Tax exemption hard to close? There's a BRAC for that

Rep. Larry Seaquist, a former battleship captain and Pentagon strategist, doesn’t bring many military strategies out in the Legislature, but he thinks one might work to better fund education. He's introduced House Bill 1980 to develop a Washington state version of the successful federal Base Closure and Realignment Commission, otherwise known as BRAC.

The tax priorities realignment commission, using public hearings, would identify tax exemptions which could be closed in favor of funding specific education-improvement objectives. Seaquist on the proposal:

Tax exemptions are intended to create economic benefit for someone, education creates economic benefit for everyone. For the first time, my bill provides a way for all our citizens to participate in setting priorities about how best to climb out of this recession.

You can read more about Seaquist's proposal in the bill or the press release.