Of the more than 2,100 bills before the legislature, just 438 measures have survived Tuesday’s cutoff deadline for passing policy bills out of their original chamber. Lawmakers now have until next Thursday, February 14th, to consider bills from the opposite house in committee,
Tax and spending measures are not subject to cutoffs and will likely dominate attention in the remaining 20 days of this 60-day session, which is scheduled to adjourn on March 10th.
The state’s latest financial forecast issued on Wednesday projects another $2.77 billion increase in tax collections for the four-year state budget outlook. Added to prior increases in the forecasts, expected additional tax collections have now topped $10.5 billion since lawmakers adopted the 2021-23 state budget in last year’s session.
Combined with reserve funds and $1.3 billion in federal pandemic aid, the state now enjoys a historic four-year budget surplus approaching $14 billion.
Democrats are expected to release their proposed tax and spending updates to the 2021-23 budget on Monday.
Meanwhile, two major bi-partisan bills to bring tax relief to Washington taxpayers have lingered in the State Senate Ways and Means Committee since their introduction in January.
SB 5932, sponsored by Vice-Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus Senator Mona Das (D-Kent), would reduce the state’s sales tax by a full 1%, taking the tax rate down from 6.5% to 5.5%. Based on previous estimates, this would provide approximately $2 billion in tax relief per year for Washingtonians.
Introduced on January 21st with a number of Republican and Democratic co-sponsors, no public hearing or committee action on the measure has been taken.
SB 5769, sponsored by Senator Lynda Wilson (R-Clark County), would provide significant property tax relief, eliminate the state’s business and occupation tax on manufacturers, eliminate the capital gains income tax passed by Democrats last session, and eliminate the long-term care payroll tax and program. A measure delaying collection of this tax was signed into law earlier this session, but SB 5769 would eliminate it altogether.
The bill was introduced with bi-partisan co-sponsors January 11th. It received a public hearing in the Senate Ways and Means Committee on January 25th, but no action has been taken on it since then.
Both Democrats and Republicans have expressed their strong support for significant tax relief in light of the positive revenue forecasts. Senator Das said: “We need to take a serious look at tax relief for all working Washingtonians. And this is the year to do it.”
Following the latest financial forecast Representative Drew Stokesbary (R-Auburn), the top Republican on the House Appropriations Committee, said “State tax collections have been on a meteoric rise…but while state government has continued to rake in the cash, families across Washington have been heavily burdened with higher prices on gas and everyday goods. Inflation is now running at 7.6%, the highest level in over forty years…It is past time for working Washingtonians to share in the state’s good economic fortune.”
Majority Democratic leaders, however, have not indicated whether they plan to consider any tax relief this session. “I would caution my caucus to be cautious,” Senator Christine Rolfes (D-Kitsap County), chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, told reporters after release of the latest economic forecast.
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