WA Legislature will not proceed with property tax increase
Homeowners don't have to worry about property tax rates increasing as much as they might have if Senate Bill 5770 would have passed into law. The bill would have adjusted the annual cap on property tax collections, but it has died in the Senate.
COURTESY PHOTO/RDNE STOCK PROJECT VIA PEXELS
OLYMPIA — A bill — Senate Bill 5770 — to increase the annual cap on property tax collections dies in the Senate after receiving a hard pushback from Senate Republicans. The prime sponsor of the bill, Sen. Jamie Pedersen, D-Puyallup, announced that it would not move forward to the Senate floor.
“This is good news for hard-working families in our state. At a time when communities in Washington are suffering from an affordability crisis, allowing local jurisdictions to unilaterally triple the growth of property taxes is plain wrong. People cannot afford it,” said Sen. Judy Warnick, R-Moses Lake.
SB 5770 would have adjusted the annual cap on property tax collections. The bill would have replaced the existing 1% cap with a new cap set at either 3% or the level of inflation to provide more flexibility for local property tax adjustments.
Pedersen said the bill was crucial for King County’s local funding needs. He said the current property tax revenue limit did not adequately address rising costs faced by local governments. As a result, the cap creates a structural budget deficit, impacting public services such as public safety, behavioral health, and transportation.
“The effect of the 1% cap over the last 20-plus years has been a dramatic restriction in the ability of the county government to carry out those responsibilities,” said Pedersen.
He also said the current cap negatively impacts public safety and other services provided by local municipalities.
The Senate Republicans held a press conference regarding the bill Thursday morning. Sen. John Braun, the Washington Republican leader, said this bill would be the “largest property tax increase in our state’s history if it is fully implemented.”
The minority party leader had major concerns regarding the impact the bill would have as well. Republicans argued the bill would be detrimental to homeowners and push people out of their homes.
“The truth is, they don’t need more money, they have a spending problem,” Braun said.
After listening to the concerns of residents throughout the state, Pedersen will not be moving forward with the property tax bill. He said he understands the challenges posed by the current situation, and said he was especially concerned that the current situation jeopardizes local services. He said he will continue to collaborate with county partners throughout the state to grant local governments the flexibility they need to make economic decisions.
“We recognize that we must do a better job of explaining both how the current 1% cap hamstrings local governments’ efforts to fund public safety and other essential services we all rely on and how small a portion property taxes this policy would affect, ”said Pedersen.
While acknowledging the potential financial pressures faced by local governments, Warnick cautions against exceeding the voter-approved 1% cap.
“As elected officials, we must be judicious with the public’s money and make tough spending decisions. Taxpayers aren’t an endless source of revenue. Local governments may feel like they need additional resources beyond the voter-approved 1% cap, but this is the wrong approach,” said Warnick.