Property tax ‘grace period’ bill passes Senate, goes to House

OLYMPIA – The state Senate passed legislation aimed at giving families and individuals who are in financial crisis and in danger of losing their homes, an option for relief. Senate Bill 6178 passed 27-21.

“Passing this legislation is something that we needed to do today. It’s immediate action to provide help to those who really need it,” said Sen. Claudia Kauffman, D-Kent, the bill’s primary sponsor. “There are people in my district, and people in every one of our districts, who need this help. This is something we can do for them today. I encourage our colleagues in the House to pass this bill without amendment.”

Today’s special session was called by Gov. Chris Gregoire to re-impose the 1 percent lid on the rate of growth of property taxes. A Washington Supreme Court ruling earlier this month ruled Initiative 747 unconstitutional, and without the lid in place, concern grew over the possibility of local taxing districts acting to raise their rates above 1 percent.

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