Oregon Public Broadcasting

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Washington lawmakers are introducing several proposals that echo the demands of the Occupy protesters. In fact, the formal title of one proposal introduced Thursday says it is aimed at "Guaranteeing that the top one percent pay too."

The chief sponsor, Democratic Representative Marko Liias , says the Occupy movement wasn't the only thing that prompted this idea.

"Really, this is out of a concern for our kids and for schools." Liias says. "But I think the energy and the momentum that's been generated by the national conversation around income inequality has really helped us focus on a good message for this bill, and that is that the top one percent should pay too."

Liias's proposal isn't complete yet, but it would impose a 2 percent tax on incomes over $1 million . The money would help fund education from Kindergarten through fourth grade.

Other Democratic lawmakers have also introduced similar plans to tax the wealthiest Washingtonians. It's not clear that any of these proposals will gain traction in Olympia.

On the Web:

'One percent' tax bill (HB 2766):

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/billinfo/summary.aspx?bill=2766&year=2011

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