Eyman files tax initiative, just in case

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Initiative activist Tim Eyman has filed an initiative that requires a two-thirds supermajority for the Legislature to raise taxes.

If that sounds familiar, that’s because it’s the same initiative that was approved by voters last year.

Eyman says that he’s filing the paperwork just in case legislators overturn Initiative 1053 during this session. I-1053 was approved by nearly 64 percent of the voters in November.

Eyman says if lawmakers don’t overturn I-1053, he’ll wait until 2012 to reintroduce the initiative.

Eyman vowed on Monday that he’ll file initiatives requiring supermajority votes in the Legislature to raise taxes every two years. Voter-approved initiatives can be overturned after two years.

Washington’s Legislature convenes its 105-day session in Olympia on Monday.