Eyman's latest: Making tax hikes next to impossible

By DAVID AMMONS
The Associated Press
10/23/02 5:23 PM

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) -- Tax rebel Tim Eyman, hoping to make a pre-emptive
strike against tax increases in the upcoming legislative session, on
Wednesday announced a 2003 initiative to stiffen state spending limits
and require 75 percent supermajorities in the Legislature for taxes.

"We're going to make it very, very hard to raise taxes," Eyman told The
Associated Press. "We're in the middle of a recession and a tax
increase ought to be the absolute last resort."

Without an uprising from taxpayers, lawmakers are poised to slap on a
tax increase to fill a $2 billion budget gap, and possibly will consider
an income tax plan, he said.

"That scares the stuffing out of me," Eyman said.

Eyman's new initiative, to be voted on next fall if it gets enough
signatures, would apply retroactively to January 2003, he said.

Senate Majority Leader Sid Snyder, D-Long Beach, called the news
"extremely frustrating." Balancing the budget will be hard enough
without worrying about Eyman "handcuffing" the Legislature, he said.

Gov. Gary Locke helped beat back a similar initiative proposal last
summer, saying he and the Legislature need maximum flexibility in
dealing with tough fiscal problems this winter. Sponsors, including
state Republicans' budget leader, Dino Rossi of Sammamish, were unable
to collect enough signatures to get on the November ballot.

Rossi welcomed Eyman's newest proposal.

"I'm pleased he's moving forward on this. If we (Republicans) get the
majorities in the House and the Senate, we may save Tim the trouble," he
said.

State budget Director Marty Brown said citizens who think the budget is
too large should propose specific cuts, rather than hamstring lawmakers
on their revenue options.

"No one would run a business that way," he said. "You try to reduce
your costs as much as you can, but if you can't make ends meet, you have
to raise your prices sometimes. I don't think a business goes out to
customers and asks if it should raise prices."

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Phil Talmadge said Eyman's plan is
"unconstitutional on its face" by requiring a supermajority for taxes
and trying to apply retroactively.

"If Mr. Eyman wants to write the state budget, he ought to run for
Legislature or run for governor," he said.

Eyman also announced he's renamed his "Permanent Offense" initiative
factory as the "Voters Want More Choices" political action committee.
He said he and co-chairmen Mike and Jack Fagan of Spokane will take a
salary next summer if they qualify the new measure for the ballot. He
said it's not clear how much that would be.

"We hope you'll be generous if we succeed" in getting on the ballot, he
wrote about 4,000 supporters this week.

Eyman got in trouble earlier this year for using about $200,000 in
campaign donations to create a salary fund for himself, despite his
longtime insistence that he wasn't profiting personally from his
initiatives.

Since re-emerging from self-imposed seclusion, Eyman has been a
whirlwind:

--He's sponsor of a $30 car-tab initiative on the November 5 ballot,
I-776. The measure could force a revote on Sound Transit in Pierce,
King and Snohomish counties, since it would roll back about 20 percent
of the funding for the rapid transit program the region's voters created
in 1996.

--He's optimistic he will gather enough signatures by the end of the
year to win a vote on I-267, his tax-free alternative to the gas-tax
referendum voters face this fall. If so, lawmakers would get first
crack at the measure, which would shift about $750 million a year from
the general fund to the highway budget. If lawmakers didn't approve it,
it would go to the ballot next fall.

--He's been pushing a "Son of 747" initiative that would limit cities
and counties to a 1 percent annual revenue increase unless they get
voter approval for more. He indicated he'll probably drop that plan for
the time being.

--His full, undivided attention for 2003 will be on passing tougher
spending and tax limits, he said.

Eyman's plan would restore the limits created by voters with I-601 a
decade ago. That plan limits state government spending growth to
inflation plus population growth -- roughly 3 percent a year. Over
time, legislators have exempted some spending and fund transfers from
the limits -- roughly $2 billion worth of spending, according to Rossi.

Earlier this year, Democrats approved a two-year waiver of 601's
supermajority requirement for new taxes and fees, allowing simple
majority approval this year and next. The original requirement was
two-thirds of both houses and, if lawmakers wanted to exceed the
spending limit, voters also would have to agree.

Eyman's new language calls for 75 percent in both houses and, if over
the spending limit, voter approval.

"We set the bar even higher," he said in an interview. "They want to
make taxes the first option, and we want to make it absolutely the last
option, where there is an overwhelming consensus that it is a good
idea."

In a red-meat letter to backers, he said "We must protect taxpayers from
reckless politicians who foolishly believe they can tax us to
prosperity. ... Taxpayers are counting on us to protect them from
massive tax increases and a new state income tax. We can't let them
down."

