Gregoire signs candy, cigarette, soda and bottled water taxes into law

Gov. Chris Gregoire just signed the tobacco tax bill into law. It will raise the price of a pack of cigarettes by $1 per pack.

I’ll be live-blogging from the bill signing, which includes the taxes on soda, candy and bottled water. Refresh your browser for more.

“When I released my first Book 1 budget in December,” she said, “I was forced to recommend the elimination of such vital programs as K-12 levy equalization” for property poor districts, Basic Health, maternity support services, hospice care and more. “These choices would have destroyed the safety net for our seniors and our most vulnerable citizens.” She said given the “tremendous personal and social costs,” it made sense to pass a “modest” revenue package.

She said this package raises revenue through commonsense approaches. “The intent of the three-year temporary taxes on soda and beer, for example,” will go to maternity support for at-risk moms, early childhood education, Meals on Wheels, adult hospice care, Apple Health insurance and more.

Gregoire said she thanks the Legislature, Department of Revenue and others who worked on the budget.

After her brief statement she signed the bill, the bill signing photographer is arranging the dozens of supporters behind her so they fit in the photo.

Now for the lottery bill, which directs lottery money to be deposited into the “Opportunity Pathways” account, which will help fund higher education scholarships, research and more.

Now, for Q&A:

“There were folks who requested a section,” be vetoed, she said. She said specifically that Speaker Frank Chopp “asked for a veto of the pop tax,” she said, but she didn’t veto it because she didn’t hear similar requests from Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown.

She said she “hopes the citizens of the state of Washington are willing to step up” to 2 cents per can of pop, if it’s put to a vote. “The benefits of doing so when it comes to children’s health … I think it’s time for all of us to contribute a small amount.”

She said if smaller bottlers and distributors have been targeted (they were meant to be exempt), the Legislature would fix that next session. She said that was never the intent.

“As I look back in history in our state, the last time we had a recession of any magnitude was in the early ’80s,” she said. Republicans at that time raised the equivalent of $1.8 billion. “So this is not about partisan politics,” she said, it’s about making the way through the worst time since the Great Depression.

She was asked whether she would sign the initiative petition to create a high-earners income tax?

“I will sign the petition because I really do think it’s time for us to have a good discussion in the state of Washington about how are we going to fund education?” She said she hopes the income tax debate will allow the state to have that discussion. “I think it’s healthy for the state of Washington to have this debate.”

“I suspect at the end I am going to support,” she said, because she sees no other way to fund education at this time.

She said she has historically opposed an income tax and is not saying she’ll vote for or support this effort. “If somebody has a better idea,” she said, they should step up.

Q: What’s to prevent tax the rich from becoming tax the middle class after two years?

“I think it would be political suicide,” she said, but the Legislature could do that — if the initiative passes and after two years, when the Legislature can amend or change initiatives.

As for whether taxes could have been avoided, she said “it’s easy to sit out in outfield and be the Republicans and say no. It’s different” to be “in the middle of the game.”

She said her goal in raising revenue was to target discretionary things. She said the biggest mistake of Republicans who raised taxes in the early 80s was that they put the sales tax on food. She said cigarettes, candy, gum and bottled water aren’t necessities.

“Where’s the future of America? To cut 300,000 teachers … classroom sizes of 50,” she said. “What kind of future do the people of Hawaii have when they’re going to a four-day school week,” she said. “We didn’t do that.” She said the majority party had the “guts” to stand up for programs that are important to the state’s future.

When asked why she didn’t tell voters in 2008 that she would consider raising taxes, she said no one had any idea at that time how deep the recession would be. She said if she had a crystal ball at the time and knew, she would have said the same thing.

She said now that she’s signed the big bills, “the job just begins.” She said legislation now needs to be implemented. “There will be plenty of layoffs in the coming months,” she said.

Asked whether she thinks Rob McKenna’s joining of the lawsuit over federal healthcare reform should be stopped, she said she thinks the Attorney General should caption the lawsuit as “representing the Attorney General, not the state of Washington.”

Tags: bill signing, Gregoire, tax