The Record Setting Initiatives: Just The Facts...

Educate. Advocate. Mitigate. Activate!

Oct 07, 2024

In 2023, Let’s Go Washington collected over 2.6 million signatures to qualify six initiatives for the Nov 2024 Ballot. The signatures represent broad, diverse support, with 57% of the signatures coming from Democrats and Independents.

This was a record setting historic feat (led by the grassroots) that had never been done before!

This helped Republicans take control of the 2024 Legislative Session, despite being the minority party - "The fact that the six common-sense citizen initiatives to the Legislature qualified with broad support across all demographics had a much bigger effect on the Speaker and the State Majority Leader than anybody expected,” said WAGOP Chair Walsh (author, sponsor, and legislative force behind all six initiatives).

Then, in March 2024, the state legislature passed three of the initiatives, and all became law on June 5th, 2024:

I-2111 No state income tax
I-2113 Restoring reasonable police pursuit
I-2081 Parental notification

YES, because of Let’s Go WA and your hard work, we now have:

SOLIDIFIED WA STATE AS A NO-INCOME TAX STATE!

REASONABLE POLICE PURSUIT!

AFFIRMED THAT PARENTS HAVE THE RIGHT TO KNOW WHAT THEIR CHILDREN ARE BEING TAUGHT IN SCHOOL!

THE INITIATIVES: Good Government Policy and Simple Solutions. These initiatives are not Republican or Democrat things; people were signing up for ALL demographics. The people of Washington, by a large percentage, believe they are taxed way too much, and the state is spending out of control!

However, despite these bi-partisan victories, State Democrats, in the dead of night, on the second to last day of the 2024 legislative session, passed HB 1589, laying the groundwork to BAN NATURAL GAS.

YES, unbelievably, despite constitutional questions and widespread public objections, the Democrats in the WA State House of Representatives approved HB 1589 at 2 a.m. (video). Among other things, the bill will force Puget Sound Energy’s 800,000 natural gas customers to convert their homes to all-electric and to dramatically raise energy rates in the process.

This led to Let’s Go WA to fight back with yet another grassroots ballot initiative, this time to protect energy choice!

Then, in just 45 days, Let’s Go WA, in collaboration with BIAW, collected over 546,000 signatures to qualify I-2066 to stop the ban on natural gas for the Nov Ballot. This is the second-highest signature count in state history!

HERE IS A SUMMARY OF THE FOUR CITIZEN INITIATIVES THAT WILL BE ON THE NOVEMBER BALLOT IN THE 2024 GENERAL ELECTION:

I-2066

STOP THE GAS BAN - Protect Energy Choice

A natural gas ban will increase costs for Washingtonians who can’t afford it
- 64% of PSE customers report that they have trouble paying their bills, as-is. A ban on natural gas would make utility bills rise and would cost individual homes and businesses anywhere from $40,000-$70,000 to retrofit to electric.
- Natural gas customers pay 33% less than those using electric.

Millions of Washingtonians rely on natural gas

Millions of Washington homes and businesses rely on the availability of natural gas to heat their homes, cook their food, or operate their businesses.
- About 1/3 of Washington homes use natural gas as their primary energy source to heat their homes and natural gas represents one of the most reliable sources of energy for most rural Washingtonians.

I-2109

REPEAL THE CAPITAL GAINS TAX - Don't Punish Innovators & Small Businesses

Majority leadership wants to use the capital gains tax as a pathway to an income tax for all Washingtonians!

The last ten times statewide voters have been asked to adopt an income tax, they have resoundingly said “NO!”

Capital gains are taxed as income according to the IRS, the dictionary, and EVERY OTHER STATE with the tax.

The IRS has stated that a capital gains tax “is an income tax” even though the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that it wasn’t.
Some of the state’s highest earners are leaving because of the capital gains income tax.

