Tag Archives: Gas Tax

Return to $30 car tabs creates path forward for Fortunato transportation-funding plan

State Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn, says voter approval of Initiative 976 has cleared a path for his legislation to meet the state’s transportation-infrastructure needs without new taxes. I-976, which has so far received a 56-percent “yes” vote in the general election that concluded yesterday, will return annual licensing fees to $30 for most vehicles; it also corrects the flawed Sound Transit car evaluation schedule that has landed the regional transit authority in court.

“Since joining the Senate I have been sounding the alarm on the impending transportation funding crisis,” said Fortunato who serves on the Senate Transportation Committee. “That had nothing to do with this initiative, but was driven by an honest look at declining revenues versus the immense need for infrastructure resources. Now that voters have spoken, the state still needs these valuable projects, and my proposal will fund them and more with the money they already send to Olympia.”

Senate Bill 5743 would fundamentally change how the state pays for transportation projects by using the existing sales tax on motor vehicles. The bill received a public hearing during the 2019 legislative session and is the only no-new-tax proposal before the Legislature that can fill the funding gap created by the passage of I-976.

Presentations to the Senate Transportation Committee by state officials indicated that declining gas-tax revenues and inflationary costs already outpace the state’s resources. To date, ideas such as a mileage tax, also known as a Road Usage Charge, are being considered in the Legislature.

“The problem with transportation funding is not usage, but all the solutions are based on that premise,” said Fortunato. “The main cost driver is inflation. The existing sales tax on motor vehicles represents an inflation-linked funding source that non-partisan analysis shows will give the state more money for roads than the other schemes being discussed — and it gives taxpayers a well-deserved break.

“When my bill received a public hearing, the chair of the committee said that my approach was ‘probably right but would never make it out of the Ways and Means Committee’. I think that taxpayers have clearly sent a message that we need to get creative and find solutions that don’t require an endless list of taxes to fix the roads they already pay for. The timing is right to fully fund transportation.”

An economic analysis of Fortunato’s proposal can be found here: Transportation Funding

It’s time to ‘Fully Fund Transportation,’ says Fortunato

My bold proposal on transportation funding has received public hearings in previous legislative sessions and demonstrated that it can work.

The measure, Senate Bill 5743, would fundamentally change how the state pays for transportation infrastructure projects by providing a stable and fair alternative to the unpopular vehicle mileage tax proposal. The plan, ‘Fully Fund Transportation,’ uses existing state sales tax dollars on the sale of motor vehicles to provide additional funding for the gas tax account to build roads.

The transportation infrastructure needs of the state are staggering. From the need to replace the Columbia River Bridge to the two small bridges I need for my district, there is a huge need for more funding. At the current rate of expenditure, projects are obsolete before all the connecting projects are done. Rather than reach into the pockets of the people for more tax dollars when they are already taxed to death, especially with the looming carbon tax and income tax proposals on the horizon, we need an innovative solution like the one I’m proposing.

The proposal uses existing revenue and details a plan to demonstrate how expenditures can return more revenue back to the state to help pay for the proposal. Similar to the assumptions used to justify the recent 11.9-cent gas tax increase, the economic impacts and revenue returns justify the expenditure.

Some argue that if you just raise the gas tax, it will do all this great stuff for the economy. Well, if that’s true, why do you need to raise my taxes?

An analysis by the Office of the State Treasurer notes that as more people move to electric vehicles, which the state already subsidizes, gas tax revenue will decline. If gas tax revenue fails to cover the cost of outstanding transportation bonds, the general fund will have to cover the difference. My FFT is a planned and controlled process rather than a panicked reaction to the impending shortfall, he noted. An economic analysis of the proposal is available here.