Counties still going after property tax reform in special session
Although the legislature is already well into its first special session, lobbyists for counties around the state are still pushing for a property tax cap increase that they argue would allow counties to maintain public safety services.
House Bill 1764 (and its Senate companion, SB 5772) seek to lift a cap — approved by voters in 2001 — that limits county-collected property tax increases to one percent per year. The proposal would instead change the cap to a “floating” number driven by inflation and population growth, and approved by local governments.
Counties have been hindered for a decade since Initiative 747 — the Tim Eyman-driven one-percent cap — went into effect, said Josh Weiss, a lobbyist for the Washington State Association of Counties.
Weiss said that county governments have had revenue growth of about two to four percent since the recession, as opposed to the eight to 12 percent growth the state has seen.
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