Thursday, October 21, 2010

Senate Joint Resolution 8225 - Concerns the limitation on state debt

The Evergreen Freedom Foundation sheds some light on Washington State Senate Joint Resolution 8225 - Concerns the limitation on state debt:
We've had several questions about SJR 8225. The voter pamphlet explains:
This amendment would require the state to reduce the interest accounted for in calculating the constitutional debt limit, by the amount of federal payments scheduled to be received to offset that interest.

The Effect of the Proposed Amendment if Approved
The proposed amendment would not change the constitutional debt limit. It would modify the annual calculation used to determine whether the stateĆ¢€™s debt is within the constitutional limit. The amendment would require the state, in annually calculating the amount required for payment of interest on its general obligation debt, to subtract scheduled federal payments to be received each year in respect of bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness. Under the constitution, the debt the state may issue is based in part on the total amount of the stateĆ¢€™s annual principal and interest payments. Therefore, subtraction of federal payments to be credited against interest on the debt could affect the amount of aggregate debt that the state may incur.
Bottom line, do you think the state should take on more debt? If yes, approve the measure. If no, reject it.
Oh, goody, more debt, just what we need...

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