The Initiatives: Just The Facts

I-2066

STOP THE GAS BAN

Protect Energy Choice

A natural gas ban will increase costs for Washingtonians who can’t afford it
- 64% of PSE customers report that they have trouble paying their bills, as-is. A ban on natural gas would make utility bills rise and would cost individual homes and businesses anywhere from $40,000-$70,000 to retrofit to electric.
- Natural gas customers pay 33% less than those using electric.

Millions of Washingtonians rely on natural gas

- Millions of Washington homes and businesses rely on the availability of natural gas to heat their homes, cook their food, or operate their businesses.
- About 1/3 of Washington homes use natural gas as their primary energy source to heat their homes and natural gas represents one of the most reliable sources of energy for most rural Washingtonians.
- I-2066 represents the second-highest signature gathering campaign in the state gathering over 533,005 signatures in under two months.

I-2109

REPEAL THE CAPITAL GAINS TAX

Don't Punish Innovators & Small Businesses

Majority leadership wants to use the capital gains tax as a pathway to an income tax for all Washingtonians

Democrats Have Admitted They Are Using The Capital Gains Tax To Help “Open The Door” To Future Taxes, Particularly A State Income Tax:
Years before the current tax became law, Senator Jamie Pedersen (D-Seattle) repeatedly said passing a capital gains tax would “make it possible” to enact a progressive income tax.
In an April 2018 email exchange with former state Rep. Dick Nelson email obtained by a public records request, Sen. Pedersen thanked him for his steady advocacy on pushing for tax reform in the state and they both criticized the state’s department of commerce for advertising that one reason Washington is a good state for businesses to set shop in is because they don’t tax income. Pedersen wrote, “I do not disagree about the messaging from the department of commerce, but given Governor Inslee’s position on an income tax, it is not surprising.” (Sen. Jamie Pedersen Email, 4/29/18; Washington Policy Center, 3/26/20)
In April 2018, Pedersen said he believed adopting a capital gains tax was the “most likely path” to helping change the state’s tax code.
Pedersen also discussed the goal for the new capital gains income tax and said passing a capital gains tax would “make it possible” “to enact a progressive income tax with a simple majority vote.”
In a December 2018 email, Pedersen again reiterated that point, saying, “I personally believe that adopting a capital gains tax is one of the best things we could do to help advance the possibility of an income tax in our state.”
Pedersen admitted the legislature needed to pass the capital gains tax and have its legality upheld because passing an income tax would be “very unlikely to happen” due to the requirement of needing 2/3 majorities in the legislature.
In a May 2021 email about the capital gains tax legislation, Pedersen said he felt “hopeful that this case will open the door to a more significant overhaul of our tax structure, which many consider to be the most regressive in the United States.” • In 2022, while speaking at a 43rd District Democrats general meeting, Sen. Jamie Pedersen said he hoped the state Supreme Court’s ruling on the capital gains tax would clear the way for the legislature to pass a graduated income tax.

PEDERSEN: “I personally believe that adopting a capital gains tax is one of the best things we could do to help advance the possibility of an income tax in our state.”

PEDERSEN: “The next step was to do the capital gains tax, which is important – I mean, it’s not an insignificant amount of money – but the importance, in my opinion, is less about the dollars that it’s raising and more about the fact that the opponents are attacking it as an income tax, and that gives us a clean shot to go back to the supreme court and go back to the root of this entire problem.”

Pedersen said, “We’ve got to figure out how to have an income tax in our state” by getting the State Supreme Court to say, ‘You are free, legislature, to do an income tax, or a capital gains tax, or wealth tax,’ you know, any of these things, with a simple majority, is what we’ve been working on.”

Less than one year after the capital gains tax was enacted, Democratic legislators already proposed increasing the tax and making it apply to significantly more Washington residents. SB 5335, which was sponsored by Senators Hasegawa, Hunt, Liias, Nguyen, and Stanford, would have increased the captain gains tax from 7% to 8.5% and lowered the threshold from $250,000 to $15,000.