Following is Tim Eyman's plan for the future:

How will we protect taxpayers in 2003? What is the plan? Let me lay it
out for you now:

The problem: With state government facing a $2 billion deficit going
into the next legislative session, there is no doubt the top priority
must be protecting taxpayers from politicians' inevitable proposals to
increase taxes. A new state income tax, increased sales taxes, higher
property taxes, jacked-up business taxes - lawmakers say "everything is
on the table." That should scare you - it sure as heck scares the
stuffing out of me. Washington has the highest unemployment rate in the
nation and a sluggish economy - dumping huge tax increases and a new
state income tax on us will only make it worse and extend the
recession. But predictably, those are the "solutions" that are swirling
around politicians' heads. We can't let them get away with it. We must
protect taxpayers from reckless politicians who foolishly believe they
can tax us to prosperity.

The solution: It is critical that we reestablish state spending and
taxation limits originally provided by voter-approved Initiative 601.
Since 1993, politicians have gutted I-601 and as a result, state
government now faces a $2 billion deficit. Our new initiative will not
only remove all the loopholes that have been put in Initiative 601 over
the past 10 years, but we reestablish I-601's strict limits on tax
increases (I-601 originally required a legislative supermajority - 2/3
of the house, 2/3 of the senate - and a majority vote of the people
before tax increases could take effect - in the last session,
politicians "temporarily" made it MUCH easier to raise taxes - they knew
that after the election, they'd come back and raise taxes). We need
I-601's taxpayer-protection policies. I-601 worked - it will work
again.

The initiative strategy: Reestablishing I-601's state spending limits,
emergency reserve fund requirements, and requiring a legislative
supermajority and majority vote of the people to raise taxes will be
wildly popular. And gathering signatures for it DURING the legislative
session will have the added benefit of very effectively lobbying house
and senate members and Gary Locke to not raise taxes to cover the
shortfall (because if they do, politicians will know that they will only
succeed in making our initiative even more popular). And of all the
initiative ideas available to us in 2003, the biggest advantage to
reestablishing I-601 is IT HAS ALREADY RECEIVED THE APPROVAL OF THE
STATE SUPREME COURT (after it passed in 1993, politicians challenged
I-601 but it ultimately made it through the court system unscathed).

The team: Jack & Mike Fagan and I have all agreed to lead the campaign
to reestablish the state spending and taxation limits originally
provided by voter-approved Initiative 601 (team member Monte Benham has
been planning for a long time to do an initiative in 2003 that would
require the constitution to be taught in schools - he's very passionate
about it and we do wish him well with his idea - however, Jack, Mike,
and I want to continue fighting for reasonable taxation and spending
accountability - we feel politicians will go back to "business-as-usual"
if we don't keep the pressure on). Our treasurer, who will oversee our
campaign expenditure and donation reports and handle all other financial
responsibilities, is John Duty from Spokane who has extensive experience
managing the finances of campaigns (the reports will be prepared by our
accounting firm in Seattle). Also, we have put together a top-notch
group of individuals who will serve as an advisory group for us. Steve
O'Donnell, Bill Farden, Eric Phillips, and Jeff Kirby are all successful
businessmen who have proven they have our cause, our movement, and our
beliefs as their priorities. They round out our very effective
leadership team and will help ensure the success of this critical
effort.

The campaign strategy: We will file the final draft of the initiative
soon after the November elections. Then we must go into full-blown
fundraising mode because the costs of qualifying this initiative for the
ballot will be substantial (around $400,000). We must have an early,
aggressive fundraising start to ensure our success. The signature
gathering will begin in late January and we will have until the end of
June to gather 200,000 valid signatures. It will not be easy but it
will be worth it. Taxpayers are counting on us to protect them from
massive tax increases and a new state income tax. We can't let them
down.

Compensation: Nothing during the signature drive, something if we
succeed. The top priority must be to use every dollar donated to get
the necessary signatures to qualify this new initiative to renew I-601's
spending and taxation limits for the ballot. So Jack, Mike, and I have
all agreed to donate our time, effort, and expertise from November until
June to get the job done. If all of us (our leadership team and our
thousands of supporters) are successful at gathering the necessary
signatures for the renewal of I-601, we will then send out requests for
compensation for our work running the fall campaign. In other words, we
will ask for your help if we succeed. We don't know yet how much
compensation we'll receive because we don't know how much all of you
will be able and willing to give. We hope you'll be generous if we
succeed. So we'll get the initiative qualified for the ballot, and if
we're successful, we'll begin raising funds to ensure its passage and to
ensure we receive some compensation.

This is a well-thought-out, effective strategy for us in 2003. When we
file the final draft of the renewal of I-601 after the November
elections, fundraising will begin in earnest. Be ready.

Best Regards, Tim Eyman