There’s a well-funded threat to the common-sense revenue Washington lawmakers raised this year rather than relying solely on budget cuts. That revenue protected many vital services that support children, families and seniors; health care, education and the environment; labor, low-income people and communities of color.

Most other states also took a balanced approach by approving taxes on goods like candy, while the push to tax soda is gaining momentum across the country.

The Children’s Alliance played a leading role in the successful push for taxing candy and soda. Now a potential ballot measure jeopardizes more than $200 million of the revenue that we and other advocates fought so hard to raise. We’re urging people to decline to sign Initiative 1107. 

As The News Tribune reported, Gov. Chris Gregoire has said repealing these taxes could force cuts to services like all-day kindergarten, preschool for 3-year-olds and maternity care for low-income moms.

Late last week, a court ruling against a challenge to I-1107’s ballot title cleared the way for signature-gathering to begin. The deep-pocketed beverage industry immediately poured more than $1 million into the effort to collect about 241,000 signatures by July 2.

You’ve probably seen signature gatherers with I-1107 petitions outside grocery stores and big-box retailers. We’re already hearing reports that signature gatherers are misleading people by claiming this initiative would repeal taxes on “food and beverages.”

Free speech is one thing. Misleading the public is another.

Do not let proponents of this initiative twist the truth about the very modest and targeted taxes our lawmakers thoughtfully debated before enacting.

There’s a decline-to-sign hotline you can call, e-mail or text to report any misleading information you hear from signature gatherers out there: 1-888-207-7307, WA.DeclinetoSign@gmail.com, 425-998-STOP (7867).

Read more about the decline-to-sign effort in the action alert we sent our 10,000-plus members today and on the 2010 elections endorsements page of our website.

Advocates have been on pins and needles waiting for a key U.S. House committee to release its plan for reauthorizing the federal Child Nutrition Act. It finally surfaced yesterday, and though there’s no official word on a cost estimate, it’s expected to invest $8 billion over 10 years – almost twice as much as the $4.5 billion a Senate committee proposed in March.

In this edition, you’ll read more about Gov. Chris Gregoire and other leaders urging the U.S. Senate to extend Medicaid matching funds that are vital to maintaining health care for kids and families. You’ll also find an opinion piece applauding Washington lawmakers for raising revenue that prevented budget cuts and protected services that will help families and our state weather this lingering economic downturn.

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In this edition, you’ll find coverage about the urgent need for the U.S. Senate to extend critical Medicaid matching funds that Washington and many other states need to maintain health care for kids and families. You’ll also read an opinion piece in favor of Initiative 1098, which would generate $1 billion a year for education and health care through a modest income tax on high-income earners, while cutting taxes for small businesses and middle class households. The Children's Alliance has endorsed I-1098.

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