Washington Advisory Vote 32, Nonbinding Question on Carryout Bag Tax (2020)

Washington Advisory Vote 32
Election date November 3, 2020
Topic Taxes
Status d Defeated
Type Advisory question
List of Washington measuresWashington Referendum 90Washington Senate Joint Resolution 8212Washington Advisory Vote 32Washington Advisory Vote 33Washington Advisory Vote 34Washington Advisory Vote 35Submit

Washington Advisory Vote 32, a non-binding question concerning whether to maintain or repeal Senate Bill 5323, was on the ballot in Washington as an advisory question on November 3, 2020. A majority of voters voted in favor of repealing the bill.

A maintain vote supported advising the legislature to maintain Senate Bill 5323, which was designed to levy a tax on certain carryout bags provided by retailers.

A repeal vote supported advising the legislature to repeal Senate Bill 5323, which was designed to levy a tax on certain carryout bags provided by retailers.

Election results

In the chart below, "yes" votes correspond to votes for maintaining the revenue-generating bill, and "no" votes correspond to votes for repealing it.

Washington Advisory Vote 32
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		1,488,767	38.77%
No		2,350,996	61.23%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title for the measure was as follows:

“

The legislature imposed, without a vote of the people, a retail sales tax on pass-through charges retail establishments collect for specified carryout bags, costing $32,000,000 in its first ten years, for government spending. This tax increase should be: [] Repealed [] Maintained

”

Ten-year cost projection

The ten-year projection of Senate Bill 5323, which Advisory Vote 32 concerned, was expected to be $32 million.

Full text

The full text of Senate Bill 5323 is available here.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2020

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The Washington Attorney General wrote the ballot language for this measure. The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 7, and the FRE is 61. The word count for the ballot title is 37, and the estimated reading time is 10 seconds.

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Washington ballot measures

Total campaign contributions:
Support:	$0.00
Opposition:	$0.00

Ballotpedia did not identify any committees registered in support of or in opposition to the measure.

If you are aware of a committee registered to support or oppose this measure, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.

Background

Advisory votes

See also: Advisory question

An advisory question is a type of ballot measure in which citizens vote on a non-binding question. The largest difference between an advisory vote and any other type of ballot measure is that the outcome of the ballot question will not result in a new, changed, or rejected law or constitutional amendment. Rather, the advisory question symbolically makes heard the general opinion of the voting population in regard to the issue at hand. In the case of Washington, advisory votes serve to advise the legislature whether or not to maintain or repeal a bill they passed.

History of advisory votes in Washington

Initiative 960, which was sponsored by Tim Eyman and approved by voters in 2007, requires statewide advisory questions whenever the legislature passes a bill that increases tax revenue.

Thirty-eight (38) advisory votes required by Initiative 960 have been on the statewide ballot in Washington from 2012 through 2021. A majority of voters were in favor of maintaining 10 of the tax increases. In the other 28 cases, a majority of voters were in favor of repealing the tax increases in question.

Washington tax advisory votes
Year	Measure	Topic	Maintain vote %	Repeal vote %
2021	Advisory Vote 38	Tax on the premiums of captive insurers	42.85%	57.15%
2021	Advisory Vote 37	Tax on capital gains above $250,000 to fund education and child services	38.95%	61.05%
2021	Advisory Vote 36	Telephone tax to fund behavioral health and suicide prevention services	46.11%	53.89%
2020	Advisory Vote 35	Business and occupation tax on commercial airplane manufacturers	45.53%	54.47%
2020	Advisory Vote 34	Business and occupation tax and surcharge	37.99%	62.01%
2020	Advisory Vote 33	Heavy equipment rental tax	40.40%	59.60%
2020	Advisory Vote 32	Carryout bag tax	38.77%	61.23%
2019	Advisory Vote 31	International investment management services tax	56.75%	43.25%
2019	Advisory Vote 30	Tour operator/travel agent tax	44.19%	55.81%
2019	Advisory Vote 29	Excise tax on real property	35.20%	64.80%
2019	Advisory Vote 28	Nonresident sales tax exemption limits	55.29%	44.71%
2019	Advisory Vote 27	Petroleum products tax	39.22%	60.78%
2019	Advisory Vote 26	Online retail sales tax	44.77%	55.23%
2019	Advisory Vote 25	Financial institution tax	44.62%	55.38%
2019	Advisory Vote 24	Business activities tax	37.35%	62.65%
2019	Advisory Vote 23	E-cig/vaping tax	66.91%%	33.09%
2019	Advisory Vote 22	Paint tax	37.97%	62.03%
2019	Advisory Vote 21	Surcharge on timber products	41.10%	58.90%
2019	Advisory Vote 20	Tax on wages	37.08%	62.92%
2018	Advisory Vote 19	Crude oil tax	46.47%	53.53%
2017	Advisory Vote 18	State property tax	40.95%	59.05%
2017	Advisory Vote 17	Business and occupation tax	37.66%	62.34%
2017	Advisory Vote 16	Commercial fishing fees	45.59%	54.41%
2016	Advisory Vote 15	Alternative fuel tax excemption	40.10%	59.90%
2016	Advisory Vote 14	Dental plan tax	30.86%	69.14%
2015	Advisory Vote 13	Manufacturer tax preferences	36.59%	63.41%
2015	Advisory Vote 12	Gas tax increase	35.63%	64.37%
2015	Advisory Vote 11	Medical marijuana fee	58.73%	41.27%
2015	Advisory Vote 10	Oil spill prevention tax	51.32%	48.68%
2014	Advisory Vote 9	Leasehold excise tax	55.27%	44.73%
2014	Advisory Vote 8	Agricultural tax on marijuana	54.41%	45.59%
2013	Advisory Vote 7	Estate tax	51.23%	48.77%
2013	Advisory Vote 6	Retaill sales tax exemption	47.74%	52.26%
2013	Advisory Vote 5	Insurance premium tax	39.52%	60.48%
2013	Advisory Vote 4	Aircraft excise tax	53.54%	46.46%
2013	Advisory Vote 3	Leasehold excise tax	52.47%	47.53%
2012	Advisory Vote 2	Pollution liability insurance	45.00%	55.00%
2012	Advisory Vote 1	Omnibus tax preference	43.10%	56.90%

