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Locke favors car-tax session
Locke favors car-tax session
Governor alters earlier resistance to special session to address excise tax
David Wickert; The News Tribune
If Initiative 695 fails, Gov. Gary Locke says he'll work to lower the motor
vehicle excise tax anyway and is willing to call the Legislature into special
session to do it.
Although Locke has resisted previous calls for a special session, the governor
now is willing to call a special session if Democrats and Republicans in the
Legislature agree on a specific proposal for reducing the unpopular car tax,
spokesman David Chai said Friday.
However, at least one legislative leader believes such an agreement is unlikely.
And I-695 sponsor Tim Eyman ridiculed what he termed Locke's newfound commitment
to reducing the tax.
"We do not need to convince people that these guys have zero percent credibility
when it comes to taxes," Eyman said. "They had 62 years to come up with a different
license fee option."
I-695 would replace the MVET with a flat $30 fee for all vehicles. The initiative
also would require voter approval of all state and local tax and fee increases.
Although he opposes the initiative, Locke has long believed it's unfair to
base the MVET on the manufacturer's suggested retail price, which often is higher
than a vehicle's actual value, Chai said. If the two parties can't work out
a specific agreement for a special session, Chai said the governor would make
reducing the MVET a top priority when the Legislature convenes in regular session
in January.
Although Locke could produce a specific proposal as soon as next week, a special
session of the Legislature appears unlikely even if I-695 fails.
House Co-Speaker Clyde Ballard (R-East Wenatchee) questioned whether lawmakers
and the governor could ever come to an agreement that would lead to a special
session.
Ballard said he would only support a plan that provides "meaningful" tax relief
and he expressed concern that government leaders will urge people to vote no
on I-695 and then cite the negative vote as a reason to leave the tax alone.
Eyman agreed. And he said that the governor has forgotten the other part of
I-695 - requiring voter approval for tax and fee increases.
"It's totally obvious that the opponents of 695 are so desperate they're changing
their strategy daily," he said.
Locke's position has changed since the initiative first qualified for the
Nov. 2 ballot.
At a news conference in August, Locke said talk of a special session in order
to produce a milder alternative for voters was premature because foes were still
assessing whether the measure was beatable.
Six weeks later, Locke rejected the Republican Party's request that he immediately
call a special session to find "responsible solutions" to replenish state and
local coffers if the initiative passes.
"There are 147 legislators, and I'm sure each of them has a different idea
about the motor vehicle excise tax," the governor added in a Sept. 20 interview
with The Associated Press.
"If the legislative leaders believe there is consensus around one alternative,
I would be happy to call them into session. Barring that consensus, I fear it
would not be a short special session."
Locke spokesman Keith Love said Locke's recent travels around the state have
shown him that voters want to reduce the car tax but without putting such a
huge strain on government programs.
"People are coming up to him and saying, 'We don't want to vote for this thing,
but it looks like we don't have any alternative,'" Locke spokesman Keith Love
said. "Based on that, he's decided to consider a special session now.
"He doesn't want people feeling that's the only alternative."
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
