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Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senate passes Transportation budget that increases gas tax, funds major projects
Mar. 31—OLYMPIA — The Washington State Senate adopted a bipartisan transportation package on Saturday that would raise billions of dollars through higher gas taxes and some car registration fees, close a deficit in the transportation budget and fund the completion of the North Spokane Corridor. "Washington faces some serious transportation problems, from unsafe roads that contribute to a high number of traffic fatalities, to highway projects that are far from being completed, to a failing ferry system," said Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, the ranking Republican on the Transportation Committee. "The transportation budget passed by the Senate today reflects the collaboration and compromises from both sides as we try to fix our state's transportation problems." The package closes a roughly $1 billion budget gap in the state's transportation budget between 2025 and 2027, and raises $10.2 billion over six years. To raise revenue, the plan includes a 6-cent increase to the state's gas tax, increased registration fees for electric vehicles and hybrids, and shifts 0.3% of the state's sales tax, about $800 million a year, to the transportation budget. If the plan is approved by the House of Representatives, Washington's gas tax would rise to 55.4 cents per gallon. "This is a year of budget challenges, but through a spirit of collaboration and compromise, we found a bipartisan solution to keep Washington moving ahead," said Washington State Sen. Marko Liias. As they unveiled the package last week, the heads of the Senate Transportation Committee said projects across the state, including the North Spokane Corridor, could face delays unless the state increases revenue. According to Liias, the lack of adequate funding in the transportation budget became apparent within "weeks" of legislators beginning planning. If legislators opted to balance the budget through cuts, the capital projects budget would be reduced by $941 million and agency operating costs would decrease by $156 million over the next two years, putting projects across the state at risk of delay. Initially conceived in the 1940s and partially completed, the 10.5-mile overpass will eventually stretch from U.S. Highway 2 to Interstate 90, offering drivers an express option to drive through Spokane. Construction crews are finishing the section of the project that spans the Spokane River near Spokane Community College. "Based on the funding we have available right now, we can't do everything," Liias said last week. "In that all-cuts budget, it shows that essentially all of the projects that aren't currently under construction would be paused for at least six years in order to catch up." Spokane City Councilmember Jonathan Bingle was among those to testify in support of the transportation budget proposal, noting the importance of the project for both residential and commercial use. "This budget takes an important step forward by funding more than 90% of the North Spokane Corridor project, setting us on a path to finish major construction by 2029," Bingle said during a Senate Transportation Committee Tuesday. "That's a big deal for us, and we're grateful to see the state's continued investment in this long-awaited project." Spokane City Council Member Michael Cathcart said Thursday that when completed, the project will boost economic development and provide an alternative route for freight traffic in the area. Delays, he said, could affect other projects planned for the area. The package passed Saturday would also invest $700 million in state and local safety projects, $366 million in active transportation projects and $33.3 million to improve safety on rural roads and at railroad crossings. According to the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission, Washington reported 809 traffic fatalities in 2023, the last year for which data is available — the most in a single year since 1990. Last week, leaders in the House Transportation Committee released a separate budget proposal that includes a 9-cent increase to the gas tax, which would then be tied to inflation, among other proposals, to raise new revenue. Rep. Jake Fey, D-Tacoma, chair of the House Transportation Committee, previously floated a new Road Usage Charge that would cost Washington drivers 2.6 cents for each mile driven to raise revenue. Following feedback, Fey introduced a Highway Use Fee, which would charge drivers a flat fee based on vehicle MPG and average miles driven in Washington. The program would be modeled after a similar one in Virginia. "I put a proposal out there because I thought we needed to have a conversation about it," Fey said. According to Fey, the gas tax funds more than a third of the state's transportation budget.
Yahoo
30-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
WA state Senate OKs gas tax hike and budget built on billions of new taxes
An aerial view in February 2024 of work on a new bike and pedestrian bridge over State Route 520 and connecting trails north and south of the highway. (Washington State Department of Transportation) A divided Washington state Senate on Saturday approved a hike in the state's gas tax and a two-year budget that hinges on billions of dollars from new taxes on the state's wealthiest residents and largest companies. The Senate, on a 31-18 vote, endorsed raising the tax 6 cents per gallon on July 1 and increasing it 2% annually to account for inflation starting the following year. It is the anchor of a barge full of new and higher taxes and fees that will generate around $500 million a year for transportation from users of cars, boats, planes, electric bikes and ferries. Those dollars will ensure the state can complete projects underway and do ones that have been long promised to residents. 'We are billions of dollars behind in maintenance and preservation. We have a ferry system that is in shambles. We have citizens dying at a record pace on our roads,' said Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, the lead Republican on the Senate Transportation Committee who helped craft the package. 'We had to respond, and that's what we did.' Sen. Marko Liias, D-Edmonds, chair of the transportation committee and the chamber's lead transportation budget writer, said the revenue 'will unlock investments in every corner of the state. It will fill potholes and fix bridges in urban communities and in rural communities, and it will keep promises that we have made.' Also Saturday, the Senate passed the Democrats' two-year $78.5 billion operating budget on a 28-21 vote. Democrat Sens. Mike Chapman of Port Angeles and Deb Krishnadasan of Gig Harbor joined Republicans in opposition. Sen. June Robinson, D-Everett, chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee and lead budget writer, said a looming budget shortfall resulted in some hard choices, such as delaying expansions of early learning programs, furloughing state workers, and draining the state's reserves. But she noted the budget boosts funding for special education and preserves critical public services. 