OLYMPIA – As tax exemptions and preferences come under closer scrutiny in Olympia this year, state Rep. Kevin Van De Wege has found a way to end one particular tax preference in order to fund a statewide drug take-back program.
Van De Wege has introduced House Bill 2006, which gets rid of a pharmaceutical industry tax preference. From the additional money the state would take in, about $1.2 million would go into a dedicated product stewardship account that would fund the take-back program. The rest would help fund the state’s Basic Health Program for the working poor.
“There’s a lot of support for a statewide program to collect and dispose of unwanted medications,” Van De Wege said. “From law enforcement departments to public health agencies, there is agreement that it’s way past time to do this, and taxpayers shouldn’t be stuck with the bill.”
Earlier in the legislative session, Van De Wege sponsored a similar measure, with the take-back program funded and managed by the pharmaceutical industry and overseen by the state Pharmacy Board. That bill, which the pharmaceutical industry strongly opposed, didn’t make it out of committee before the House policy cut-off deadline. Van De Wege is adamant that in order to protect Washington’s citizens, the idea needs to continue moving forward.
A firefighter and first responder, Van De Wege says the unused, unwanted drugs in our medicine cabinets can easily end up in the hands of kids who don’t understand how dangerous they can be.
During public testimony on Van De Wege’s previous bill, lawmakers heard tragic stories from parents whose kids died from drug poisonings. Numerous law enforcement officials also testified in favor of the measure. Many county sheriff departments are currently funding take-back programs on their own just to help keep drugs out of the hands of kids.
“Local governments are hurting right now,” Van De Wege said. “Sheriff’s departments are laying off deputies, all while pharmaceutical companies are making record profits and the industry enjoys a lucrative tax break.”
Lawmakers are working to close an approximately $4.5 billion shortfall in the next biennial budget. Elimination of the Basic Health Program is a possibility, but that would leave 55,000 of Washington’s working poor without health coverage. Van De Wege’s proposal could help save the program.
He says if it comes down to giving a tax preference to an industry that has well over 40 lobbyists working in Olympia, or giving health care to working families, he’s siding with working families.
“This is the right thing to do, and the right time to do it,” Van De Wege said. “However, because of the passage of Initiative 1053, it will take a two-thirds vote to end this tax preference, and the pharmaceutical industry will fight hard against it.”