Democrats Have Admitted They Are Using The Capital Gains Tax To Help “Open The Door” To Future Taxes, Particularly A State Income Tax:
Years before the current tax became law, Senator Jamie Pedersen (D-Seattle) repeatedly said passing a capital gains tax would “make it possible” to enact a progressive income tax.
In an April 2018 email exchange with former state Rep. Dick Nelson email obtained by a PRR, Sen. Pedersen thanked him for his steady advocacy on pushing for tax reform in the state and they both criticized the state’s department of commerce for advertising that one reason Washington is a good state for businesses to set shop in is because they don’t tax income.
In April 2018, Pedersen said he believed adopting a capital gains tax was the “most likely path” to helping change the state’s tax code.
Pedersen also discussed the goal for the new capital gains income tax and said passing a capital gains tax would “make it possible to enact a progressive income tax with a simple majority vote.”
In a Dec 2018 email, Pedersen again reiterated that point, saying, “I personally believe that adopting a capital gains tax is one of the best things we could do to help advance the possibility of an income tax in our state.”
Pedersen admitted the legislature needed to pass the capital gains tax and have its legality upheld because passing an income tax would be “very unlikely to happen” due to the requirement of needing 2/3 majorities in the legislature.
In a May 2021 email about the capital gains tax legislation, Pedersen said he felt “hopeful that this case will open the door to a more significant overhaul of our tax structure, which many consider to be the most regressive in the United States.”
In 2022, while speaking at a 43rd District Democrats general meeting, Pedersen said he hoped the state Supreme Court’s ruling on the capital gains tax would clear the way for the legislature to pass a graduated income tax.

PEDERSEN: “I personally believe that adopting a capital gains tax is one of the best things we could do to help advance the possibility of an income tax in our state.”

PEDERSEN said, “We’ve got to figure out how to have an income tax in our state” by getting the State Supreme Court to say, ‘You are free, legislature, to do an income tax, or a capital gains tax, or wealth tax,’ you know, any of these things, with a simple majority, is what we’ve been working on.”

Less than one year after the capital gains tax was enacted, Democratic legislators already proposed increasing the tax and making it apply to significantly more Washington residents. SB 5335, which was sponsored by Senators Hasegawa, Hunt, Liias, Nguyen, and Stanford, would have increased the captain gains tax from 7% to 8.5% and lowered the threshold from $250,000 to $15,000.

I-2117

STOP THE HIDDEN GAS TAX - The Carbon Tax = Higher Gas Prices

Inslee has repeatedly been dishonest with voters:

In July 2022, Inslee said, “This is going to have a minimal impact if any. Pennies. We are talking about pennies. Potentially, not all of this would be passed off to the consumer and what they would (pass on), would be pennies.” (minute 1:13).
When asked if he will tell Washingtonians they can expect higher gas prices, Inslee said, “That’s not true, they are not going to see much higher gas prices– maybe even lower than they are today. Look, the people causing the extraordinary gas prices are the gas and oil companies, they control the price, not me.”

Education funding:

Climate Commitment Act (CCA) funds are supposed to be spent on education, but the truth is K-12 spending in WA State is among the 3 highest in the U.S., behind only CA and New York. The state pays $18,287 per pupil, while private school costs on average $13,000 per year. Test scores are dropping, and dropout rates are soaring, why isn’t that money being spent more effectively?

Increase of Costs:

In July 2022, The Washington State Department of Ecology publicly estimated gas prices in the state would rise by about 5 cents per gallon when the carbon auctions began.
Between January 2023 and October 2023, gas prices in Washington rose $1.25 per gallon. The price had risen to $4.72, the third highest in the country.
In October 2023, State officials acknowledged that the CCA had caused a 25- to 35-cent increase in the average price of gas per gallon, but did not take responsibility for the full increase.
As of July 2024, Washington State’s gas prices were $4.29, the second highest in the country.

