than the manufacturer's suggested retail price;

-Repeal local Transportation Benefit District fees;

-Repeal the $150 fee on electric vehicles;

-Repeal authorization for certain regional transit authorities to impose motor vehicles excise taxes; and

-Limit certain taxes and fees related to transportation.

The legislature did not act on and approve the measure during the 2019 legislative session, meaning that it is automatically certified to appear on this year's general election ballot.

According to a fiscal impact statement prepared by the Washington Office of Financial Management, the approval of I-976 would result in a revenue loss to the state of $1.9 billion and a loss to local governments of $2.3 billion over the next six years following the measure's implementation.

I-976 is supported by the Washington State Republican Party; the Spokane County Republican Party; Spokane City Councilman Mike Fagan; and the political action committee of the Puget Sound chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association.

The initiative is opposed by the Association of Washington Businesses; Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO; Gov. Jay Inslee (D); Mainstream Republicans of Washington; Washington State Patrol Troopers Association; and Climate Solutions.

Referendum 88

Referendum 88 will also be on the ballot this year, as a veto referendum that would block Initiative 1000 from going into effect.

I-1000 was an Initiative to the Legislature that collected enough valid signatures and was certified to appear before the legislature during the 2019 legislative session. It was approved by both the state House and Senate along mostly party-line votes.

The initiative:

-Allows affirmative action without the use of quotas by the state of Washington, which means that characteristics such as race, sex, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, sexual orientation, disability or veteran status can be used as factors when considering someone for public education or public employment;

-Bans preferential treatment, which means that those characteristics could not be the sole or deciding factor when considering a person for education or employment opportunities; and

-Created the Governor's Commission on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, which is responsible for ensuring compliance with the measure.

I-1000 was designed to overturn I-200, which was approved by voters in 1998 and banned affirmative action, discrimination and preferential treatment based on certain characteristics. On Referendum 88, which is aimed to block I-1000 from going into effect, an 'approve' vote supports allowing I-1000 to go into effect and allowing affirmative action in public employment and education. A 'reject' vote supports blocking I-1000 from going into effect and retaining current state law that prohibits preferential treatment in public employment and education.

An 'approve' vote on Referendum 88 is supported by Gov. Inslee (D) and former Washington governors Christine Gregoire (D), Gary Locke (D) and Dan Evans (R). It is also supported by the NAACP; the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO; and the ACLU of Washington.

A 'reject' vote is supported by Eyman and the other sponsors of I-200 of 1998. A 'reject' vote is also supported by Washington Asians for Equality and the Washington State Veterans Bar Association

Washington Government Continuation Legislation for Catastrophic Incidents Amendment

The WGCLCI Amendment is a legislatively referred constitutional amendment that will also be appearing on the general election ballot.

The amendment would:

-Authorize the Washington State Legislature, during periods of catastrophic incidents that are considered emergencies, to pass bills that would allow the legislature to pass laws temporarily filling certain vacant public offices; and

-Allow the legislature to pass laws it determines are necessary to provide for "continuity of state and local government operations" even if those laws are at odds with the state constitution, if conformance with the constitution would be impracticable or cause undue delay.

Currently, the legislature can only pass bills that address the succession of powers and duties of public offices during periods of warfare against the United States that cause substantial damage and injury in the state. The amendment seeks to ensure governmental continuity in the case of damage resulting from natural disasters, such as earthquakes and tsunamis.

The companion bill to the amendment, Senate Joint Resolution 8200, was approved overwhelmingly in the state House and Senate during the 2019 legislative session. Referred amendments to the Washington State Constitution must be passed with at least two-thirds of the vote in each chamber of the legislature, as well as approved by a simple majority of voters on the general election ballot.

State Sen. Mark Schoesler and 36 other state senators voted to approve the amendment on a 37-11 vote in the Washington State Senate. In the Washington State House, the amendment passed on a 91-7 vote. The official supporting arguments were prepared by state Sens. Dean Takko (D), Marko Liias (D) and Roger Goodman (D); Bret Daugherty of the Washington National Guard; and Dennis Lawson, president of the Washington State Council of Firefighters.

The official opposing arguments were prepared by state Reps. Bob McCaslin Jr. (R) and Ed Orcutt (R).

Advisory votes

There are a number of advisory votes on the general election ballot this year. A previous initiative passed in 2007 requires an advisory vote to be referred to voters concerning any law passed by the legislature that creates or increases taxes or fees.

The advisory votes are non-binding, however, meaning that they do not affect the implementation of the laws.

Below are the list of advisory votes on this year's ballot.

Advisory Vote No. 20; Second Substitute House Bill 1087 – Should the Legislature's additional wage premium for long-term care be repealed or maintained?

Advisory Vote No. 21; Engrossed Third Substitute House Bill 1324 – Should the Legislature's new tax on timber and related products be repealed or maintained? The new tax is projected to collect $21 million in new revenue over the next 10 years.

Advisory Vote No. 22; Substitute House Bill 1652 – Should the new sales tax on architectural paint be repealed or maintained? The tax is projected to collect $6 million in new revenue over the next 10 years.

Advisory Vote No. 23; Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 1873 – Should the new tax on the sale, use, consumption and distribution of vaping products be repealed or maintained? The new tax is projected to collect $178 million over the next 10 years.

Advisory Vote No. 24; Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 2158 – Should an additional business and occupation tax for certain business activities be repealed or maintained? The new tax is projected to raise $2.253 billion dollars over the next 10 years.

Advisory Vote No. 25; Substitute House Bill 2167 – Should a business and occupational tax on specified financial institutions be repealed or maintained? The tax is projected to bring in $1.036 billion over the next 10 years.

Advisory Vote No. 26; Substitute Senate Bill 5581 – Should the application of state tax laws be applied to remote sellers, marketplace facilitators and others be repealed or maintained? The measure is projected to generate $1.051 billion over the next 10 years.

Advisory Vote No. 27; Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5993 – Should new taxes on petroleum products be repealed or maintained? The new tax will raise a projected $2.76 billion over the next 10 years.

Advisory Vote No. 28; Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5997 – Should the elimination of a non-resident exemption for sales and use taxes be repealed or maintained? Closing the exemption is projected to raise $313 million in the next 10 years.

Advisory Vote No. 29; Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 5998 – Should the new real estate excise tax be repealed or maintained? The tax is projected to bring in $1.747 billion in the next 10 years.

Advisory Vote No. 30; Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6004 – Should a new tax on travel agents and tour operators be repealed or maintained? The new tax is projected to bring in $28 million over the next 10 years.

Advisory Vote No. 31; Engrossed Senate Bill 6016 – Should a new tax on investment management services be repealed or maintained? The new tax is projected to bring in $367 million over the next 10 years.