From the Director: Transportation Funding: "Rough Road Ahead"
By Stan Finkelstein, AWC Exectutive Director
With just over two weeks remaining until adjournment, the Senate transportation funding package is starting to encounter rough waters.

A number of senators have expressed misgivings both about the magnitude of the proposed gas tax increase, as well as the local options package. With respect to the local options package, uneasiness has surfaced regarding the proposed household fee, per employee tax, and lot fee. There are also concerns being raised regarding the appearance that most of the new state revenues will be expended in the central Puget Sound area.

Traditionally, approval of a transportation funding package requires bipartisan support. That arises due to the reality that neither party wants to be held fully responsible for raising gas taxes. In recent days we’ve seen some "backpedaling" by the Senate minority party. This could seriously delay passage of a bill by the Senate over to the House.

From the standpoint of the Association, the proposal put forth by Senate Transportation Committee Chair, Mary Margaret Haugen is a well balanced package. It provides the funding to address a substantial portion of the costs of replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct and the Evergreen Point Bridge over Lake Washington, and continues the funding for other major projects. The proposal provides for a sharing of the gas tax with cities and counties, a biennial earmarked funding allocation to the Transportation Improvement Board, and an allocation for a small city pavement program. It also does provide for local options to fund city and county transportation needs.

It is the local options that truly make the proposal work for cities. They include reestablishment of an annual local motor vehicle fee, a new $4 per month per household fee, a tax per employee, and a fee of up to $50 annually per lot. The local options would enable cities and counties to use those additional revenue sources that best meet their needs. It is these local options that have probably created the most opposition. We are hearing unpleasant rumblings suggesting that the local options package may be too much weight for the transportation package to carry.

House Transportation Package

While most of the attention has focused on the Senate, the House Transportation Committee chair, Rep. Ed Murray, (D-Seattle) has just unveiled the House proposal. The House proposal is somewhat more modest in that it proposes a 4 year phase in of a 9 ˝ cent gas tax increase rather then the Senate’s proposed 15 cent increase. The local options are very similar with the exception that the house proposal only authorizes a $2 per month household tax as opposed to the Senate’s $4 per month authorization. The big challenge will now be to round up sufficient votes from both Republicans and Democrats to pass a bipartisan funding package. We should have a clearer picture of the likelihood of a transportation package being approved within the next several days.

In Closing

Transportation and the state budget are two of the big issues remaining to be resolved prior to adjournment. We are guardedly hopeful that the Legislature will recognize the importance of approving a transportation package that addresses local as well as state needs. City officials are encouraged to continue to contact their legislators and emphasize the importance of approving a "balanced" transportation funding package that responds to the need for additional local resources to address city needs.