Democrats dig in on tax referendum

By Brad Shannon | The Olympian • Published April 19, 2009

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House Democrats haven't given up on a tax referendum for the Nov. 3 ballot, and the 0.3-cent sales-tax plan could go to a committee vote in the next few days.

The tax package would raise more than $1 billion over three years and is aimed at blunting deep cuts to health-care programs. A hearing about the bill drew strong support Friday from a wide array of speakers representing hospitals, nurses, public-health groups and labor groups.

But those worried about cuts being written into budget agreements at the Capitol this weekend say services for the frail, elderly, disabled and working families could go away — even causing deaths — if a tax package is not passed.

Democratic Rep. Eric Pettigrew of Seattle, who sponsored the sales-tax measure, put it most bluntly of all Friday during a hearing on his proposal, House Bill 2377.

"People will die. ... If this is not in the interest of people to pass this (tax) piece, people will die," Pettigrew said. "There will be emergency rooms that will bulge, nursing homes that will bulge, people on the street and a lot of people who will not get served as a result of this."

Pettigrew's proposal includes a tax credit for low-income families that would average $125 in 2010 and $250 in 2011, piggybacking on the federal Earned Income Tax Credit for working families. That is meant to offset the hit on low-income people that a regressive tax on sales would have in a state that already puts a much higher burden on low earners than on high earners.

But the two-pronged bill drew criticism from the Association of Washington Business and professional initiative promoter Tim Eyman. AWB lobbyist Amber Carter called it "a public bailout of a government failure to address the budget deficit," and Eyman accused lawmakers of making selective budget cuts that hit the poor.

"It's become the oldest trick in the book: fund non-essential programs with existing taxes, then hold essential programs hostage, demanding a voter-approved ransom to get them back," Eyman said. "You regularly put emergency medical services on the ballot and tell voters, 'Approve this tax increase or you're all gonna die.' It is pure manipulation — it is transparent, obvious, and despicable."

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