Harger: Olympia is passing an income tax you can’t vote on. Now a Democratic leader wants to dissolve businesses that fight back

The Washington State legislature is expected to pass a millionaire income tax this week. The bill is written so it cannot go to a public vote through a referendum. That door is already closed.

But think about what comes next. Next session, what if there’s another budget shortfall? They lower the threshold. Instead of a million dollars, maybe it’s $500,000. Then $250,000. Then $100,000. Each time, no vote. Each time, they include language at the end of the bill, making it so there’s no referendum. You just have to live with it.

So what’s left? The initiative process. Regular people gathering signatures, putting something on the ballot, letting voters weigh in.

That’s the last door open.

Now meet Senate Bill 6358.

SB 6358 would dissolve any business that spends money opposing a ballot measure

Introduced this week by Senator Bob Hasegawa of Tukwila, the Senate Majority Caucus Chair, the bill would strip any corporation, LLC, or nonprofit of its legal existence for spending money to oppose a ballot measure. Not a fine. Your business is gone. Owners are on the hook personally for every debt.

It would cover businesses large and small. Chambers of commerce. Trade associations. Any group that wanted to fund a campaign against a future income tax expansion. Gone, if they speak up.

There is one exception. Labor unions are exempt. Unions can keep spending freely on campaigns and elections. Everyone else risks losing everything.

The bill has no path to passage. That may not be the point

Senator Hasegawa introduced this bill with four days left in the session. No committee hearing. No path to passage. Under the state constitution, it cannot even move forward this year.

So why now?

The income tax debate is happening right now, this week. Any business or trade group thinking about funding an initiative campaign to fight back is paying close attention to everything coming out of Olympia. And into that moment, a member of Democratic leadership drops a bill that would dissolve organizations that do exactly that.

That’s how a chilling effect works. You don’t have to pass the bill.

Hasegawa says it’s about big money in politics. His bill exempts unions

Senator Hasegawa provided a statement to KIRO Newsradio defending the bill. He said it won’t progress this session and was introduced to start a conversation about outside spending in elections, pointing to similar ideas being discussed in Montana and California. He cited the explosion of independent expenditures from $144 million in 2008 to $4.21 billion in 2024. “My intent is to shift power back to people, not corporations, in political campaigns,” he wrote.

That’s a real issue, and those numbers are really concerning. Outside money in American elections has gotten out of hand, and most people across the political spectrum would agree with that.

But his bill exempts unions. So this has nothing to do with getting money out of politics broadly. His bill targets corporate spending while leaving union spending untouched. Senator Hasegawa spent 32 years as a Teamsters leader. The exemption for labor seems intentional.

Senate Majority Leader Pedersen: Bring your initiative. We’ll defend our work

Senate Majority Leader Jamie Pedersen also responded to KIRO Newsradio. He said he cannot speak to why Hasegawa introduced the bill, confirmed it is constitutionally dead this session, and then said something worth noting.

“I fully expect that opponents will use the initiative process to challenge the enactment of the Millionaires Tax,” Pedersen wrote. “I welcome the public conversation about our state’s tax structure and the chance for a strong defense of the legislature’s work on this issue.”

That’s a confident posture. Democrats are not worried about an initiative fight. They think they can win it. After spending tens of millions to defeat Initiative 2117 last year, the measure that would have repealed the Climate Commitment Act, they probably have reason to feel that way.

Which makes the timing of Hasegawa’s bill even more worth asking about. If leadership is confident they can win an initiative fight, why does a member of that same leadership introduce a bill that would dissolve the organizations most likely to fund one?

What happens when the shoe is on the other foot?

One thing worth thinking about this morning: what happens if and when Washington takes a more conservative turn? What if a future legislature uses this exact same logic against groups spending money to protect transgender rights, or reproductive rights, or any progressive cause? Same bill. Same threat. Just pointed the other direction.

Laws don’t only apply to the people you agree with today.

Senator Hasegawa spent 32 years as a Teamsters leader. His bill exempts unions. He says he wants to get money out of politics.

He just doesn’t seem to mean all of it.

Charlie Harger is the host of “Seattle’s Morning News” on KIRO Newsradio. You can read more of his stories and commentaries here. Follow Charlie on X and email him here. 

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