OLYMPIA – A new law by Rep. Christopher Hurst (D-Greenwater) restores a citizen initiative to limit property tax hikes.

"We're here today to help working families, middle-class people from Sumner to Spokane who see owning their own home as a key part of the American Dream -- and losing their home is a nightmare they don't want to consider," Rep. Hurst said on the floor of the House. "This bill helps protect that dream."

House Bill 2416 law passed the House 86-8 and the Senate 39-9 during a special session of the Legislature, called by Gov. Chris Gregoire after the Supreme Court ruled that Initiative 747 was unconstitutional.

Rep. Hurst wrote a similar bill and introduced it earlier this year, during the regular session, anticipating that the Supreme Court might throw out I-747.

Working with Democrats and Republicans, he rewrote the law to keep the ideas the citizens voted for while staying within the constitution.

More than 60 lawmakers signed on as co-sponsors of the bill. It only takes a majority -- 50 -- to pass legislation in the House.

Thank you Mr. Speaker and members of the House.

I want to thank Governor Gregoire for having the wisdom

to do this in a deliberate way, and the state Supreme Court justices

for doing their duty. The nine men and women in the Temple of Justice

can't pick what's popular. It's their job to interpret the constitution.

If you look at countries without independent courts, you can see why

it's so important to have three equal branches of government.

Our courts guard against tyranny.

I believe Governor Gregoire was right on Monday

when she talked about why we're here today.

We're here to help senior citizens and retired veterans on fixed incomes,

people having trouble paying rising property taxes on a house they never planned on selling.

We're here today to help working families, middle-class people from Sumner to Spokane who see owning their own home as a key part of the American Dream -- and losing their home is a nightmare they don't want to consider.

This bill helps protect that dream.

It makes things exactly the way they were before the Supreme Court ruled that Initiative 747 was unconstitutional.

There are some who want to do more than the initiative passed by our state's good voters, some who may think about voting no because it doesn't go far enough.

I can't go along with changing what the voters did. Here's why:

First -- In my opinion, it'd be disrespectful to the voters.

Second -- It would punish local governments who played by the rules

all these years that I-747 was in effect.

Third -- It would guarantee higher taxes, because local governments would know they couldn't save anything for a rainy day, for when they needed it. They'd have to use it or lose it.

To me, this is an easy choice. I'm voting yes to give citizens their original initiative back -- in a form that's constitutional.

I'm voting yes to help seniors worried about their homes,

yes for working families in every corner of this state

who believe owning their home is the foundation of their American Dream.

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