Jolt
Afternoon Jolt: Stadium Taxes Go Down
The stadium taxes bill, which passed out of committee yesterday
, failed this afternoon in the state senate.
The bill would have shifted the Kingdome, Safeco, and Qwest Field taxes (a batch of car rental taxes, restaurant food taxes, and hotel/motel taxes) to fund workforce housing, the arts, and an expansion of the Seattle Convention Center.
Sen. Rodney Tom (D-48, Bellevue) passed an amendment that was supposed to secure final passage of the controversial bill. His amendment said King County voters would have to approve extending the taxes—a .2 percent car rental tax and a .5 percent food tax. That amendment was intended to provide political cover. The taxes at issue—though not paying for the stadiums anymore—are tied to the poisonous history of the stadium taxes passed in the 1990s against the wishes of the public. (It should be noted that the extension would have only gone until 2015, at which point the taxes would have sunset again.)
Another two taxes in the bill, a hotel/motel tax and a separate car tax, weren't being reauthorized (they were still in play), but were being reallocated—after paying off Qwest by 2020 and the Kingdome by 2015—to arts, housing, and the convention center.
However, the final 24-22 vote wasn't enough; final passage requires a constitutional majority, or a majority of the whole senate (not just those present). So the bill needed 25 of the 49 members. (Three Republicans were "excused.")
King County Executive Dow Constantine lobbied hard for the taxes, arguing that convention center expansion would provide immediate construction jobs and eventually boost tourism and jobs with a revitalized center.
The bill would have shifted the Kingdome, Safeco, and Qwest Field taxes (a batch of car rental taxes, restaurant food taxes, and hotel/motel taxes) to fund workforce housing, the arts, and an expansion of the Seattle Convention Center.
Sen. Rodney Tom (D-48, Bellevue) passed an amendment that was supposed to secure final passage of the controversial bill. His amendment said King County voters would have to approve extending the taxes—a .2 percent car rental tax and a .5 percent food tax. That amendment was intended to provide political cover. The taxes at issue—though not paying for the stadiums anymore—are tied to the poisonous history of the stadium taxes passed in the 1990s against the wishes of the public. (It should be noted that the extension would have only gone until 2015, at which point the taxes would have sunset again.)
Another two taxes in the bill, a hotel/motel tax and a separate car tax, weren't being reauthorized (they were still in play), but were being reallocated—after paying off Qwest by 2020 and the Kingdome by 2015—to arts, housing, and the convention center.
However, the final 24-22 vote wasn't enough; final passage requires a constitutional majority, or a majority of the whole senate (not just those present). So the bill needed 25 of the 49 members. (Three Republicans were "excused.")
King County Executive Dow Constantine lobbied hard for the taxes, arguing that convention center expansion would provide immediate construction jobs and eventually boost tourism and jobs with a revitalized center.
