East King County lawmakers say Democrat gas tax
package doesn't address public concerns
News Release: Olympia, WA - 3/1/02 - Seven East King County
legislators said the Democrat
transportation tax package passed by the House today fails to
provide desperately needed congestion relief for King County
commuters and businesses. House Bill 2969 would raise gas
taxes by 8 cents over two years bringing the total gas tax to
31 cents per gallon. It would also raise the gross
weight fee on trucks by 20 percent and would impose a new 1
percent sales tax surcharge on all new and used vehicles.
House Democrats estimate their plan would raise about $6
billion over the next 10 years, but their proposed spending
program puts only $3.7 billion of that into improving roads.
Reps. Fred Jarrett, Cheryl Pflug, Glenn Anderson, Jack Cairnes,
Luke Esser, and Toby Nixon joined to vote no. However, the
measure passed by a vote of 55-44.
"Considering the dramatic impact of this proposed $6
billion investment in transportation and its impact on the
future of the state's economy, it is unbelievable that the
majority party would suggest that we
cannot afford accountability. This is an enormous red flag
that undermines the credibility of this package," said
Anderson, R-Fall City. "The voters in the 5th District
are willing to pay their fair share to relieve traffic
congestion and to improve commuter mobility, but not if it
means recklessly throwing more money at the situation."
"We need to show the taxpayers we are willing to make
wise decisions on how to spend their money. This package is
not going to earn the public's support," said Jarrett,
R-Mercer Island, who offered an amendment
to strengthen legislative accountability for the
transportation solutions. "We've made real progress in
making the Department of Transportation more accountable and
efficient. We should be accountable too. It's my hope that
when the Senate gets this package, it will take the next
step."
"The residents of King County support transit. In fact,
we currently pay tax for a transit system," said Cairnes,
R-Covington. "I just couldn't in good conscience vote for
a transportation package that included more. Transit receives
its fair share. Let's put these gas tax revenues where they
should be - pavement and roads."
"The people of the state repealed the motor vehicle
excise tax at least in part because the value of a vehicle has
nothing to do with its impact on road capacity or road
maintenance costs," said Nixon, R-Kirkland. "The gas
tax is the closest thing we have to a user fee for roads.
Placing the burden of solving traffic congestion on those who
buy vehicles, through an additional sales tax, rather than on
all users of roads is inequitable. I believe the sales tax
component will lead to a voter defeat of this package."
"In this particular bill, I would have preferred that the
gas tax was higher and that there would be no sales tax on car
sales. That's just a deal-breaker for me," said
Ballasiotes, R-Mercer Island. "I've talked to individual
car dealers and they are not happy with that."
The section in the bill that would allow the state to use
anticipated automobile sales tax revenue to purchase bonds for
transit projects also came under heavy fire. The Eastside
lawmakers said the plan to
issue more general obligation bonds funded by anticipated
sales tax would only lead to trouble down the road. They noted
that if the sales tax fund can't pay off the bonds, the money
comes out of the General Fund Budget, taking dollars away from
education, human services and criminal justice. "The
legislation under consideration today makes a false
promise," said Pflug, R-Maple Valley. "It would not
deliver enough money for the projects in our area. It exempts
the bonding in this bill from the statutory debt limit, which
will likely give the state of Washington the bond rating of
Enron. Ten years down the road we will be left with debt to
service and no revenue to finish the projects. We absolutely
need a package that will allow us to relieve congestion on our
roadways. Although I remain hopeful that we can still get a
transportation bill that would make a difference in our
community, this measure is very disappointing."
House Bill 2969 does not include language to address regional
transportation funding needs, which has been a priority for
Eastside legislators since the 2001 session. "The
regional transportation plan is more important to the Eastside
right now than the statewide plan," said Esser,
R-Bellevue. "Unfortunately, the regional plan is still
deadlocked in negotiations. We need to get that moving
and approved. Without it, the statewide plan will not
make the improvements being promised." The measure now
goes to the Senate for further consideration.
CONTACT: Rep. Cheryl Pflug /(360) 786-7852; Rep. Glenn
Anderson/(360) 786-7876; Rep. Fred Jarrett/(360) 786-7894;
Rep. Jack Cairnes /(360) 786-7858; Rep. Luke Esser/(360)
786-7936; Rep. Toby Nixon/(360) 786-7878
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