Our Representatives Report: Ranker Explains Supermajority Rejection

Ranker: State tax reform Needed, but this measure is “inequitable”

Sen. Kevin Ranker, D-Orcas Island, issued the following statement [on May 27] after the Washington State Supreme Court voided in its entirety Initiative 1366 which would have forced a constitutional amendment that would likely have reduced resources for services critical to Washingtonians.

“This is a crucial affirmation of the principle of majority rule that empowers our democracy. Requiring supermajority votes on legislation is the reverse of democracy because it would allow a minority to dictate policy to the majority.

“Our tax structure needs to be reformed in ways that move our state forward, not backward. We need to explore responsible ways to reduce our state’s unhealthy overreliance on sales tax, which has saddled Washingtonians with the most regressive tax system in the nation. We need to develop and enact reforms to make our entire tax system more equitable, fair and progressive so that the greatest obligation no longer falls on those least able to shoulder it.”