WA Supreme Court brings majority rule back to legislature

2013 Washington Supreme Court justices — The 2013 Washington Supreme Court: Justices Owens wrote for the majority with justices Chambers, Fairhurst, Madsen, Wiggins, and Gonzalez concurring. Justice C. Johnson wrote a dissent signed on by Justices Stephens and J.Johnson, while Justice J.Johnson wrote a separate dissent.

In a 6-3 decision this morning, the Washington State Supreme Court struck down the rule requiring a supermajority (two-thirds) vote of the legislature to pass taxes or close tax loopholes.

The court found the measure, long backed by initiative promoter Tim Eyman, violates the state constitution’s “plain language” that “prohibits either the people or the legislature from passing legislation requiring more than a simple majority for the passage of tax legislation.”

Right now, Publicola has the clearest summary(opens in new tab) of the ruling, and a link to the actual decision. Also: don’t miss Sightline’s great work(opens in new tab) uncovering the connections between Tim Eyman, Big Oil, and the (now unconstitutional) 2/3rds rule.

Stay tuned for further updates – when I see a good analysis of the ruling and/or its implications, I’ll get it posted pronto.