Democrats Say No To Special Session Republicans Wanted A Shot At Overriding Lowry’s Tax Cut Veto

Senate Democrats on Tuesday rejected renewed House Republican demands for a special session to override Gov. Mike Lowry’s tax-cut vetoes.

Senate Majority Leader Marcus Gaspard, D-Puyallup, said the issue can wait until the start of the regular session in January.

State House Speaker Clyde Ballard, R-East Wenatchee, on Monday formally requested that Gaspard join in calling a special session to override the gubernatorial vetoes.

Gaspard quickly rejected the formal request as he did an informal, verbal request, delivered Friday after Lowry vetoed cuts in business and occupation and property taxes that amounted to more than half the $501 million in tax cuts approved by lawmakers.

For the Legislature to call itself into session, two-thirds of each house must agree. The Senate, with 25 Democrats to 24 Republicans, is unlikely to produce 33 votes for a special session, especially since many Democrats passed some of the tax cuts hoping Lowry would take the political risk of vetoing them. Legislatively called special sessions are very rare in Washington.

Legislators this year endured a 105-day regular session, a 30-day special session and a two-day second special session before they finally agreed on budget and tax proposals.

“After suffering through the secondlongest session, there’s no way we’re going to come back,” said first-term Sen. Darlene Fairley, D-Lake Forest Park. “First they have to find us” and many lawmakers are traveling or on vacation, she said.

“We’re not going to come back. We’ve put in our time,” she said.

Senate Minority Leader Dan McDonald, R-Bellevue, issued a news release saying he would ask Lt. Gov. Joel Pritchard to poll senators to determine if twothirds want a special session.

Ballard, in his news release, called Lowry’s tax-cut vetoes “an attack on the people of Washington,” that “threatens to harm our state’s economic security. These vetoes represent poor economic policy and demonstrate just how far out of touch the governor is.”

Lowry vetoed a $176.3 million reduction in the business-and-occupation tax on the service industry and a $92 million permanent cut in the property tax.

But he signed into law a $148.5 million sales-tax exemption for manufacturing equipment and expansion costs, saying it would stimulate business. And he approved a modest property-tax cut that will give the owner of a $100,000 home a onetime tax-bill reduction of about $18. That cut is worth $54.4 million. He also approved a slew of smaller tax cuts for specific interests ranging from blood banks to insurance brokers.