Washington Senate Joint Resolution 8206 (2007)
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Senate Joint Resolution 8206 appeared as a ballot measure on the November 6, 2007 general election ballot in Washington. It passed, with 68% of voters in favor.[1]
What those voters were approving was a new constitutional amendment in the state of Washington which requires transferring 1% of general state revenues to a budget stabilization account annually and forbids expenditures from the account with a few pre-set exemptions. It is sometimes described as a "Rainy Day Amendment".
Senate Joint Resolution 8206 was legislatively referred to the ballot.
SJR 8206 was one of six ballot measures on the 2007 Washington ballot.
SJR 8206 became the 99th amendment to the Washington State Constitution, amending Section 12 of Article VII.
Election results
| SJR 8206 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Percentage | |||
 Yes
| 1,048,562 | 67.74% | ||
| No | 499,292 | 32.26% | ||
Specific provisions
Provisions of the proposed constitutional amendment include:
- Until the fund reaches 10% of state revenues, the money can only be spent when the economy declines seriously.
- If the money is to be spent prior to earning 10% of the state revenues, a 60% majority of the legislature can approve releases.
- These spending rules, if the ballot measure is approved by voters, will be enshrined in the Constitution.
Sponsors of the Bill
Sponsors of the bill included: Senators Brown, Zarelli, Eide, Hewitt, Haugen, Franklin, Kilmer, Kauffman, Marr, Rasmussen, Berkey, Sheldon, Keiser, Tom, McAuliffe, Parlette, Rockefeller.
Voting Results
Below are the voting results for the measure as it passed through the House and Senate.
| Yeas | Nays | Absent | Excused | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senate | 45 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| House | 74 | 23 | 0 | 1 |
Statement of Support
Some of the arguments in support of the amendment include:
- It is prudent to have a rainy day fund should there be unexpected dips in state revenues due to a recession.
- The measure has overwhelming bipartisan support[2]
The Statement for Support was drafted by Ross Hunter, State Representative, Chairman, Finance Committee; Lisa Brown, State Senator, Majority Leader; Joseph Zarelli, State Senator, Ranking Member, Ways and Means Committee; Gary Alexander, State Representative, Ranking Member, Appropriations Committee; Hugh Spitzer, public finance lawyer and law professor.
Statement of opposition
Some of the arguments of opposition include:
- The super-majority vote needed to release rainy day funds is too restrictive.
- The initiative fails to look to the future when funds that might be needed for programs may be considered by some to not meet the test for "emergency" standards, leading to partisan squabbling.[3]
This statement was drafted by: Helen Sommers, State Representative, Chair, Appropriations Committee; Ken Jacobsen, State Senator, Chair, Natural Resources, Ocean, Recreation Committee; Sam Hunt, State Representative, Chair, State Government, Tribal Affairs Committee; Jeanne Kohl-Welles, State Senator, Chair, Labor, Commerce, Research, Development Committee; Ruth Kagi, State Representative, Chair, Early Learning, Children’s Services Committee; Jim Moeller, State Representative, Co-chair, Joint Committee Veterans, Military Affairs.
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