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The Parental Rights initiative just passed, but some lawmakers are telling school officials to ignore it
On Monday the state legislature passed Initiative 2081, the Parental Rights initiative, by wide bipartisan margins. It passed by a vote of 82 to 15 in the House and by 49 to zero in the Senate. You can see how your representative voted here.
As a citizen initiative it doesn’t need the governor’s signature and will become law in 90 days. The popular measure will require public schools to inform parents about what is happening to their own children in school.
Passage of Initiative 2081 is a very positive first step for parents and students. It was signed by over 454,000 people. It is an important indicator of the public’s broad dissatisfaction with the public schools.
The purpose of the initiative is to get the state legislature to listen to the public’s widespread frustrations with public education. Some Democratic lawmakers, though, still haven’t gotten the message.
During floor debate Monday, Senator Jamie Pedersen (D-Seattle) said (time stamp 55:10):
Read the entire blogLegislature passes I-2111: Now lawmakers should seal the deal
The Washington state Legislature passed Initiative 2111 into law Monday. The initiative to the Legislature bans the state and its localities from adding an income tax to the pile of taxes Washingtonians already pay, including state and local sales taxes. The initiative would have gone to the November ballot if not passed by lawmakers.
It was a hold-your-nose vote for some, but the policy still passed with wide bipartisan margins (76-21 in the House and 38-11 in the Senate). The vote shows respect for Washington state voters who repeatedly say “no” to an income tax. Our income-tax-free status is one of the things that has helped make Washington state an attractive place to live, work and employ. Adding an income tax in a state with a high sales tax, property taxes, a growing list of payroll taxes and a plethora of other taxes and fees would harm workers and taxpayers.
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Lawmakers pass three out of six citizen initiatives
Late yesterday both legislative houses in Washington state passed three of the six citizens' initiatives that had been submitted to them in December. Citizen initiatives do not require the governor’s signature, and so the three that passed will become law 90 days after March 7th, which is the last day of the legislative session (known as "sine die").
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