Capital gains are taxed as income according to the IRS, the dictionary, and every other state with the tax

The IRS has stated that a capital gains tax “is an income tax” even though the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that it wasn’t.
Some of the state’s highest earners are leaving because of the capital gains income tax
- “More than 13,300 households with an income over $200,000 left the state in 2021 and 2022”

I-2117

STOP THE HIDDEN GAS TAX

The Carbon Tax = Higher Gas Prices

Inslee has repeatedly been dishonest with voters:

In July 2022, Inslee said, “This is going to have a minimal impact if any. Pennies. We are talking about pennies. Potentially, not all of this would be passed off to the consumer and what they would (pass on), would be pennies (minute 1:13).
When asked if he will tell Washingtonians they can expect higher gas prices, Inslee said, “That’s not true, they are not going to see much higher gas prices– maybe even lower than they are today. Look, the people causing the extraordinary gas prices are the gas and oil companies, they control the price, not me.”
In March 2024, Inslee said that repealing the CCA (and the capital gains tax) “would gut, would kneecap, and would blow a hole in all of these benefits that Washingtonians are now enjoying. And I do not believe that Washingtonians want to gut our funding for schools. I don’t think they want to gut our funding for transportation.

Increase of Costs:

In July 2022, The Washington State Department of Ecology publicly estimated gas prices in the state would rise by about 5 cents per gallon when the carbon auctions began.
Between January 2023 and October 2023, gas prices in Washington rose $1.25 per gallon. The price had risen to $4.72, the third highest in the country.
In October 2023, State officials acknowledged that the CCA had caused a 25- to 35-cent increase in the average price of gas per gallon, but did not take responsibility for the full increase.
As of July 2024, Washington State’s gas prices were $4.29, the second highest in the country.

When the opposition talks about jobs being lost by repealing the CCA, they are making projections with no factual basis. The Washington State Department of Ecology cited that 2,670 jobs would be created in 2030, but it would kill jobs in basically every sector except construction. Beyond 2030, the CCA would be a net negative and kill more jobs than it created. See tables below:

Governor Inslee and his administration have been bribing a small group of voters with $200 energy rebate checks and telling voters “the funds come directly from the CCA.” His administration has also confirmed that if I-2117 passes in November, there will not be any more rebate checks for residents, essentially bribing voters to vote against I-2117. His administration has even communicated directly with utility providers that they must provide the rebate checks before “residents vote on the initiatives.”

I-2124

OPT OUT OF STATE-RUN LONG TERM CARE COVERAGE ACT

Give Workers a Choice

In November 2019, the voters of Washington voted their opposition to the WA Cares payroll tax by a margin of 62.92%.

Legislators who voted against the will of the people expressed their confusion about why people didn’t like WA Cares:

In December 2020, Democratic Senator Karen Keiser repeated her hope that voters would support an amendment to invest WA Care funds in stocks at a later date after the amendment was voted down.
In December 2020, Democratic State Rep. Nicole Macri said, “while the solvency risks (in WA cares) are real, they will occur several decades from now, so there is time to address them.”
In August 2021, State Sen. Christine Rolfes (D-Bainbridge Island), said she is troubled that she hasn’t heard from any constituents who are excited about the programs offered by WA Cares.
In January 2022, Representative Macri identified that she had heard from a lot of constituents who have been confused about how WA Cares impacts them (minute 1:26-1:38).
In January 2022, Representative Thai confirmed both that there was confusion about WA Cares and that the policy as passed needed to be improved in terms of coverage.

Funding issues identified by the state commissioned actuary report:

In October 2020, a long-term actuary study found that “the 2020 baseline (For WA Cares) will require a level payroll premium assessment between 0.53% and 0.69% to cover program expenditures over the 75-year period 2022 through 2096.”
Using an estimate of the “cheapest” coverage for LTC in the private market, this study found that approximately 45% of all wage earners would opt out of WA Cares for private market options.
Under current law limiting the amount the payroll increases and the failure of SJR 8212, there are no existing plans where the plan accumulated sufficient funds to remain solvent.
According to this Study, the state will have to increase the payroll tax from its current amount to ensure the program is funded, and even then, all projected increases show the program will suffer solvency concerns.

A person typically needs long term care services for 2-3 years at a minimum. WA Cares provides only enough coverage for 5-8 months. Paying a tax for the entirety of your career and then only receiving benefits for a few months should be labeled insurance fraud, not long term care. Calculate the cost of your LTC here.

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