Washington State Capitol in Olympia
A Poetic Lesson in Government Relations By James Toner, IBWA Director of Government Relations
As the poet John Donne so eloquently wrote, “No man is an island”—an appropriate phrase for the unique world of government relations. Advocacy efforts are similar to work conducted in any other business arena: both are results-oriented and heed the mantra “do more with less.” If you are going to be productive in such an environment, “not being an island” will come in handy. 38
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WWW.BOTTLEDWATER.ORG
For example, let’s review IBWA’s recent advocacy work in Washington State. For the last several years, Governor Jay Inslee (D) and Democratic leaders in the state have pushed hard to remove the sales tax exemption for bottled water. (Bottled water is a packaged food product and, as such, is currently exempt from a sales tax in the state.) While previous attempts were credible, the 2015 effort was the most serious
threat yet. The legislature’s regular session ended without a budget, and that included the issue of no funding for the state’s transportation and education programs. Thus, special sessions were necessary to finalize everything—and that meant the option of a bottled water tax was still on the table. In previous attempts to impose a tax on bottled water (e.g., one 2010 bill passed out of both chambers but was