State House Democrats vote to betray voters: Ways and Means votes to gut I-1053

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The people have spoken. Why don't the dems get that?

Tim Eyman lays out the details at Sound Politics.

Betrayal: Democrats vote to gut I-1053 -- house committee vote re-delegates all authority to impose tolls and ferry fares to Gregoire's unelected, unaccountable Transportation Commission

Democrats spit in the eye of the voters last night by gutting I-1053 a mere 77 days after voters approved it. On Wednesday night, the Democrats on the House Ways & Means Committee were debating how to close the deficit in the current year general fund budget. Let's say that again: the current year general fund. A no-public-notice, no-public-hearing amendment was offered by Rep. Larry Seaquist (Democrat, Gig Harbor), whose district voted 69% in favor of I-1053, re-delegating all authority to impose tolls and ferry fares to Gregoire's unelected, unaccountable Transportation Commission, totally contrary to the explicit language in I-1053.

Despite providing no public notice, no public hearing, no public testimony, and no public input, his amendment was adopted on a party-line 16-11 vote, with all Democrats in favor, all Republicans opposed. So now, as the House and Senate debate how to balance the current general fund budget deficit, a totally unrelated item is buried in the bill which completely repudiates the voters' ballot box decision requiring a recorded legislative majority vote for any fee increase, including new tolls or ferry fare hikes. This isn't about whether tolls are good or bad, or whether ferry fare increases are good or bad, it's about who should decide.

Voters very clearly decided by a 30 point margin with section 5 of I-1053: ((No)) A fee may only be imposed or increased in any fiscal year ((without prior legislative approval)) if approved with majority legislative approval in both the house of representatives and the senate and must be subject to the accountability procedures required by RCW 43.135.031.

Democrats ignored that unambiguous voter mandate last night. This is the Democrats at their absolute sleaziest. When they gutted last year's I-960, having passed with 51% of the vote, at least they waited two years -- this time, they wasted no time undermining I-1053 that passed with 64% of the vote.

Voters have approved this recorded-vote-for-fee-increases policy four times, approving I-1053 by the widest margin ever. But as we highlighted early yesterday, the levels of voter support for I-1053 by legislative district are stunning. Look at the
district-by-district results just for the anti-1053 Democrats on the committee:

House Ways and Means Committee Members voting to violate I-1053:

I-1053 Percent voting "yes" in each Senator's district: Last name, first name of House Democrats who voted to violate I-1053's requirement

62% Hunter, Ross (D)
56% Darneille, Jeannie(D)
57% Hasegawa, Bob (D)
37% Carlyle, Reuven (D)
46% Cody, Eileen (D)
37% Dickerson, Mary Lou (D)
71% Haigh, Kathy (D)
57% Hudgins, Zack(D)
53% Hunt, Sam (D)
55% Kagi, Ruth (D)
37% Kenney, Phyllis Gutierrez(D)
64% Ormsby, Timm (D)
35% Pettigrew, Eric (D)
69% Seaquist, Larry(D)
64% Springer, Larry (D)
70% Sullivan, Pat (D)

As Senator Pam Roach recently wrote: "I-1053 puts the transportation process
back out into the open. Interested parties will no longer have to genuflect before an appointed commission that has been gifted the right to circumvent the legislature without accountability except to the governor. The people of this state want to take back the control of their government. The 64% vote for I-1053 can only reflect a non-partisan demand for greater accountability, not less." She continued: "As a citizen legislator and co-sponsor of the initiative I know that the people want to hold their elected officials accountable for all revenue increases."

She's exactly right. Voters want and deserve accountability, especially when it comes to revenue-raising bills like tolls and ferry fares. Voters have consistently and persistently decided that it should be elected representatives, not unelected bureaucrats, who should make such decisions. If they're going to take more of the people's money, it's not too much to ask for them to take a recorded vote.

One of our country's founding principles was "No taxation without representation." That principle was violated last night by the Democrats' arrogant decision to gut I-1053.

As the Kitsap Sun reported in December: Senate Transportation Chairwoman Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, said restoring the commission's authority would be her first task when the legislative session begins Jan. 10. "Setting fees is no little thing," she said. "It takes time. We don't have time to do that detail work, or the money in this citizen legislature to go out and have those public meetings that the commission does. That's part of their role. We have too many other things that are more important to do than hassling over whether it should be a 2 1/2 or 3 percent fare increase." Sen. Pam Roach, R-Auburn, saw Haugen's comments Tuesday while on a trip to Germany and said in an e-mail that she was appalled Haugen "wants the first vote of the next Legislature to violate the will of 64 percent of the people. She said she wants the Democratic caucus to vote to have the Legislature divest itself of the responsibility for deciding transportation fees and tolls and place it back with an unelected, unaccountable commission. That is disingenuous, counter to the will of the voters, and just a bad idea. I cannot believe there is even one Republican who will support such a measure." To change an initiative in its first two years would take a two-thirds vote of the House and Senate, according to the Secretary of State's Office. "I don't know how (Haugen's) going to get a two-thirds vote by anybody," said Rep. Sherry Appleton, D-Poulsbo. "There are some people who supported 1053, and I don't think people on that side of the aisle (Republicans) are going to change it. The decision is ours now and we just have to step up to the plate."

Yes, they just have to step up to the plate. Again, if they're going to take more of the people's money, it's not too much to ask for them to take a recorded vote. That's what they're elected to do.

Why? Why would they so blatantly ignore the expressed will of the people as if it was some bothersome fly, to be swatted whenever they feel like it?
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