BILL REQ. #:  S-0230.1 

Read first time 01/16/13.   Referred to Committee on Governmental Operations .

     BE IT RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON, IN LEGISLATIVE SESSION ASSEMBLED:
     THAT, At the next general election to be held in this state the secretary of state must submit to the qualified voters of the state for their approval and ratification, or rejection, an amendment to Article II of the Constitution of the state of Washington by adding a new section to read as follows:

     Article II, section . . .. (1) Except as provided otherwise in subsection (2) of this section, any action or combination of actions by the legislature that raises taxes may be taken only if approved by at least a two-thirds vote of both the house of representatives and the senate. For the purposes of this subsection, "raises taxes" means any action or combination of actions by the legislature that increases state tax revenue deposited in any fund, budget, or account, regardless of whether the revenues are deposited into the general fund.
     (2) This section does not apply to:
     (a) A tax that is referred by the legislature to a vote of the people pursuant to Article II, section 1(b) of this Constitution; or
     (b) A tax that is enacted pursuant to an emergency previously declared in law with the favorable vote of two-thirds of the members of each house of the legislature and that expires not later than twelve months after the effective date of the emergency declaration. The law declaring the emergency must state the nature of the emergency.

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the secretary of state must cause notice of this constitutional amendment to be published at least four times during the four weeks next preceding the election in every legal newspaper in the state.