It's official. The Senate Democratic leadership is planning to sue the state to overturn the will of the voters who adopted I-960 and previously I-601 to require a 2/3 vote for the legislature to raise taxes. We previously discussed the numerous opportunities lawmakers had to remove this vote requirement if they objected but chose not to. Now let's turn to the hypocrisy of those Senators complaining about the "undemocratic" nature of a supermajority vote requirement placed on them by the voters when in fact the Senate's own rules require a supermajority vote to amend the budget on the floor.
Senate rule 53. Appropriation Budget Bills
No amendment to the budget, capital budget or supplemental budget, not incorporated in the bill as reported by the ways and means committee, shall be adopted except by the affirmative vote of sixty percent of the senators elected or appointed.
This "undemocratic rule" was exercised just last week to thwart an attempt to remove $250,000 from the Senate budget to buy tickets for girls to go to Seattle Storm basketball games. The vote to remove the funding was 24-23 but it failed since it did not receive the required 60 percent vote.
If lawmakers are able to place additional restrictions not found in the Constitution on the passage of legislation, so too can the people.
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