This editorial appears in the Feb. 12, 2010, Yakima Herald-Republic.

When Senate Democrats realized earlier this week that they had actually voted on the wrong bill to suspend the two-thirds vote needed to raise state taxes, they should have hit the pause button.

Deciding to suspend the tax-limiting measure of Initiative 960 was bad enough. But they were about to erase public notification provisions that require, among other things, a public advisory vote on any tax increase.

Cooler heads should have prevailed. However, turning aside the wishes of voters is something state lawmakers have made a habit of doing. Declare an emergency and presto! -- voter-approved initiatives vanish in the blink of an "aye."

So that's what majority Democrats in the Senate did late Wednesday night, one day after noticing they hadn't gone far enough in dismantling I-960. On a 26-22 vote, the Senate voted to suspend provisions of the initiative, including the public advisory vote and a requirement for extensive public notices about legislative bills, for two years until July 2011, when the next two-year budget cycle starts.

The measure now moves to the House, where a public hearing is scheduled for Saturday.

Democrats argue the situation the Legislature is facing -- trying to deal with a $2.6 billion deficit -- is a crisis. By hitting the "emergency" alarm bell, lawmakers are able to sidestep the state's constitutional right to referendum, which enables voters an opportunity to approve, or turn down, any tax measure.

According to the Washington Policy Council, a Seattle-based nonpartisan research organization, the Legislature approved 533 bills in 2005 and nearly 20 percent, or 98 bills, lawmakers declared as "emergencies," thereby removing them from the guaranteed right to a public referendum.

Senate Republicans tried to keep alive the public notification requirements in I-960, but that failed along party lines. Sen. Joseph Zarelli, R-Ridgefield, argues Democrats didn't want to see their names in a special section of the state voters' pamphlet identifying who voted for tax increases -- a requirement covered under I-960.

"They want their name in the voters' pamphlet but they don't want it in there twice," Zarelli said.

No wonder taxpayers have such a difficult time when it comes to placing trust in politicians. Here's yet another example of lawmakers failing to abide by the wishes of voters to stop, look and listen when it comes to approving any tax increase.

The declaration of emergency is misplaced -- it should be aimed at the Senate Democrats. What they have caused is a crisis in trust. Good luck fixing that one.

* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Bob Crider, Spencer Hatton and Karen Troianello.