OLYMPIA, Wash — Washington state lawmakers will hold public hearings this week on three voter-backed initiatives related to police pursuits, the state income tax and parental rights.
The House and Senate will hold a joint public hearing in committee on an initiative to ban the income tax on Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. Initiatives to change parental rights in education and roll back restrictions on police chases will receive committee hearings on Wednesday at 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., respectively.
The initiatives were sponsored by Let’s Go Washington, a Republican-backed group that collected hundreds of thousands of signatures supporting the measures.
Initiative 2113 would roll back restrictions on police pursuits and allow law enforcement to chase suspects if they believe there is reasonable suspicion a person has violated the law. It would also allow pursuits if a person poses a threat to the safety of others.
Initiative 2111 would ban the state and local jurisdictions from taxing personal income.
Initiative 2081 would give parents the right to examine their child’s textbooks and curriculum; receive their child’s school records, including medical and disciplinary records, within 10 days; and receive notification when medical services are offered or arranged, among other things.
Democratic leaders said they planned to hold hearings on I-2113, I-2111 and I-2081 because the impacts of the three initiatives are "less obvious" and they want to fully understand the potential outcomes of the initiatives.
Under state law, legislators have three options for dealing with initiatives sent to the legislature: send them directly to the ballot, adopt the measures, or pass legislation on the same topic and present that to voters on the ballot as an alternative alongside the original initiative.
Lawmakers have until March 7 to take action on these three initiatives.
Three other Let's Go Washington-backed initiatives that would repeal the Climate Commitment Act, repeal the capital gains tax and allow opt-outs of the WA Cares Fund for long-term care will go directly to voters and be on the November ballot.