'The core of this budget is a commitment to the people of Washington,' she said. It spends about $5.4 billion more than the current budget. Of the increase, $1.6 billion is for education and new collective bargaining agreements for state workers. The rest is to cover increased expenses for existing programs and services, also known as maintenance-level spending. Robinson said it shaves around $3 billion in spending in the next budget, and $6.5 billion over four fiscal years. Slashing deeper would have been 'devastating,' she said. 'None of these choices was made lightly,' Robinson said of the cuts. 'That is why this budget bill pairs reductions with smart, necessary and progressive revenue options. This balance of cuts and new revenue allows us to protect services and stay fiscally responsible for years to come.' The two-year Senate budget relies on roughly $6.2 billion from a four-year, $17 billion package of tax changes that did not get voted on. Those include lifting the cap on annual property tax growth along with new taxes on the assets of wealthy individuals and the payrolls of large companies. Hearings on the proposed tax legislation will be held Monday in the Senate Ways and Means Committee. Sen. Chris Gildon, R-Puyallup, the lead budget writer for Senate Republicans, said the alternative budget he wrote would have spent $75.3 billion and been balanced without new taxes. 'We can do it without all the drastic cuts that people have been talking about. We can do it without any of the harmful taxes,' he said. He criticized Democrats' draining of the emergency reserves, saying it puts the state in a precarious fiscal position in a period of uncertainty over how decisions by the federal government might impact the state. And he said the document was confusing because it spends money to fund state worker pay raises and then seeks to save dollars by furloughing them for up to 13 days. The House is slated to vote on its proposed budget Monday. Like the Senate, it counts on money from that chamber's $14.8 billion tax package that has not yet been acted on. If passed, negotiations will begin in earnest to reconcile differences in the two spending approaches. In the meantime, House and Senate budget writers will need to work with Gov. Bob Ferguson, a first-term Democrat, who has said he wants all cost-cutting options explored before considering any new taxes. The current two-year state transportation budget is $14.6 billion and includes money for road maintenance, ferries, bike and pedestrian projects and more. The budget blueprint passed by the Senate on Saturday lays out $16.2 billion in spending in the next biennium, made up of $6.2 billion in operating costs and $10 billion for capital projects. The plethora of new taxes and fee increases is projected to bring in $3 billion in the next six years, of which a little less than a third would be available in the next budget. In the floor debate, Liias said they faced a $1 billion shortfall in the next budget, growing to $4 billion to meet current obligations over the next six years. To address it, the Senate came up with the revenue plan. It also shifts $5 billion of future expenses tied to replacing culverts to the state's capital budget. Details on that move will be released Monday morning. And the Senate is directing 0.3% of sales tax collections from the operating budget to transportation starting in the 2027-2029 biennium. Absent these moves, the Legislature would have been forced to halt some undertakings and postpone 'every single improvement project that is not currently under contract,' Liias said Saturday. The revenue package is intended to spread the burden across all users of the transportation system. 'It's not the folks who drive a car are going to pay more or folks who bike are going to pay more,' Liias said. 'Everybody is being asked to contribute more to the infrastructure that we all depend on.' Fares could rise 1.5% each year on Washington State Ferries and a new surcharge would be added for credit card transactions. Tolls could be collected on the entire Highway 520 corridor instead of just the floating bridge. Police could issue $150 tickets for cars parked with expired tabs in the public right-of-way. There's a new 10% luxury tax on motor homes, recreational watercraft, and non-commercial aircraft costing over $500,000. The tax would be levied only on the amount of the sale, lease, or transfer value exceeding $500,000. Other measures include raising registration fees on electric vehicles and hybrids, increasing the tax on rental cars and adding a $10 assessment on traffic infractions starting Jan. 1, 2026. And there could be a new $1 fee tacked onto tickets for sporting events and concerts with a crowd of more than 20,000 people. The assessment would be levied on the operators of venues with a capacity of more than 20,000 attendees, such as T-Mobile Park, Lumen Field and the Tacoma Dome. Sen. Leonard Christian, R-Spokane, opposed the gas tax increase, saying his constituents will drive to Idaho to pay less to fill up and spend on other items while there. 'This is going to be another boon for Idaho,' he said. In its final action Saturday, the Senate voted 35-14 to pass a bill to issue up to $7 billion of bonds to pay for the design, right-of-way purchases and construction of highway projects. Senate Bill 5800 also increased the bonding authorization for the State Route 520 project by $500 million. Meanwhile, the House is expected to vote on its transportation budget next week. And it has a bill to raise the state gas tax 9 cents, and then index it to inflation. That too could be acted on.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Domestic workers rights bill passes Washington State Senate
A bill to boost the protections of thousands of domestic workers, including housekeepers, nannies, caregivers, and gardeners, passed the Washington State Senate on Wednesday. The Domestic Workers' Bill of Rights would grant domestic workers minimum wage, overtime pay, meal and rest breaks, as well as protection from discrimination and retaliation, according to the Washington State Senate. 'Domestic workers play a vital role in our communities, yet they've long been excluded from basic labor protections,' State Senator Rebecca Saldaña said. 'This bill is an important step in ensuring domestic workers — many of whom are women, immigrants, and people of color — have access to the same labor protections as other Washington workers. It's a step toward justice and dignity for those who provide essential work in our homes,' she continued.' Senate Bill 5023 would also reinforce workers' rights to keep belongings like immigration documents and prohibit employers from asking for or keeping them. In a recent hearing on the bill, State Senator Curtis King spoke against it. 'I think the vast majority of them are very well treated,' he said. 'You're going to do it at the expense of everybody that treats these people the way they should be treated.' The bill will move on to the Washington State House. Two states, Oregon and California, and three cities — Seattle, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C. — already have a domestic worker bill of rights in place.
