Arrogant. Ignorant. Out-of-touch. Criminal.

I have been called all of these because I voted to temporarily suspend Initiative 960.

In 2007, I-960 was approved by 51 percent of the voters. The measure has many provisions, but the one that most affects the Legislature is a requirement that all tax increases pass each chamber by a two-thirds vote. This is the same requirement to pass a constitutional amendment. Senate Bill 6130 — which the Senate approved last week — suspends this initiative in its entirety.

Our state Constitution clearly states that it takes only a simple majority from each chamber for a bill to become a law. Thus I-960 is clearly unconstitutional. But when Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown took this measure to court, the Supreme Court punted. It failed to rule on constitutionality, stating the Legislature could address the problem by using our constitutional right to amend an initiative — which takes a two-thirds vote in the first two years it is in effect and a simple majority thereafter. This is a right that members of both parties use regularly.

In the last decade, 22 Senate bills have been introduced by members of both parties to amend our voter-approved minimum wage. Over the last decade, six bills have been introduced to amend our voter-approved medical marijuana law. In the last decade, six bills have been introduced to create charter schools, something voters have rejected time and again at the ballot box.

Opponents of our efforts repeatedly claim that by amending I-960 we are ignoring the will of the people. This is disingenuous at best. Our job as legislators is to respond to our state’s ever-changing needs. Democrats and Republicans are elected to amend and make laws that address the new needs.

More importantly, I know the will of the people is about more than reducing the people’s tax bill. We have seen this repeatedly at the ballot box. Just last week, voters across our state approved new district school levies. And last November, voters rejected Tim Eyman’s latest initiative, which would have artificially limited services and taxes.

In 2007, voters ended the supermajority vote for school levies. In 2001 and 2008, voters increased funding for long-term care services. In 2006, voters upheld the estate tax, which is dedicated to education. In 2005, voters upheld the gas tax. And in 2000, voters increased funding for smaller class sizes.

Times have changed radically since I-960 was approved. Our national and state economy have crumbled, consumer confidence has declined, and consumer spending has slowed to a crawl. Since half of our state’s revenues come from the sales tax, this has created a historically huge budget hole. Our state’s two-year budget shortfall is around $12 billion. We avoided new taxes last year by cutting $4 billion from our state’s budget. As a result, 40,000 people among the working poor lost their subsidized health insurance, more than 7,000 government employees were laid off (most of whom were teachers), and our higher education systems sustained massive cuts that will only stunt our economic recovery in the long-run.

We cannot continue to cut our way out of this budget hole. The time has come to have a serious conversation about raising new revenue. That alone requires us to suspend I-960, but that is only part of the I-960 problem.

This Tim Eyman initiative is so broad that it defines closing tax loopholes that no longer create the jobs they once did or ending unfair tax breaks for out-of-state businesses as “increasing taxes.” The measure is so vague that it even prevents us from transferring funds that could save some vital government programs.

Suspending this initiative is not about ignoring the will of the people. It’s about ensuring that classrooms aren’t overcrowded. It’s about keeping the door to college open. It’s about making sure the needy and disabled don’t go without care. And it’s about making sure Washington’s working poor can afford health care.

Amending an initiative is never an easy vote. But I know those of us who voted to temporarily suspend I-960 did what is best for our state while continuing to honor the will of the voter.