Tag Archives: Senate Ways and Means Committee

Sen. Holy statement on Senate Democrats’ proposal to raise property taxes

After Senate Democrats introduced a measure today (Senate Bill 5770) that would allow state and local property taxes in Washington to grow at a rate triple the current limit, 6^th District Sen. Jeff Holy, R-Cheney, issued this statement in opposition to the proposal.

“The Legislature should not consider bills that would raise property taxes, especially this late in the session. So many people in our state are still struggling with inflation and the return of higher fuel prices. Raising property taxes at a time like this is about the worst idea you can consider. It is unreasonable and insensitive. If this bill becomes law, it just shows how in love Democrats are with taxes and taking away money from hard-working people.

“This bill is a slap in the face of Washington voters who passed Initiative 747 in 2001 to cap property-tax increases to 1 percent annually. More than 57 percent of the state’s voters approved this measure, including about 60 percent in Spokane County. It’s insulting to the voters that Senate Democrats think it’s OK now to dramatically raise property taxes.

“At the same time Democrats are expressing concern about homelessness, their bill to increase the property tax at this compounding rate could result in making homeless those who are just hanging on to a home when the cost of living is rapidly increasing and so many people live on fixed incomes. The American promise always has been that if you work hard, pay your debts and save much of your money, you will be self-sufficient when you retire. Yet in conversations with many constituents, the comment I’ve heard many times has been that the monthly cost of taxes is now greater than the monthly mortgage payment they paid to buy the property. This is wrong. Senate Bill 5770 will make things worse for many homeowners.

“At $6,220 a year in taxes paid per person, Washington already has the 13th highest state and local tax burden per capita in the nation – higher than Idaho or Oregon. Instead of looking for yet more ways to take money away from taxpayers, we should instead look for ways to make better use of existing tax dollars.”

SB 5770 has been sent to the Senate Ways and Means Committee for consideration.

The 2023 legislative session is scheduled to end April 23.

Holy bill to create rare-diseases advisory council moving through Senate

A bill that would add Washington to the handful of states with advisory councils on rare diseases is once again moving through the Senate.

Senate Bill 5097, a bipartisan proposal introduced by 6th District Sen. Jeff Holy, would establish an advisory council on rare diseases within the state Department of Health to advise on research, diagnosis, treatment and education related to rare diseases. Under the measure, the advisory council must submit annual reports on the council’s work and other findings and recommendations to the governor and Legislature starting Dec. 1, 2026.

“This bill would benefit those in Washington who suffer from a rare disease, as well as those who might be afflicted with a rare disease in the future,” said Holy, R-Cheney. “Rare diseases take a substantial financial and emotional toll on patients and their families. This bill could help this vulnerable population by creating an advisory council to focus on the concerns of rare-disease patients in our state. Hopefully, that work will provide better support for all patients with rare diseases in Washington, as well as fewer deaths, through early diagnosis and intervention. The bill also would help physicians by giving them access to a database on rare diseases.”

Senate Bill 5097 was unanimously passed last week by the Senate Health and Long Term Care Committee. It now is before the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

A rare disease is defined as any condition that affects fewer than 200,000 people in America. Rare diseases include genetic conditions, infections, cancers and autoimmune diseases. The National Institutes of Health estimates there may be as many as 7,000 rare diseases, and that 25 million to 30 million Americans may be living with a rare disease.

Under the proposal, the rare-diseases advisory council would consist of 12 voting members serving three-year terms, including four clinicians and researchers specializing in rare diseases, four people representing patients, the director of the program for children with special health-care needs, a representative from the state Health Care Authority, and two representatives from the life-sciences industry focusing on developing therapeutic products for rare-disease patients or related research efforts. The bill calls for the secretary of the state Department of Health to serve as an ex-officio nonvoting member and to select the council’s chair.

The bill calls for the council to establish, by 2026, a centralized, publicly accessible repository of information that catalogs rare-disease research underway in Washington. The repository also would provide best-practice standards of care for health-care providers, containing the most effective strategies for recognizing and treating rare diseases, and informational resources for rare-disease patients seeking access to clinical care.

Last year, Holy prime-sponsored a similar proposal, Senate Bill 5886, that was unanimously approved by the Senate before stalling in the House Health Care and Wellness Committee.

Senate panel passes Holy bill to help communities hire more officers

A bipartisan bill sponsored by 6^th District Sen. Jeff Holy that aims to reestablish public safety across Washington by halting an exodus of law-enforcement officers has been passed by the Senate Law and Justice Committee.

Senate Bill 5361 would provide cities and counties with more funding to hire more officers.

“Washington now has fewer law-enforcement officers per capita than any state. This decrease in officers, combined with the sharp increase in crime, is making communities less safe,” said Holy, R-Cheney. “Restoring public safety is one of the main priorities for our Senate Republican Caucus this session. This bill would help cities and counties hire more officers, which can only help reduce crime.”