When the opposition talks about jobs being lost by repealing the CCA, they are making projections with NO factual basis. The WA State Department of Ecology cited that 2,670 jobs would be created in 2030, but it would kill jobs in basically every sector except construction. Beyond 2030, the CCA would be a net negative and kill more jobs than it created.

I-2124

OPT OUT OF STATE-RUN LONG-TERM CARE COVERAGE ACT - Give Workers a Choice

In Nov 2019, the voters of Washington voted against the WA Cares payroll tax by a margin of 62.92%.

Legislators who voted against the will of the people expressed their confusion about why people didn’t like WA Cares:

In December 2020, Democratic Senator Karen Keiser repeated her hope that voters would support an amendment to invest WA Care funds in stocks at a later date after the amendment was voted down.
In December 2020, Democratic State Rep. Nicole Macri said, “while the solvency risks (in WA cares) are real, they will occur several decades from now, so there is time to address them.”
In August 2021, State Sen. Christine Rolfes (D-Bainbridge Island), said she is troubled that she hasn’t heard from any constituents who are excited about the programs offered by WA Cares.
In Jan 2022, Democrat State Rep. Macri identified that she had heard from a lot of constituents who have been confused about how WA Cares impacts them (minute 1:26-1:38).
In January 2022, Representative Thai confirmed both that there was confusion about WA Cares and that the policy as passed needed to be improved in terms of coverage.

Funding issues identified by the state-commissioned actuary report:

In October 2020, a long-term actuary study found that “the 2020 baseline (For WA Cares) will require a level payroll premium assessment between 0.53% and 0.69% to cover program expenditures over the 75-year period 2022 through 2096.”
Using an estimate of the “cheapest” coverage for LTC in the private market, this study found that approximately 45% of all wage earners would opt out of WA Cares for private market options.
Under current law limiting the amount the payroll increases and the failure of SJR 8212, there are no existing plans where the plan accumulated sufficient funds to remain solvent.
According to this study, the state will have to increase the payroll tax from its current amount to ensure the program is funded, and even then, all projected increases show the program will suffer solvency concerns.

A person typically needs long-term care services for 2-3 years at a minimum. WA Cares provides only enough coverage for 5-8 months. Paying a tax for the entirety of your career and then only receiving benefits for a few months should be labeled insurance fraud, not long-term care.

On the November Ballot, YOU can help make laws without the need of ANY legislators or the governor. Please cast your vote proudly on each initiative. Be Sure to VOTE YES to PAY LESS!

I-2117 - STOP THE HIDDEN GAS TAX
I-2109 - REPEAL THE CAPITAL GAINS TAX
I-2124 - OPT OUT OF STATE-RUN LONG-TERM CARE COVERAGE ACT
I-2066 - STOP THE NATURAL GAS BAN

PODCAST OF THIS ARTICLE

Bill Bruch

Bill Bruch is the WA State GOP Election Integrity Chairman, WAGOP Executive Board Member, 4-Term Skagit County GOP Chairman, Citizen Journalist, Blogger, Business Owner, “2021 Citizen Activist of the Year” award by the Olympic Conference, 2020 WA State House Representative Candidate, Former Council Member, and WA State 2016 and 2024 RNC National Convention Delegate

Recent source docs / articles / videos:

Let's Go Washington (letsgowashington.com)

Washington Democrats forced to pass three citizen initiatives, outing their pro-crime members

GOP-backed initiatives led to epic WA election fight that largely defined the 60-day session

Inslee threatened members of his own party to pass HB 1589 which will financially devastate WA state's working class and poor

Washington Democrats’ Climate Plan: Tax First, Ask Questions Never

Citizens’ Guide to I-2109 to Repeal Washington’s Capital Gains Income Tax

History of Income Tax Votes in Washington

Calculate the cost of your LTC here

Democrat Senator Endorses WA Cares Opt-out I-2124

John Braun: Say no to lies and economic injustice by voting yes on I-2117

Washington wants natural gas option - Approve I-2066