(The Center Square) – Washington state Democrats are moving ahead with plans to pass legislation that would raise annual caps on property taxes to bring in hundreds of millions of dollars for public schools and public safety for cities and county governments.
The House Finance Committee held a public hearing Tuesday on House Bill 1334, sponsored by Rep. Gerry Pollet, D-Seattle. The bill would repeal a 1% cap on annual growth for property tax collections and give the state and local governments the ability to levy hikes up to 3%.
“School districts are deep, deep, deep underwater,” Pollet told the committee. “School districts are having to plan for massive educator layoffs or to close schools, etcetera.”
Pollet said property taxes are the primary source of funding for schools, and due to the 1% cap on collections, revenue is not keeping up with inflation.
“Our duty as legislators, I believe, is to provide our local governments with the resources they need in order to serve all of our constituents when it comes to public safety, when it comes to public health, when it comes to basic services that our constituents need when it comes to doing anything,” Pollet said. “All of these duties have literally been kneecapped by a one percent cap on revenue growth.”
Republicans oppose any increase in property taxes.
“There’s a ton of pressure on homeowners and renters based on property taxes across our state,” Senate Minority Leader John Braun, R-Centralia, said during a Tuesday media availability event. “This is a bad idea for the state of Washington and people get that.”
Braun suggested cities and counties have plenty of money to fund their priorities.
“If you go back and look at the revenue growth and the budget growth for both cities and counties around our state, it’s very close, and in some cases, higher than what we’ve seen at the state level where the budget has grown at twice the rate of personal income,” he explained.
House Bill 1356 was also discussed during the same hearing. It would increase the cap on property tax hikes and allow schools to collect more in local levies.
Anti-tax activist Tim Eyman testified against both bills.
“I am incredibly sympathetic to how tough times are for local governments right now,” he said sarcastically. “Local governments have more money than they’ve ever had, but it’s tough; really, really tough.”
Eyman mocked committee members who are getting raises while considering increasing the amount of money the government can collect from struggling families.
Under the new salaries approved at a meeting in Tumwater by the Washington Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials, legislators will receive a 16% wage hike, and the governor and attorney general will receive a 14% raise.
“Property owners are barely making it under the current limitation,” Eyman said.
City and county leaders who support HB 1334 told lawmakers that the property tax cap means not enough revenue is being generated to keep up with rising inflation-related costs, forcing them to cut services.
House Majority Leader Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon, D-Seattle, told reporters during a Tuesday news conference that cities and counties are struggling to fully staff police departments due to a lack of funding.
“You cannot expect local governments to provide adequate police protection if you are cutting their revenue year over year, which is the effect of the one percent property tax limit,” Fitzgibbon said.
Rep. Monica Stonier, D-Vancouver, suggested during the news conference that Republicans who have cited crime statistics that, in many cases, have put Washington dead last in the nation, should “see the through line” and realize that the 1% property tax limit has led to law enforcement shortages and increased crime as a result.
Republicans say struggling Washingtonians trying to make ends meet should be the priority.
“The cost of living is too high, and folks can’t afford additional taxes,” Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Centralia, said in response to a question from The Center Square. “When I get messages from my community, the number one thing they want is reduced taxes, and the number one thing they want to see reduced is property taxes.”
Sen. Perry Dozier, R-Waitsburg, agreed.
“This isn’t the right climate to be taking more from people with the inflation and unaffordability that we have in Washington state,” he said.
Braun pointed to the gap between the number of people for and against HB 1334, noting that “12,124 people signed in against the bill, 139 pro. I think that tells the story.”
HB 1334 and HB 1356 have not received a vote out of committee, but both are considered very much alive.