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.
Reminder that Heywood moved here to escape what he would describe as a leftist hell hole (California). When he realized WA state was even more progressive, he formed a PAC to abuse the ballot initiative process in our state and mislead voters about tax reform and pricing of utilities. He's a shitty person, and he should move to Idaho where he'd get the keys to the government.