$15 billion transportation package<\/a> that includes an 11.7-cent increase to the state gas tax over the next three years.<\/p>\n<\/p>\nThat package now moves to the Democrat-controlled House where Majority Leader Pat Sullivan, D-Covington, said that the package won\u2019t be considered until lawmakers address education funding, which they are under order from the state Supreme Court to substantially increase.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the end, our goal is to pass a transportation budget,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cBut we can\u2019t do that until we get the operating side figured out.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
For the Senators who have been working on the package for months, Monday\u2019s changeover is reason enough for excitement.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like I can breathe a little sigh of relief, like being in the eye of the hurricane before having to take a breath and head back into the storm,\u201d said Sen. Steve Hobbs, D-Lake Stevens. He and Sens. Joe Fain, R-Auburn, Marko Liias, D-Mukilteo, and Curtis King, R-Yakima announced what they described as a bi-partisan transportation package on Feb. 12 after 22 months of negotiating.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Ten of the package\u2019s 11 bills have now passed in the Senate and are scheduled to be introduced to their respective committees in the House. The package\u2019s revenue bill passed on a 27-22 bipartisan senate vote Monday.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The revenue bill would fund 16 years worth of transportation projects by increasing the state\u2019s 35.7 cents-per-gallon gas tax by five cents in July, 4.2 cents in July 2016 and another 2.5 cents in July 2017. That would bring Washington’s combined state and federal gas tax to 67.6 cents-per-gallon, second highest in the country behind Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Along with the gas tax increase, the revenue bill would also increase car-tab fees by $15 in the program\u2019s first year and then by an additional $8 in 2022. The classified skill examination fee for obtaining a commercial driver\u2019s license would increase from $100 to $250.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The package would fund $8 billion in widening projects on I-405 east of Seattle, I-90 through the Snoqualmie Pass corridor and I-5 near Joint Base Lewis-McChord south of Tacoma. It would also fund a new north-south I-395 corridor in Spokane and allocate $1.2 billion for completing the west side of the new Highway 520 bridge between Seattle and Bellevue.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The package also includes some funding for rural transit, vanpools, bike paths, pedestrian walkways and highway safety. However, Republicans have fought to include a provision in the revenue bill that would move all of these funds to the state highway account if Gov. Jay Inslee\u2014or any other governor in the next 16 years\u2014implements a low-carbon fuel standard. Committee staff have previously said that the language could be interpreted to also include any carbon emission reduction plans.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
When asked what he wants to see happen with the package as it makes its way through the House, Hobbs said he and the other Senate Democrats would like to see the carbon language removed.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sure the other side would like to keep it in,\u201d he said. \u201cPerhaps we can come to an agreement of some kind.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The package\u2019s eight policy bills were passed the week before on Feb. 27. While most of them received near-unanimous approval, two had the Senate split along party lines, illustrating that some aspects of the bipartisan package aren\u2019t bipartisan at all.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
SB 5990 has been a focus of controversy since the package was announced. The bill\u2019s original language would have moved all revenue generated from sales taxes on transportation projects out of the state’s general fund and into the transportation fund. Democrats and education groups opposed the bill, saying that moving money out of the general fund would only make it more difficult for the Legislature to meet its obligations for funding education.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re under a contempt-of-court order for not funding our public schools, and I\u2019ve heard over and over again that Senate Republicans don\u2019t want to raise revenue. But then they turn around and pass a gas tax,\u201d Sullivan said. \u201cThey\u2019ve shown that revenue isn\u2019t the problem. They\u2019re willing to do it for roads, and yet they\u2019re blocking that money for kids.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Instead, the Senate passed the bill with an amendment from Sen. Doug Ericksen, R-Ferndale, that exempts all highway projects from the state sales tax until July 1, 2019. All highway improvement and preservation projects beginning after that date would also be exempt. Sales tax revenue made off of non-highway related projects would still be moved out of the general fund and into the transportation budget.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Sullivan also has high hopes about the package\u2019s future.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m always optimistic,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re not Washington, DC. We\u2019ll find a compromise and get this done.\u201d<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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