This is no April Fools’ Day joke: A proposal introduced by Senate Democrats that would significantly raise property taxes in Washington saw more than 43,000 people sign in to oppose it, more than four times the opposition received for any previous bill to receive a public hearing in the Senate.
Senate Bill 5978 would eliminate the 1% cap on annual property-tax increases by state and local governments without requiring voter approval. Future rate increases would be tied to inflation and population growth, potentially raising property taxes by 8% to 9% annually.
Sen. Mark Schoesler, who as a member of the Senate Ways and Means Committee sat through Monday’s public hearing on SB 5978, said the record number of people reaching out to the Senate to express opposition to the measure is a crystal-clear sign from the public that it strongly opposes efforts to raise property taxes. The video of the public hearing on SB 5798 can be viewed here.
“Throughout this session, the strongest opposition that my office has received on any tax-increase legislation has been on bills to raise property taxes, especially the bill we heard in Ways and Means Monday night,” said Schoesler, R-Ritzville. “I already knew how unpopular it would be to raise property taxes. But the hearing on SB 5978 was very historic when you realize that over 43,000 people – which is greater than Martin Stadium’s seating capacity at WSU and almost would fill up T-Mobile Park in Seattle – signed up to say they are against this terrible bill.”
Despite the record-shattering public opposition, Democrats on the committee are expected to pass SB 5978 during its meeting on Thursday. If that happens, the proposal will advance to the Senate Rules Committee, the final hurdle before SB 5978 can reach the Senate floor for a full vote.
“Not a single constituent in my 9th Legislative District has told me they support this bill. In fact, everyone I’ve talked to about this bill has clearly said they don’t want to have more taxes on their home. It’s really disappointing the Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee don’t seem to respect the public’s wishes by killing this bill. When over 43,000 people take time to tell committee members they oppose a certain bill, you’d think those members would listen and think twice about passing it. Unfortunately, the Democrats’ overzealous desire and commitment to squeeze more money out of hard-working Washingtonians knows no bounds,” said Schoesler.