Washington Property Tax Initiative (2020)

Washington Property Tax Initiative
Election date November 3, 2020
Topic Taxes
Status Not on the ballot
Type State statute	Origin Citizens
List of Washington measuresWashington Referendum 90Washington Senate Joint Resolution 8212Washington Advisory Vote 32Washington Advisory Vote 33Washington Advisory Vote 34Washington Advisory Vote 35Submit

The Washington Property Tax Initiative was not on the ballot in Washington as an Initiative to the Legislature, a type of indirect initiated state statute, on November 3, 2020.

Tim Eyman proposed two versions of the initiative: #1007 and #1015. The initiatives concerned property taxes.

Text of measure

Ballot title

Initiative 1007 ballot title
“ Initiative Measure No. 1007 concerns state and local property taxes. This measure would annually set regular property tax levies, except voter-approved levies, at 25% below the amount otherwise allowed; limit property tax increases to 1% unless voter-approved; and eliminate certain personal property taxes. Should this measure be enacted into law? ”

Initiative 1015 ballot title
“ Initiative Measure No. 1015 concerns state and local property taxes. This measure would annually set regular property tax levies, except voter-approved levies, at 25% below the amount otherwise allowed; limit property tax increases to 1% unless voter-approved; and eliminate certain personal property taxes. Should this measure be enacted into law? ”

Ballot summary

Initiative 1007 ballot summary

“ This measure would, starting in 2018, annually set regular property tax levies that have not been voter-approved at 25 percent below the amount otherwise allowed; require voter approval at a general election to exceed the existing one-percent limit on annual property tax increases; eliminate an exception to the one-percent limit that could apply where previously-imposed increases were less than one percent; and eliminate personal property tax on items where sales or use tax was paid. ”

Initiative 1015 ballot summary

“ This measure would, starting in 2021, annually set regular property tax levies that have not been voter-approved at 25 percent below the amount otherwise allowed; require voter approval at a general election to exceed the existing one-percent limit on annual property tax increases; eliminate an exception to the one-percent limit that could apply where previously-imposed increases were less than one percent; and eliminate personal property tax on items where sales or use tax was paid. ”

Full text

• The full text of Initiative 1007 is available here.
• The full text of Initiative 1015 is available here.

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing the initiative process in Washington

The state process

In Washington, the number of signatures required to qualify an indirectly initiated state statute—called an Initiative to the Legislature in Washington—for the ballot is equal to 8 percent of the votes cast for the office of governor at the last regular gubernatorial election. Initial filings for indirect initiatives cannot be made more than 10 months before the regular session at which their proposal would be presented to lawmakers. Signatures must be submitted at least 10 days prior to the beginning of the legislative session in the year of the targeted election.

The requirements to get an Initiative to the Legislature certified for the 2020 ballot:

• Signatures: 259,622 valid signatures were required.
• Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures was January 3, 2020.

The secretary of state verifies the signatures using a random sample method. If the sample indicates that the measure has sufficient signatures, the measure is certified to appear before the legislature. If the legislature does not approve the measure, it is certified to appear on the ballot. However, if the sample indicates that the measure has insufficient signatures, every signature is checked. Under Washington law, a random sample result may not invalidate a petition.

Details about this initiative

• Tim Eyman submitted the initiatives on April 8, 2019 (#1007), and April 15, 2019 (#1015).
• Proponents did not submit signatures by the deadline.

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