Washington Voter Approval Requirement for Tax Increases Initiative (2018)

Washington Voter Approval Requirement for Tax Increases
Election date November 6, 2018
Topic Taxes
Status Not on the ballot
Type State statute	Origin Citizens
List of Washington measuresWashington Initiative 940Washington Initiative 1631Washington Initiative 1634Washington Initiative 1639Washington Advisory Vote 19Submit

The Washington Voter Approval Requirement for Tax Increases Initiative (#1577, 1578, 1596, 1609, 1617, 1627) was not on the ballot in Washington as an Initiative to the People, a type of initiated state statute, on November 6, 2018.

This initiative was designed to require any taxes approved by the legislature to expire after one year unless approved by voters.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot titles for the different versions of the initiative are below:

Initiative 1577 ballot title
Initiative Measure No. 1577 concerns state taxes. This measure would state that tax increases imposed by the legislature but not approved by voters must expire one year after taking effect, and terminate tax increases imposed in 2018 without voter approval. Should this measure be enacted into law? Yes [ ] No [ ]

Initiative 1578 ballot title
Initiative Measure No. 1578 concerns state taxes. This measure would state that tax increases imposed by the legislature but not approved by voters must expire one year after taking effect, and prohibit collection of revenue after an increase ends. Should this measure be enacted into law? Yes [ ] No [ ]

Initiative 1596 ballot title
Initiative Measure No. 1596 concerns state tax increases. This measure would state that tax increases imposed by the Legislature but not approved by voters must expire one year after taking effect, and prohibit collection of revenue after such an increase ends Should this measure be enacted into law?

Initiative 1609 ballot title
Initiative Measure No. 1609 concerns state taxes. This measure would require state tax increases to expire after one year unless approved by a two-thirds legislative vote or majority popular vote, and terminate any increase imposed in 2018 without such approval. Should this measure be enacted into law?

Initiative 1617 ballot title
Initiative Measure No. 1617 concerns state taxes. This measure would require state tax increases to expire after one year unless approved by a two-thirds legislative vote or majority popular vote, and terminate any increase imposed in 2018 without such approval. Should this measure be enacted into law?

Initiative 1627 ballot title
Initiative Measure No. 1627 concerns state taxes. This measure would require state tax increases to expire after one year unless approved by a majority vote of the people, and immediately terminate any tax increases imposed in 2018 without such approval. Should this measure be enacted into law?

Ballot summary

The ballot summaries for the different versions of the initiative are below:

Initiative 1577 ballot summary

This measure would provide that tax increases imposed by the legislature must expire one year after taking effect if not approved by a majority of voters after the tax is referred to voters by the legislature. It would provide that tax increases imposed in 2018 without voter approval must terminate upon the effective date of the measure. It prohibits the State from collecting revenue from any tax increase that is terminated by this measure.

Initiative 1578 ballot summary
This measure would provide that tax increases imposed by the legislature must expire one year after taking effect if not approved by a majority of voters after the tax is referred to voters by the legislature. It prohibits the State from collecting revenue from any tax increase that is terminated by this measure.

Initiative 1596 ballot summary

This measure would provide that tax increases imposed by the Legislature must expire one year after taking effect if not approved by a majority of voters after the tax is referred to voters by the Legislature. It would prohibit the State from collecting revenue from any tax increase that is terminated by this measure. It would use the term “tax increase” for triggering advisory voting on legislative actions raising taxes.

Initiative 1609 ballot summary

This measure would require state tax increases to expire after one year unless approved by a two-thirds vote of the legislature or a simple majority of voters. Any tax increase imposed in 2018 without such approval would be terminated and expire on the effective date of this act. It would prohibit the State from collecting revenue from any tax increase terminated by this measure. It would use the term “tax increase” to trigger advisory votes.

Initiative 1617 ballot summary

This measure would require state tax increases to expire after one year unless approved by a two-thirds vote of the legislature or a simple majority of voters. Any tax increase imposed in 2018 without such approval would be terminated and expire on the effective date of this act. It would prohibit the State from collecting revenue from any tax increase terminated by this measure. It would use the term “tax increase” to trigger advisory votes.

Initiative 1627 ballot summary

This measure would require state tax increases to expire after one year unless approved by a majority of voters at an election. Any tax increase imposed in 2018 without such approval would be terminated and expire on the effective date of this act. It would prohibit the State from collecting revenue from any tax increase terminated by this measure. It would use the term “tax increase” to trigger advisory votes.

Full text

• The full text of Initiative #1577 is available here.
• The full text of Initiative #1578 is available here.
• The full text of Initiative #1596 is available here.
• The full text of Initiative #1605 (withdrawn) is available here.
• The full text of Initiative #1609 is available here.
• The full text of Initiative #1617 is available here.
• The full text of Initiative #1627 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 a directly initiated state statute—called an Initiative to the People 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 direct initiatives cannot be made more than 10 months before the general election at which their proposal would be presented to voters. Signatures must be submitted at least four months prior to the general election.

The requirements to get an Initiative to the People certified for the 2018 ballot:

• Signatures: 259,622 valid signatures were required.
• Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures was July 6, 2018.

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 for 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 versions 1577 and 1578 on January 8, 2018, version 1596 on January 18, 2018, and version 1605 on February 12, 2018.
• A ballot title and summary were issued for versions 1577 and 1578 on January 16, 2018.
• Eyman filed version 1609 on February 14, 2018, and withdrew version 1605 on February 15, 2018.
• A ballot title and summary were issued for version 1609 on February 23, 2018.
• Tim Eyman submitted version 1617 on February 26, 2018, and a ballot title and summary were issued for it on March 6, 2018.
• Proponents of the initiative did not submit signatures to the secretary of state's office by the July 6, 2018, deadline and the measure was not put on the ballot.

See also

2018 measures

• 2018 ballot measures
• Taxes on the ballot
• Direct democracy measures on the ballot
• 2018 petition deadlines

Washington

• Washington ballot measures
• Washington initiative laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls
• Ballot measure signature costs

External links

• Initiative #1577 Full Text
• Initiative #1578 Full Text
• Initiative #1596 Full Text
• Initiative #1605 (withdrawn) Full Text
• Initiative #1609 Full Text
• Initiative #1617 Full Text
• Initiative #1627 Full Text