During the committee’s public hearing on SB 5361 on Tuesday, several officials with local-government agencies or organizations and law-enforcement agencies testified strongly in favor of the proposal, including the Washington State Association of Counties, Association of Washington Cities, Washington State Criminal Justice Training Commission, Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs, Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs, Clark County Sheriff John Horch, Port Angeles Police Chief Brian Smith and Lewis County Commissioner Sean Swope. Representatives with the Downtown Spokane Partnership and Washington Retail Association also testified in support of the measure.

“The positive testimony on this bill by local government and law enforcement clearly shows this would be an effective way to reduce crime and improve public safety in our communities,” said Holy. “Smaller cities and counties often can’t afford to pay their portion for future officers to attend a police academy, and they sometimes can’t afford to replace officers who are leaving the force or retiring. This bill would promote having an adequate number of officers on the streets to keep our communities safer.”

Holy’s proposal has two components. First, it would direct 0.1% of the current state sales tax to local governments to let them hire more law-enforcement personnel. The bill is expected to produce about $250 million a year to help cities and counties hire more officers. The revenues would be used by local governments to hire law-enforcement officers up to at least the national average per capita (2.4 per 1,000). Once that threshold is reached, local governments could use the funds in ways they consider best to reduce crime.

“This bill would not raise taxes but instead would redirect existing revenue toward hiring more law-enforcement officers,” explained Holy.

SB 5361 also would increase the number of training classes at the state’s basic law enforcement academy to a minimum of 25 per year.

“There is a long backlog at the academy, which is causing hired officers to have to wait several months to get the training they need to be on patrol. More training slots mean more hired officers can get to work in communities sooner,” said Holy.

SB 5361, which was approved by the Law and Justice Committee late last week, now goes to the Senate Ways and Means Committee for further consideration.

Eastern Washington senators sponsor bill to end tax chaos for concrete pumpers

Three state senators from eastern Washington – 6th District Sen. Jeff Holy, 4th District Sen. Mike Padden and 7th District Sen. Shelly Short – are leading a legislative effort to fix a problem caused by the state Department of Revenue that affects how concrete pumpers are taxed.

Senate Bill 6317, introduced by Holy and co-sponsored by Short and Padden, would define concrete pumping services for the purposes of the retailing business and occupation and retail sales taxes. The bill received a public hearing Tuesday in the Senate Ways and Means Committee.

Concrete pumping is a construction service needed to safely move concrete to places where a concrete mixer cannot access. Without legislative or stakeholder input, DOR last October changed its guidance on Rule 211, so that contractors could no longer use a reseller permit for stand-alone concrete-pumping services but could still use it for concrete-pumping services sold with other goods or services.

“This rule change would have created an unfair disadvantage for concrete-pumping companies that do not have a primary purpose of selling other goods or services,” said Caleb Thompson with Champion Concrete Pumping, which operates across the Pacific Northwest. “As a concrete-pumping company, we would have been required to charge tax to contractors, who then also charge tax to the final buyer.”

The department’s sudden rule change last fall caused confusion and double taxation, disrupting businesses, said Holy, R-Cheney.

“It was unfair of the Department of Revenue to make a change of this magnitude that affects our concrete pumpers in such a negative way,” he said. “Fortunately, DOR was willing to delay implementing this policy change and let the Legislature address it. We now have a bill to do just that.”

Under SB 6317, “concrete pumping services” is defined as the service of delivering a concrete pump to a job site that includes an individual to control the operation of the pump and the output of concrete. The term does not include the sale of tangible personal property, including concrete. Holy, Padden and Short testified in favor of the bill during its public hearing.

“What the Department of Revenue wanted to do was a huge problem for the concrete pumpers, and that impacted everyone else,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley. “For example, it would have added $50,000 to the cost of the Amazon project in Spokane for the cost of the concrete alone. This bill addresses what would be a serious problem for concrete pumpers and many others.”

“What the Department of Revenue was going to do amounts to double taxation, which is outrageous,” said Short, R-Addy. “It was very clear that DOR did not seek external input, resulting in unfair treatment and burdensome costs on the construction industry. This bill would ensure our concrete pumpers are taxed fairly.”

Padden, Short and Senate Republican Leader Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, along with Reps. Tom Dent, R-Moses Lake, Brian Blake, D-Aberdeen and Mike Chapman, D-Port Angeles, worked with the building industry to voice opposition to both the guidance change and the process used to make the change.

In a letter to DOR Director Vikki Smith, the lawmakers wrote last fall, “With the stroke of a pen, DOR has managed to create chaos, disadvantage hard-working, small businesses who provide needed services in the construction industry and sanction double-taxation. …It is incredibly troublesome that DOR chose to change long-standing policy in such a secretive, non-inclusive manner.”

That same week, Smith responded to the lawmakers, announcing the delay in implementation. She wrote, “We want to be transparent on our reading of the law and delaying the interim guidance’s effective date accomplishes this objective while affording the Legislature time to make changes and for stakeholders to provide additional feedback.”

Lawmakers applauded the move, calling it an example of how government should be responsive to the needs of the community.