Tulalip tribal Chairman Herman Williams Jr. and government affairs director John McCoy attended the signing. The Tulalips are the first tribe in the Northwest to form their own city. The problem is, legislation that would have allowed them to negotiate with the state and collect a portion of the sales tax from such stores as Wal-Mart didn't make it through the Legislature during the regular session, which adjourned April 22. The tribes have the right to tax businesses on their property, said Fred Kiga, the director of the state Department of Revenue. McCoy met Wednesday with Rep. Jack Cairnes, R-Kent, who's taken the lead on the issue in the Legislature, for the first time since the Tulalips announced their plans to go ahead with the new city and tax plan without state approval.
Lawmakers are more than two weeks into overtime.
Plus, lawmakers already worked hard this year on one important tribal issue, the cigarette tax bill. But Cairnes said he wants to get it through during the special session and avoid a possible lawsuit by the Tulalips. Cairnes also empathized with the tribes. Complex bills rarely get through their first time, he said, adding that he worked on the cigarette bill for seven years. Asked about the situation after the cigarette bill ceremony, Locke said he wasn't aware of the sales tax measure or the Tulalips' new city.