Heywood asks WA Supreme Court to allow referendum effort on income tax

Opponents of Washington’s new income tax asked the state Supreme Court on Friday to allow them to pursue a referendum in hopes of giving voters a shot at repealing the controversial new law this November.

Brian Heywood, founder of the conservative political committee Let’s Go Washington, filed an emergency petition that asks justices to direct Secretary of State Steve Hobbs to process the referendum paperwork submitted Monday.

If successful, Heywood’s group must submit signatures of 154,455 voters by June 10 to qualify for the fall ballot.

“Time is already running out. Not granting accelerated review of this matter would unfairly render the entire process moot by significantly limiting the time available” to collect signatures, Heywood argues in court documents.

Heywood filed a referendum on Senate Bill 6346 shortly after Gov. Bob Ferguson signed the legislation known as the “millionaires’ tax.” It imposes a 9.9% levy on household wage income above $1 million starting in 2028.

But, as expected, the secretary of state’s office on Tuesday declined to process it, citing the Legislature’s inclusion of language that the new tax “is necessary for the support of the state government and its existing public institutions.” Democratic lawmakers put this so-called “necessity clause” into the law to prevent a referendum.

“Because the Legislature has declared that the act is exempt from referendum, we are unable to accept your proposed measure for filing and will not process it further,” wrote Stuart Holmes, state director of elections, in a one-page rejection letter.

In his petition, Heywood asserts the secretary of state misstated the constitutional mandate prohibiting a referendum when a law is “deemed necessary.”

Heywood argues that the precise language concerns laws that “may be necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health or safety, support of the state government and its existing public institutions.”

“Our response to the referendum filed by Let’s Go Washington was based on decades of the Washington State Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Washington State Constitution,” the secretary of state’s office said in a statement Friday.

If unsuccessful, Heywood has said an initiative to repeal the law will be pursued either this year or next.

Opponents of the tax would need to turn in 308,911 signatures by July 2 to get an initiative on the ballot this year, or by Dec. 31 if they opt for an initiative to the Legislature.

Meanwhile, the Citizen Action Defense Fund plans to sue over the tax, arguing it is unconstitutional. Rob McKenna, a former state attorney general and 2012 Republican candidate for Washington governor, will lead the litigation. It had not been filed as of Friday.

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