H-193                _______________________________________________

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 1869

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1988 Regular Session

By Representatives Hargrove, Patrick, Sanders, J. Williams, Butterfield, Amondson, Holland and Brough

Read first time 1/27/88 and referred to Committee on State Government.

AN ACT Relating to the federal budget deficit; creating new sections; and providing for submission of this act to a vote of the people.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     The legislature of the state of Washington finds that:

          (1) The state of Washington is committed to a policy of enhancing foreign trade and domestic economic development as essential elements to the future prosperity of the state;

          (2) The current foreign trade deficit and excessively high interest rates create a climate of economic instability destructive of the goals of the state of Washington;

          (3) The trade deficit and high interest rates are directly related to the federal budget deficit, which also threatens to cause renewed high rates of inflation and unemployment;

          (4) The best hope to cure these economic afflictions is an ending of monstrous federal budget deficits;

          (5) There is a demonstrated and continual unwillingness or inability of both the legislative and executive branches of the federal government to bring the deficit under control, as seen in the repeated failure to meet budget goals and timetables, accurately estimate revenues and expenditures, and faithfully adhere to statutes enacted to direct an end to budget deficits;

          (6) Statutory efforts, such as Public Law 96-389 and the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings process, have failed and constitutional restraint is necessary to provide the fiscal discipline necessary to guarantee prosperity;

          (7) The needed constitutional restraint, in the form of the Balanced Budget Amendment to the federal Constitution, is available to the nation; and

          (8) The people of the state of Washington favor  passage of a constitutional amendment to require, in the absence of an emergency, that federal outlays do not exceed federal receipts not derived from borrowing, and believe that such constitutional relief is vital to the preservation of their economic well-being.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     In order to guarantee that effective action is taken to protect the economy of the state of Washington from further harm caused by continuing federal budget deficits and to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the people of the state of Washington, the governor and the legislature shall use all legal and constitutional means necessary to gain congressional passage and ratification by the states of an amendment to the federal Constitution that would require, in the absence of an emergency, that federal outlays do not exceed federal receipts not derived from borrowing.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     Within ten days of the effective date of this act, the secretary of state shall transmit copies of this act to the Honorable Ronald Reagan, President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, each member of Congress, and the Governors and each house of the legislatures of the other forty-nine states.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.     This act shall be submitted to the people for their adoption and ratification, or rejection, at the next succeeding general election to be held in this state, in accordance with Article II, section 1 of the state Constitution, as amended, and the laws adopted to facilitate the operation thereof.