New Study Analyzes Property Fairness Initiative 933

Seattle - Washington Policy Center, the state’s premier public policy, independent research organization, released a new study analyzing Initiative 933, which will appear on the ballot this November. The statewide initiative builds on Oregon’s Measure 37 passed by voters two years ago. “A Citizens Guide to Initiative 933: Property Fairness Initiative” takes a section-by-section look at the wording of I-933 and examines some of the most common critiques of the initiative.

“Pass or fail, Initiative 933 will have an impact on land owners and communities across Washington,” said WPC's Center for Environmental Policy Director Todd Myers. “This analysis attempts to cut through the hyperbole of the political campaign to see how the initiative will actually impact the people of Washington.”

Among the findings include:

• The impact of Initiative 933 is likely to be less than anticipated due to the number of exemptions and language that exempts restrictions that are applied evenly within a jurisdiction. Claims are further limited to impacts occurring in the last ten years.
• Cost estimates from the Office of Financial Management and a group at the University of Washington are likely to be inaccurate. Our study demonstrates that these estimates are based on faulty assumptions and are off by more than 10,000 percent in some cases.
• Like Oregon’s Measure 37, those likely to benefit most are not corporations, but small landowners who have borne the largest burden of recent land-use regulations.

WPC's Center for Environmental Policy also published an analysis on Oregon’s Measure 37 last year. Both studies along with two page Policy Notes summaries are available online at www.nwenvironmentalpolicy.org.