Hand Received
MAY 14 2019

 

Washington State Legislature O?jcebf the Gave-mar

May 13,2019

The Honorable Jay Inslee
Of?ce of the Governor

PO Box 40002

Olympia, WA 98504-0002

Dear Governor Inslee,

We request that you veto SHB 2167. While we have signi?cant concerns about the
policy, our overriding concern and the basis upon which we request a veto is the
?awed process by which the measure passed, as it violates the spirit of our state's
constitution and the democratic process.

SHB 2167 raises the tax rate for certain ?nancial institutions from 1.5% to It
was introduced in substance at 1 pm. in the House Finance Committee on April 26,
which was day 103 of our lOS-day session. SHB 2167 passed the House less than twenty-
four hours later at 4 am. on April 27, was heard by the Senate Ways Means
Committee at 10 am. that same day, and passed the Senate the following day, which was
day 105 of the session. In little more than 48 hours, at the very end of the 2019 session,
the bill went from ?title only" to having passed both chambers of the Legislature.

To describe this asra rush job with no time for adequate policy consideration or public
input is a huge understatement. Policy committees with pertinent expertise were bypassed
entirely; notices of the public hearings in both the House and Senate left no time for the
public to attend; and ultimately, legislators were deprived of the opportunity to make the
considered and informed decision expected of them in their position.

This lack of process is exactly the point intended to be avoided by Art II, Sec. 36 of the
State Constitution, which provides:

bill shall be considered in either house unless the time of its introduction
shall have been at least ten days before the ?nal adjournment of the legislature,
unless the legislature shall otherwise direct by vote of two?thirds of all members
elected to each 

 

Legislative Building 0 Olympia, WA 98504-0482

 

 

 

 

 

 

As former Chief Justice Robert Utter wrote describing this provision, ?The general
purpose of this type of enactment is to prevent hasty and improvident legislation by
providing ample time for the consideration of proposed laws. In addition, the time period
enables the public to have an opportunity to be heard on proposed legislation." (The
Washington State Constitution: A Reference Guide, p. 70.)

Our state's newspapers have likewise weighed in with concerns about the process that
passed SHB 2167. The Seattle Times editorial board lamented the "gimmick" the
Legislature used to "bypass the state constitution and cut the public out of the process."
The Columbian described the legislative process as "an affront to the notion of
responsible governance."

One impact of this rushed process is that SHB 2167, if you go through with signing it,
likely will be the subject of litigation on grounds that it violates the commerce clause of
the United States Constitution by subjecting out-of- state banks to different tax laws than
in-state banks. Defending against this expected lawsuit will likely cost taxpayers
hundreds of thousands of dollars. Such action might have been avoided if the spirit and
intent of our state constitution had been comported with and a thoughtful, deliberative
process permitted. It may be avoided now only with your veto.

Governor, less than two years ago you wrote (in your Veto of Manufacturing Tax
Parity provisions, SSB 5977) that tax policies "should be considered in a thoughtful,
transparent process that incorporates public input and business accountability." We ask
you to employ that same reasoning in vetoing SHB 2167.

Sincerely,

M?l ff.ju.r??jv?i3

Senator John Braun Senator Mark Mullet Senator Mark Schoeslei

20th Legislative District 5th Legislative District 911 Legislative District
.

Ci" . may, 

Rep. .T. Wilcox Rep. Drew Stokesbary

2rld Legislative District 31St Legislative District

cc: David Postman
Drew Shirk
David Schumacher