(The Center Square) – Amid a push to raise the annual cap on property tax increases statewide, Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn, wants the Legislature to exempt around 500,000 senior citizens altogether.
Fortunato proposed Senate Bill 5020 earlier this month. If approved, the measure would exempt all “real property” owned by individuals over 75 years old. According to 2023 U.S. Census data, more than 487,000 Washingtonians, or about 6.3% of the state population, fall within that range.
While not all 487,000 own homes or land, exempting even a fraction of those property taxes would impact the state’s finances, not to mention recent budget projections. Two weeks ago, Gov. Jay Inslee announced revenue shortfalls as high as $16 billion over the next four years.
Inslee’s address included proposals for billions in new taxes, which Senate Democrats followed days later with a leaked email including $15 billion in increases of their own. One option was increasing the annual cap on property tax increases from 1% to 3%.
“Everybody knows nothing is going to go anywhere,” Fortunato told The Center Square. “I’ll be honest with you; there’s no sense in us even going to Olympia.”
SB 5020 isn’t his first attempt at pushing the bill. Fortunato proposed a similar measure during the 2021 legislative session but failed to make much progress. He said that as long as Democrats maintain a majority, Republicans will take the sidelines, but not because they don’t care.
Washington has maintained a Democratic trifecta since 2018 and for over half of the last 32 years, with Republicans failing to make much ground. For the upcoming session, the majority will hold an 11-seat margin in the Senate and 20-seat lead in the House of Representatives.
Fortunato regularly advocates for property tax relief but doesn’t expect to get a hearing this year due to the increasing majority. He recognizes that his party passes some items but says Democrats often reject those related to homelessness, addiction and other controversial topics.
“When Democrats are in the minority, they want to be in the majority,” Fortunato said, quoting the late former Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale. “When Republicans are in the minority, they want to be part of the solution.”
Asking to exempt property taxes for 487,000 residents amid significant shortfalls might add to a pile of dead-on-arrival bills, but Fortunato isn’t giving up. For him, SB 5020 would provide meaningful relief to a generation being taxed out of homes they may have owned for decades.
State law currently provides varying levels of exemptions to seniors at least 61-years-old who are unable to work due to a disability. Eligibility depends on combined disposable income, which must fall below 70% of the county median household income. Fortunato’s bill would expand this to exempt all property taxes for those eligible.
While his proposal doesn’t include an income or property value limit, meaning the wealthiest seniors could qualify, Fortunato isn’t against the idea. He opted against including one in case committee members would favor a limit lower than Fortunato may have initially proposed.
He wants to work across the aisle to develop a bipartisan solution but is skeptical about the extent to which it will happen. Fortunato shared an experience when a Democrat called him on the Senate floor, asking to stop bad-mouthing their bills or his own wouldn’t get a vote.
“Somebody says to you, ‘Please be quiet and don’t bad mouth our bills because we’re not going to pass your bill if you do.’ What do you think about that?” Fortunato asked. “Are you going to be quiet and let them tell you to shut up in order to get your bill passed? Needless to say, the bill didn’t pass.”
