Lawsuit seeks to keep child-care tax repeal off Whatcom County's November ballot Read more at: https://www.theolympian.

Supporters of a tax that Whatcom County voters approved nearly two years ago are suing to keep a repeal measure off the Nov. 5 general election ballot. Protect Whatcom Kids, a political action committee that includes key Whatcom County figures in politics and social services, is alleging that the measure proposed by a Lynden business owner and others made procedural errors and false statements during the signature-gathering process.

They are seeking a quick hearing on their request for an injunction and the matter has been scheduled for Aug. 30 in Whatcom County Superior Court, according to court documents filed Aug. 16. “This court need not even address the proposed initiative’s fatal substantive defects because the initiative must be stricken for its procedural inadequacy,” Protect Whatcom Kids said in court documents. “The sponsor’s petition failed to state the measure’s ballot title in the official text or ‘prayer,’ as the Whatcom County Charter and Whatcom County Code expressly require. This failure is the beginning and end of the case.”

Further, the plaintiffs allege that the initiative goes beyond the scope of an initiative because it would interfere with the county’s budget authority. Whatcom County officials have crafted plans and signed contracts to spend funds raised by the Healthy Children’s Fund that was created by Proposition 5, which passed by 20 votes in 2022.

Proposition 5 charges property owners 19 cents for every $1,000 of assessed valuation, raising an estimated $10 million annually.



Read more at: https://www.theolympian.com/news/state/washington/article291201210.html#storylink=cpy