Path to the ballot

The measure was automatically referred to the ballot as required under Initiative 960, an initiative that was passed in 2007. I-960 requires an advisory vote to be referred to voters concerning any law passed by the legislature that creates or increases taxes or fees. Advisory Vote 32 was a nonbinding question advising the legislature to either maintain or repeal Senate Bill 5323, which was passed in the 2020 legislative session.

Senate Bill 5323

The vote in the legislature on Senate Bill 5323 was as follows:

Vote in the Washington House of Representatives March 7, 2020
Requirement: Approval in both chambers of the legislature
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	67	29	1
Total percent	68.4%	29.6%	1.02%

Vote in the Washington State Senate March 9, 2020
Requirement: Approval in both chambers of the legislature
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	33	15	1
Total percent	67.3%	30.6%	2.04%

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Washington

Click "Show" to learn more about voter registration, identification requirements, and poll times in Washington.

How to cast a vote in Washington

The information below covers regular voting policies in the state. Information may have not applied to the election on November 3, 2020, because of temporary changes in response to coronavirus. Click here to read about changes made for the 2020 elections. Poll times Washington is an all-mail voting state. Individuals who prefer to vote in person rather than by mail may do so at local voting centers, which are open for 18 days prior to the election. The voting period ends at 8:00 p.m. on Election Day. Contact your county elections department for more information on voting center locations and times. Registration requirements Check your voter registration status here. To vote in Washington, one must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of the state, and at least 18 years of age. One may register to vote online, by mail, or in-person at a county elections department. Registration must be completed eight days in advance if done by mail or online. In-person registration is available through Election Day. In 2018, Washington lawmakers enacted legislation providing for same-day voter registration and automatic voter registration. Automatic registration Washington automatically registers eligible individuals to vote through the Department of Motor Vehicles, health benefit exchange, and other state agencies approved by the governor. Online registration See also: Online voter registration Washington has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website. Same-day registration Washington allows same-day voter registration. Residency requirements Washington law requires 30 days of residency in the state before a person may vote. Verification of citizenship See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States Washington does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote. According to the state's voter registration application, a voter who knowingly provides false information or knowingly make a false declaration about their qualifications "will have committed a class C felony that is punishable by imprisonment for up to five years, a fine of up to ten thousand dollars, or both." All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters. Verifying your registration The site Vote WA, run by the Washington Secretary of State office, allows residents to check their voter registration status online. Voter ID requirements Washington is an all-mail voting state and does not require voters to present photo identification (ID). Voters may choose to vote in person at a local voting center. According to state law RCW 29A.40.160, “The county auditor shall require any person desiring to vote at a voting center to either sign a ballot declaration or provide identification.” Accepted forms of ID include driver's licenses, state ID cards, and student ID cards. For a list of all accepted forms of ID, see below. The following list of accepted ID was current as of April 2023. Click here for the Washington State Legislature's voter ID regulations to ensure you have the most current information. Driver's license State identification card Student identification card Tribal identification card Employer identification card }}

See also

2020 measures

• 2020 ballot measures
• Taxes on the ballot

Washington

• Washington ballot measures
• Washington ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Senate Bill 5323 Full Text
• Washington 2020 general election voter guide