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CITIZEN ACTION DEFENSE FUND INITIATES TAXPAYER CHALLENGE TO UNCONSTITUTIONAL STATE TRANSPORTATION PACKAGE

Olympia, Washington — January 10, 2023 —Today, the Citizen Action Defense Fund (CADF) announced that it took the necessary steps to challenge key legislation in the 2022 Transportation Package which if successful would have the effect of lowering the cost of gas and driver’s license fees.  In a letter sent by counsel retained by CADF on behalf of a contractor and a trucking company, the attorney general was formally notified that a bill central to the package violated the single subject requirement of the state constitution. SB 5974 was 122 pages long and many of its various provisions were unrelated to its title or each other.   

If the attorney general refuses to act on the unconstitutional bill, CADF and the taxpayers will initiate litigation. If CADF wins and the law is overturned, millions of dollars would be kept in taxpayer pockets during a period of record inflation and uncertain economic times.  

“The state’s constitution requires that all legislation have a single subject that is reflected in the title of the bill. Unfortunately, the transportation package had multiple subjects -very little of which actually dealt with transportation resources, “said Jackson Maynard, Executive Director of CADF. “In the Legislature, legislation in which everyone gets to add something is nicknamed a ‘Christmas tree’ bill. Well it’s a new year and it’s time to take the Christmas tree down and send this unconstitutional bill to the garbage heap. Hopefully if the suit is successful this lawsuit will prove to be a real present for the taxpayers of the state.” 

CADF is an independent, nonprofit organization based in Washington state that supports and pursues strategic, high-impact litigation in cases to advance free markets, restrain government overreach or defend constitutional rights.  The government watchdog nonprofit files lawsuits, represents affected parties and intervenes in cases when the state enacts laws that violate the state or federal constitutions, when government officials take actions that infringe upon the First Amendment or other constitutional rights, or when agencies promulgate rules in violation of state law. 

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For more information: 

Jackson Maynard 

Executive Director 

Office: (360) 878-9206  

Cell: (850) 519-3495 

[email protected]