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Washington State Ignores Ballot Initiative Lowering Registration Fees


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2019 Dec 30, 2:47pm   517 views  0 comments

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The Washington State Department of Licensing is collecting the inflated car registration ("car tab") fees that the voters had just rejected in November. Initiative 976 passed with 53 percent of the vote, limiting state and local licensing fees to $30. Officials upset at the prospect of losing the ability to pay for transit with motorist funds turned to a local judge who was more than willing to issue a preliminary injunction blocking the measure from taking effect.

Earlier this month, a divided state Supreme Court upheld the King County Superior Court judge's decision. Justices Susan Owens, Debra L. Stephens and Sheryl Gordon McCloud disagreed with the majority and insisted the public's will should not be ignored.

"Delaying the effective date of a law enacted by initiative is an extraordinary measure and it is debatable whether the challengers have shown a likelihood of success on their constitutional challenges to the initiative," the dissenting justices wrote. "While the challengers point to significant losses in revenue and service that could result from a stay and the state highlights the cost of any necessary taxpayer refunds, these monetary injuries are not the only ones that matter. Also important is the potential harm to voters' confidence in the initiative system and our democratic process as a whole."

http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/68/6861.asp
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