The state Senate’s Democrat minority today blocked a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban a tax on individual incomes.

All 25 members of the Senate majority supported the measure, joined by two members of the Senate’s Democrat minority.  However, Senate Joint Resolution 8204 required a two-thirds majority to pass, or 33 votes of the 49-member Senate, meaning it fell short due to a lack of Democrat support.

Had the measure been approved, the state House of Representatives would also need to approve the measure by a two-thirds vote for it to go to voters in November. Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake, issued the following statement after the vote.

“I am fighting to protect the will of the voters. Since the 1930s, Washingtonians have said repeatedly that the state should not have an income tax, and this resolution would have enshrined that in our state’s constitution. I believe it is a necessary measure to prevent special-interest groups from finding ways, as they have tried in Olympia and are now proposing in Seattle, from taking more taxpayer funds for pet projects.

“State spending has nearly doubled since the start of this century, yet the state’s population has only increased by 20 percent. That means that we are spending more and getting less. The push for more revenue is unwarranted and detrimental to our state’s economy as a whole and for families who would be hit hard by a tax on their income.

“The more money the taxpayers have in their pockets, the better. State government doesn’t need another revenue source that would allow endless spending, and reverse progress the Senate majority has made in prioritizing education and jobs – the real priorities of state government.”