Clibborn, Dems Usher $10B Transportation Package Through State House

Lawmakers in the State House passed the same $10,3 billion transportation package on Thursday that lawmakers had rejected the day before.

Legislators voted 51-41 in favor of the package, which would increase state gas taxes by 10.5 cents and fund a host of projects across Washington. On Wednesday proponents got only 49 votes, falling short of a simple majority.

The transportation package would would increase the state gas tax by 10.5 cents per gallon. Supporters of the funding package say it will create as many as 100,000 jobs across the state.  

“From the child going to school each day to the farmer whose crops travel through our ports to markets abroad, the Connecting Washington package is about the infrastructure and jobs that will move Washington forward,” said Transportation Chair Judy Clibborn (D-Mercer Island).  

Under the proposal, the gas tax would increase 6 cents per gallon on July 1 of this year and an additional 4.5 cents per gallon on July 1, 2014, Clibborn said.

The package would also preserve King County Metro's authority to continue charging a $20 car tab fee for transit. Metro officials warned earlier this year that 17 percent of service system wide would need to be cut — eliminating all but three Mercer Island-based bus routes.

In addition to the gas tax, the proposal would increase various weight and title fees, including a 15 percent boost in weight fees for freight trucks of more than 10,000 pounds, according to the Seattle Times. It also includes local option taxes, including a motor vehicle excise tax of up to 1.5 percent of vehicle value in counties with more than 1 million people, if approved by voters. The package allocates nearly $3.3 billion for major projects including work on Interstate 405, Snoqualmie Pass on Interstate 90, and a new Columbia River crossing on Interstate 5. Nearly $1.1 billion of it would go toward preservation and maintenance of highways and bridges.

An earlier provision of the package that would allow WSDOT to use $1.3 billion on funding the SR 520 bridge project, a perhaps avoid tolling, was struck in April.

King county Executive Dow Constantine said he was pleased by the development.

“Metro ridership is soaring and our roads are in desperate need of maintenance and repair," Constantine said. "The transportation package that was passed just now by the State House of Representatives is an economic necessity for our region and the state. I thank the House for exercising leadership on this issue, and I ask the Senate to do the same.”

Gov. Jay Inslee and other supporters worked the issue overnight in a last-ditch effort to influence votes. Separately on Thursday morning, Inslee announced that legislative leaders had reached a deal to pass Washington’s operating budget, averting a shutdown of state government.