The state Supreme Court voted to let car-tab fees remain in place pending final judicial review. The Seattle Times reports,
Car-tab tax cuts once expected to take effect Thursday will remain on hold despite a last-ditch effort from the Washington State Attorney General this week.
The state Supreme Court issued a short order Wednesday evening denying a request from the Attorney General to allow the voter-approved tax cut to go ahead. The Supreme Court’s order means Initiative 976 will not take effect Thursday, but the order is not the final word on the initiative itself. The legal dispute could go on for weeks or months.
In late November, a King County Superior Court judge halted implementation of the initiative pending final review, finding that there was a reasonable likelihood the measure would fail to pass muster with the court. The ST reports,
In denying that request Wednesday, the Supreme Court’s majority offered no legal reasoning in its written decision.
Three justices who dissented called delaying a voter-approved initiative “an extraordinary measure.” The minority said the state would suffer more if the initiative were paused than Seattle and others would if it took effect, including the “potential harm to voters’ confidence in the initiative system and our democratic process as a whole.”
It continues.
