Caffeinated News & Gossip. Your daily Morning Fizz.



1. A quick note on evidently unconvincing  GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, who stumbled yet again last night, bombing in three conservative primary contests (he came in a distant third in Minnesota): The reason he can't connect with conservative voters is because he can't get their soundbites right.

Here he is yesterday denouncing the federal court ruling in California on gay marriage.

“Today, unelected judges cast aside the will of the people of California who voted to protect traditional marriage."

Okay, he got the first part right. But then listen:

“This decision does not end this fight.  I expect it to go to the Supreme Court.  That prospect underscores the vital importance of this election and the movement to preserve our values.”

Hmmm. Judges bad. Judges good.

2. Yesterday, Fizz was trying to get a bead on state Sen. Ed Murray's (D-43) tax proposal . We wanted to know how much money his mix of new taxes and ending some tax loopholes would generate for the state budget, which is currently facing about a $1.5 billion shortfall. Answer: About $225 million.

To help stave of planned cuts to K-12, Murray's plan would: reduce the sales tax break for cars purchased from auto dealers for $94.3 million; eliminate the first mortgage B&O exemption for big banks for $18 million; and increase some preferential B&O rates for $71 million. Grand total: $183.6 million this year (and more than $200 million in subsequent years.) Additionally, to fund rural hospitals, Harborview's trauma center, and public and mental health services, Murray's plan would increase cigarette taxes by $1.00 and extend expiring beer taxes for a total of $42 million this year (and $100 million a year in following years).

Murray's plan would also ask voters to approve about $500 million through a half-cent sales tax that eventually phases down to about $220 million (and to zero by 2016) and transitions into a capital gains tax for about $560 million to $680 million.



The capital gains proposal would be earmarked to K-12 education.

With an eye on the GOP call to fund education and critical services first, an internal Murray memo on his plan states:

Taking this step will require Republican support, but we are hopeful that we can find agreement. These programs are vital to the lives of Washingtonians in every corner of the state. This is a common sense approach that we can move forward. ...

Given the makeup of the Senate, the only way this education-funding proposal will pass is with votes from both Democrats and Republicans. Finding agreement will be difficult, but it is not impossible. Some of our Republican colleagues have expressed interest in solving some of the state’s budget crisis by reducing or eliminating some tax exemptions. We remain committed to working with them.

Fizz wasn't able to get the GOP on the record, but we will say this: The Republicans are skeptical of Murray's plan to dedicate the revenue to specific budget line items such as health care and education. Taxes don't work that way without a constitutional amendment. Otherwise, the dollars go to the general fund, and Republicans simply view that exactly the way Murray's Republican budget counterpart Sen. Joe Zarelli (R-18) does: as "a bunch of taxes," as Zarelli told the AP[pullquote]Inslee's proposal relies on a series of tax breaks which he said he would fund by getting rid of tax breaks.[/pullquote]

3. Democratic gubernatorial candidate US Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA, 1) passed PubliCola's pop quiz at his big jobs speech on Monday.

Inslee has been criticized (by Democrats) as a weak candidate for not being up on state issues. Evidently, he's taken the criticism to heart and done his homework. After, Inlsee gave a flowery speech about "innovation" and "destiny," we asked him if he supported the jobs bill currently in play in Olympia.

Not only did Inslee say he agreed with the direction of the bill (it would fund about $1 billion in bonds by redirecting existing revenue streams in the capital budget to a list of specific construction projects), but he was dialed in to the specifics of the bill, noting that it didn't tap the general fund and that the projects generated long-term jobs, not just quick fixes—key elements of the proposal.

4. However, major criticism of Inslee's plan: His proposal relies on a series of tax breaks (such as a B&O tax credit for small businesses for hiring workers or B&O tax relief for new biotechnology, biomedicine, clean energy technology and information technology companies) which he said he would fund by .... getting rid of  tax breaks for other companies.

5. The "civil marriage equality" bill (which passed the senate last Wednesday ) is coming up for a house debate and vote today at 1 pm. It is expected to pass the house, where the Democrats have a 56-42 majority, without much problem.

In anticipation of the vote, this morning, the Secretary of State's office sent out this primer on the pending gay marriage referendum:

FYI: Backers of Washington's gay-marriage legislation, Senate Bill 6239, expect the House to pass it and send it to Gov. Chris Gregoire on Wednesday -- and challengers already are making plans for a ballot challenge.

How would that work? What's the timeline? What does the filing of a referendum mean to people who were thinking about a summertime wedding?

Here is a look at how a referendum would work:

Q. When would the legislation ordinarily take effect?

A. 90 days after adjournment of the regular session, or June 7 this year.

Q. When can a referendum be filed?

A. After Gov. Chris Gregoire has taken action on the bill. She has five working days to act, once the bill is actually delivered to her desk. She has said she will sign the bill, although it is possible she could veto sections or amendments that were attached. The referendum measure must include the text of the bill as passed by the Legislature and acted upon by the governor.

Q. How long does it take for a referendum to be processed and ready for signature-gathering?

A. Roughly three weeks. The measure is sent to the Attorney General’s Office for preparation of a ballot title, concise description and ballot summary. The AG has five working days to complete this. Within five working days, anyone dissatisfied with the ballot title or summary may petition the Thurston County Superior Court for changes. The court is required to “expeditiously review” the request(s) and render a decision within five days. The decision of the court is final. After that, sponsors can print petitions and begin collecting signatures.

Q. What is the deadline for turning in signatures?

A. June 6.

Q. How many signatures are required?

A. The bare minimum is 120,577, or 4 percent of all votes cast in the 2008 election for governor. The state Elections Division suggests turning in 150,000 or more, to cover invalid and duplicate signatures. The average error rate is 18 percent.

Q. How long does the signature check take?

A. If sponsors submit a large enough pad, a random sample can be checked in about two weeks; a full every-signature check can take a month. Crews will be checking to make sure the signer is a properly registered Washington voter, that the signature matches the one of file, and that the person didn’t sign more than once. Both sides are welcome to have a small number of observers whenever the signature-verification is underway.

Q. What happens to the gay-marriage law in the meantime?

A. The filing of the signatures suspends the effective date. If the signature-verification process shows an insufficient number of signatures, then the law goes into effect right away. If the referendum is qualified for the ballot, then the law remains on hold until the voters make their decision in November and the General Election results are certified on Dec. 6.

Q. Is there a “window” in which same-sex couples can marry, between the bill being approved by the Legislature and Governor and a vote in November?

A. No.

Q. What is the question posed to voters by the referendum?

A. The referendum places the text of the bill before them. An affirmative vote is to uphold the law as it passed the Legislature and was signed by the governor. A vote to reject wipes out the measure and it does not take effect. As with 2009 vote on Referendum 71, the “everything but marriage” law, the sponsors who mount the effort to get the measure on the ballot will be asking for a “reject” vote on their own referendum. Bottom line: a vote to “approve” upholds the new law, a vote to “reject” abolishes the bill.

Q. Does the referendum require a simple majority or a supermajority?

A. A referendum takes a simple majority to pass.