Why Republican lawmakers are pushing for votes on Democratic governors tax raises
Washington’s GOP-led state Senate might hold floor votes this week on more than $5 billion in new taxes proposed by Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, despite having no intent of approving them.
Republican leadership has consistently opposed the governor’s taxes, in part claiming they’re unnecessarily expensive. But they have a reason for advancing the taxes to the floor: forcing Democrats to vote on them.
The move is part of an ongoing battle over how to comply with the state Supreme Court’s McCleary education ruling. In the McCleary case, the high court ruled the state is overreliant on local levies to pay for basic education in K-12 schools.
While Democrats who control the House have passed a measure that aims to fix the way the state pays for education, they haven’t proposed any taxes they say are needed to pay for it. Their plan is estimated to cost about $7.6 billion over the next four years.
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