Don’t rush ahead to implement the flawed Initiative 1366.
A JUDGE last week confirmed the obvious: Tim Eyman’s Initiative 1366 is blatantly unconstitutional.
Too bad Washingtonians were subjected to such flimflam and led to believe their vote could override the measure’s legal failings. The matter — and opportunity for mischief with the state’s budget — is not settled. An appeal of King County Superior Court Judge William Downing’s Thursday ruling is expected.
Advocates for I-1366 should stand down for now.
I-1366 was designed to force lawmakers to initiate a constitutional amendment requiring a two-thirds majority in the Legislature to raise any tax or end any tax break.
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This editorial board has supported such a requirement, but opposed this initiative because it imperiled state finances at a crucial time of education-finance reform. The initiative includes an untenable time bomb — it would slash sales taxes if lawmakers did not put a constitutional amendment on the fall ballot by April 15.
I-1366 is unconstitutional for multiple reasons. Only the Legislature, and not initiatives, can propose constitutional amendments. Initiatives are limited to addressing a single subject, and I-1366 forces lawmakers to authorize an amendment they may not support.
Sympathetic Republican lawmakers in Olympia should ignore the itch to attempt to implement I-1366. They should wait until legal questions are settled. Changing the constitution is a weighty decision that should not be rushed during an election year while under a cloud of legal uncertainty.
Waiting until 2017 would also give lawmakers time and leeway to fix the state education-funding crisis — their paramount duty and most pressing challenge. The fix could adjust levies and require new state revenue — hard decisions that have proved nearly impossible to make under the current approach requiring a simple majority. The supermajority requirement of I-1366 increases the likelihood of perpetual inaction.
The state needs limitations that impose more discipline on tax increases. But now is not the time to charge ahead, especially not at the behest of a flawed initiative and while the state’s education-funding system remains broken.