CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION _________________
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A RESOLUTION opposing Washington Initiative Measure 1366 and urging Seattle voters to vote "no" on Initiative 1366 on the November 3, 2015 general election ballot.
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WHEREAS, I-1366 would eliminate eight billion dollars from the State of Washington Operating Budget over the next six years which would cause drastic cuts to vital public services, including schools, colleges, and other programs families in Seattle depend on by decreasing the state sales tax, unless, by April 2016, the Washington State Legislature approves a constitutional amendment requiring a two-thirds vote to raise revenue or recover revenue for the state treasury; and
WHEREAS, I-1366 is being falsely promoted by Tim Eyman as a constitutional amendment to reinstate the unconstitutional supermajority requirement that was struck down by the Washington Supreme Court in 2013 in League of Education Voters v. State of Washington, when in fact it is an initiative to the people attempting to coerce state lawmakers into agreeing to submit an amendment to the people that would overturn the Court's decision by holding school funding hostage; and
WHEREAS, the undemocratic modification of the Washington Constitution to require two-thirds votes to raise and recover revenue would result in serious long-term damage to Washington's communities; and
WHEREAS, Washington's founders understood that democracy requires majority rules with minority rights and, after much debate and deliberation, wrote a Constitution requiring that bills pass by a majority vote, understood to mean greater than 50 percent - no more and no less; and
WHEREAS, allowing tax exemptions to be created by a majority vote, but repealed only with a vote of two-thirds or greater, represents an unfair double standard that would make it nearly impossible to reform Washington's outdated and regressive tax system; and
WHEREAS, the Washington Supreme Court's 2012 decision in McCleary v. S...
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