HB 3191: This Ain't a Friendly Ghost
Posted by Brett Davis - March 01, 2010
One could be forgiven for thinking the Washington State Legislature is haunted, and not because a lot of lawmakers could be considered vampire-like, in that they suck the life-blood from the private sector and hate sunlight—of the budget variety anyway. No, another ghost has been sighted, as in a “ghost” bill.
HB 3191 was introduced in the House, but it is largely empty space. See for yourself by clicking on the picture below. 
The bill will be the vehicle for many of the tax hikes announced by the House today, but we don’t know exactly which ones yet, since they haven’t bothered to post the language. You can read the complete list of new taxes proposed by the House here.
It’s unclear why legislators would hold a hearing on a bill with no content. And yet, the House Finance Committee is planning to hold a public hearing on HB 3191 tomorrow at 9 a.m. Gee, thanks for the heads up. Clearly, they have already made up their minds on the content of the bill—whatever it may be—and are not remotely interested in what the public has to say about it.
Last month, I submitted written testimony on another ghost bill, SB 6853. Normally, I’m not afraid of ghosts, because I tend to doubt their existence, but these ghost bills are frightening.
Update: Bill Analysis.
Update: Bill Analysis.
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