The Legislature is poised to vote on one of the worst bills of the year. If approved, Senate Bill 5770 would allow annual growth rate of your local property taxes to triple. Local governments would be able to increase your property taxes by up to 3% WITHOUT VOTER APPROVAL costing hardworking taxpayers $6 billion over 12 years and would compound from there.

In 2001, voters approved a 1% cap on property tax growth with Initiative 737. The state Supreme Court overturned that law but then Gov. Gregoire called the Legislature back into a special session where 85% of the House and Senate voted to reinstate the 1% limit.

Not only will this increase your property taxes if you are a homeowner, but it will also increase your rent as owners pass the tax on to tenants. Incredibly, the bill would also increase housing costs at senior living centers. Our state is in the throws of an affordable housing crisis and people simply cannot afford more taxes, especially while their paying higher prices on gas and home heating fuel thanks to other policies supported by the legislative majority.

During public hearings on the proposal, more than 9,300 people signed in to testify on SB 5770 and more than 92% OPPOSED increasing their property taxes.

There are plans to run the bill on the Senate floor soon. Senate Republicans held a news conference this morning to outline our opposition. You can watch the news conference on TVW by clicking here.

You can also watch it on our Facebook and X accounts @WashingtonSRC.

In my last newsletter, I included information about the proposed property tax hike. You can watch a short video that explains this proposal by clicking here or on the image below.

Turning up the dial on property taxes