Four senators apparently don't want to hear directly from voters

OLYMPIA — Four Western Washington senators apparently don't want to hear what voters think of tax and fee increases approved by the Legislature.

They are co-sponsoring a bill to do away with public advisory votes, also known as straw ballots.

Under Senate Bill 6610 — co-sponsored by Sens. Patricia Kuderer of Bellevue, Sam Hunt of Olympia, Jamie Pederson of Seattle and Claire Wilson of Federal Way, all Democrats — advisory votes would be eliminated.

The bill would create a task force to study how best to gather public opinion on legislation with “significant fiscal impact.”

According to the bil...