Majority party Democrats said Friday afternoon that Senate Bill 5770 will not be moving forward
Carleen Johnson
The Center Square Washington
Legislation that would have given cities and counties across Washington state the ability to raise property taxes at a rate of 3%, instead of the current 1% limit, has died.
Majority party Democrats said Friday afternoon that Senate Bill 5770 will not be moving forward.
Feedback from constituents was heard during a Thursday press conference held by Republicans that included members of the business community expressing opposition to the bill.
“This is a win for the people of Washington,” Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, said in a news release. “Senate Bill 5770 could have resulted in the largest property tax increase in our state’s history – without a vote of the people.”
The Republican leader in the Senate went on to say, “This bill is overwhelmingly unpopular. People can’t afford a 3% annual increase in their property taxes. And renters can’t afford another tax that could push them out on the street. I’d like to think Democrats are starting to listen to people’s very real concerns.”
This is a developing story.
This report was first published by The Center Square Washington.
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In 2001, Initiative 747 to limit property tax growth to 1% was wisely passed by a strong majority of WA residents. At the time local governments could and often did raise taxes by as much as 6% per year. As it is property values have skyrocketed, so property taxes paid, and collected have increased significantly since 2001.
I’m happy that the Bill 5770 to raise cap on local property taxes to 3% from 1% died in state legislature. This is one of the smartest things our legislators have done for us. With all this new home building, the state is getting plenty of new revenue without taxing the rest of us! Reading this has made my day!!!
Me too! Still have some money for milk and eggs!