Here is a model resolution for your organization to use as a draft to sign-on to or adopt in support of a state bank owned by and for the people of Washington state.
WHEREAS, the taxpayers of Washington state have demanded greater accountability and wiser use of the taxes they pay to benefit Washingtonians, not Wall Street; and
WHEREAS, a public depository owned by and for the people of Washington State would meet those demands by using taxpayer dollars to invest in infrastructure, student loans, create jobs, increase access to capital for small businesses by supporting local community banks, absorb debt capacity, generate revenue without raising taxes, avert long term debt payments and fees to Wall Street, and keep taxpayers’ dollars in Washington state, working for Washington state; and
WHEREAS, Senate Bill 5995 – Creating the Washington Investment Trust (2019) would streamline and create efficiencies of the State’s numerous existing revolving loan programs and leverage their capacity to work for the people of Washington state while lowering overhead and exercising efficiencies of scale, paying it’s own operating costs, and returning profits back to the state; and
WHEREAS, recent Washington state legislative sessions have exposed a serious lack of resource and bonding capacity to deal with the state’s overwhelming capital needs, which in 2018 led to a budget proviso requiring the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Policy and Governance to develop a business plan for a publicly owned
cooperative depository bank that allows political subdivisions to participate in; and
WHEREAS, a state bank can grow in capacity to be an unparalleled resource for future generations of Washingtonians; and
WHEREAS, a successful model of public banking is the Bank of North Dakota, which was first established in 1919 and is controlled by the people of North Dakota for the benefit of the people and economy of North Dakota; and
WHEREAS, public banking is a bedrock of social and economic development in most high achieving global economies like Germany, Japan, Brazil, Russia, India and China; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that (name of your organization) endorses creation of a publicly owned depository State Bank, which shall be governed by an independent public Commission that is accountable and transparent to the people; and, be it further
RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the governor, House and Senate leadership, and other civic minded stakeholders for further dissemination to, and education of, the general public.
