Judge puts hold on tax-cutting initiative
Temporary injunction stops I-722 only in cities, counties that sued; Spokane status unclear
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Rebecca Cook
Associated Press

OLYMPIA _ A Thurston County judge signed an order Thursday that will temporarily block tax-cutting Initiative 722 -- but only in the nine cities and four counties that sued to stop it.

The cities and counties sought and got a temporary injunction on I-722, which rolls back some 1999 taxes and fees and limits property tax growth.

In Thurston County Superior Court on Thursday, plaintiffs' lawyers argued that implementing I-722 now, before the court determines whether it is constitutional, would cause permanent damage.

Attorney James Johnson, representing the I-722 campaign, said that while the initiative might inconvenience tax collectors, it wouldn't cause irreparable harm.

Thurston County Superior Court Judge Christine Pomeroy said at the end of the three-hour hearing that she believes the plaintiffs have a case, and that I-722 could cause permanent harm if it goes into effect and then is later struck down.

Her ruling applies to the cities of Bainbridge Island, Burien, Carnation, Des Moines, Newcastle, Olympia, Pasco, Richland and Seattle; as well as King, Kitsap, Pierce and Whitman counties.

The city of Spokane filed a separate suit in Spokane County Superior Court last week after coordinating with plaintiffs' attorney Sandra L. Cohen and other attorneys.

The suit was filed locally to ensure the city could stop the Spokane County assessor from implementing I-722, Assistant City Attorney Bob Beaumier said last week. He said he expected Spokane's suit to soon be merged with the others.

It was unclear Thursday how Pomeroy's ruling would affect Spokane's suit.

Pomeroy said that according to state law, she could not make the injunction apply to counties that did not ask for it.

Other cities and counties, unless they join the lawsuit, will have to go ahead and change their tax-collecting systems to comply with I-722 when it takes effect Dec. 7.

"I'm not sure what they're going to do," Cohen said about the other 35 counties in the state. "I think we're going to see a bunch of legal action."

Johnson argued unsuccessfully that the court should put the rights of taxpayers and voters ahead of complaints from the cities and counties.

"Hundreds of thousands of people are going into Christmas thinking they have tax relief," he said. "These people have rights."

I-722 passed last month with 56 percent of the vote. Sponsored by Mukilteo populist Tim Eyman, the initiative requires a refund of taxes and fees imposed since July 2, 1999. It also limits property tax growth to two percent a year or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower.

The plaintiffs' lawyers argued that forcing local governments to return taxes they've already collected -- and in some cases, spent -- would be disastrous. Also, since county assessors start calculating taxes for the next year this month, they would have to make huge, costly changes to their systems at the last minute.

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