OLYMPIA - As lawmakers in Washington state return to the Capitol to address a projected $1.4 billion deficit, part of their task will be to weigh handing over a large part of the decision-making to voters.

Gov. Chris Gregoire wants the Legislature to send a temporary, half-cent sales tax increase to the statewide ballot as early as March, with the levy pinned to "buying back" cuts that could be made to areas like education and public safety, reductions that could lead to a shorter school year or the early release of prisoners.

Lawmakers begin a special legislative session on Monday to get a head start on fixing the budget before the regular 60-day legislative session starts on Jan. 9.

A voter-approved requirement that any new taxes be approved by a two-thirds majority in the Legislature restricts what lawmakers can do in Olympia, so Gregoire believes voters should have a say in how deep budget cuts will be.

"We all need to be part of the solution," she said. "Why not put the people in the driver's seat?"

Gregoire's sales tax proposal would raise about $1.5 billion through July 2015, when it would expire. Gregoire says that with the nearly $500 million raised through 2013, a "yes" vote would prevent cuts that impact education, while ensuring post-prison community supervision times would not be shortened.

"If they vote no, the cuts are going into place," she said. "It's not a hypothetical. If they vote yes, they won't. They'll have invested in our future."

Washington state isn't the only one where lawmakers have asked voters to choose between taxes and cuts. Last year, there were four legislative referendums to the people in three states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Arizona voters approved a temporary sales tax increase that was put on the May 2010 ballot by the Republican-led Legislature at the behest of Gov. Jan Brewer. And two referendum bills sent to the ballot by then-Democratic Gov. Ted Kulongoski were passed by Oregon voters, approving tax increases on businesses and the wealthy that were tied to averting budget cuts lawmakers there said would have affected schools and services for the poor and elderly. Georgia voters rejected a legislatively-referred constitutional amendment that would have added a $10 tag fee increase to raise money for the state's trauma centers.

But Washington voters have been resistant to new taxes, and voters just last year once again made it harder for the Legislature to raise taxes, approving an initiative that requires the two-thirds majority on tax-hike votes rather than the simple majority required for most legislation. Voters in Washington have approved similar initiatives before. Washington is one of 17 states that require a supermajority to pass taxes, according to NCSL. But lawmakers in Washington can send taxes to Washington voters for approval, which is what the bill the governor will sponsor asks them to do.

During that same November 2010 election, Washington voters rejected both a state income tax on the richest 1 percent while also rolling back increased taxes on soda and candy that had been passed by the Legislature earlier that year.

Gregoire thinks this year will be different because the tax will be tied to specific cuts, like the reduction in school days.

Carri Christianson, a Sammamish mother of fourth grade triplets, said she was "dumbfounded" by the level of cuts to education suggested by Gregoire.

"These kids are our future," she said.

Christianson said she would support a tax increase to prevent the cuts, but she worries that others won't.

"I think a majority of people will say no to more taxes because of the economy, and they'll say no because they want the government to be more responsible with the money they have," she said.

Gregoire's budget proposal calls for close to $2 billion in cuts, reductions to local governments and fund transfers, leaving $600,000 in the bank. Her sales tax proposal would go to the ballot, but she asked the Legislature to consider other revenue options, including ones that could pass with just a simple majority vote and others with a two-thirds vote. Those recommendations include a business and occupation tax on oil companies and financial institutions with windfall profits. Gregoire also wants to repeal the sales tax exemption for residents who live in states without a sales tax, like Oregon.

While the governor's budget serves as a template for lawmakers to consider, Democratic leaders in the House and Senate will produce their own plan in the coming weeks.

Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, said that her caucus is open to considering the sales tax referendum.

"I don't feel an all cuts budget is the right thing to do for the state," she said. "I do think the Legislature should be able to make fiscal decisions with a simple majority and not a two-thirds vote, but I also think in a situation like this, asking the voters make a lot of sense."

Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, called the sales tax referendum "the absolute wrong approach."

"It's a distraction from what we need to be doing, which is to balance within existing revenues," he said.

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Rachel La Corte can be reached at https://twitter.com/RachelAPOly