Seattle Press on Line - Senate proposes 5-cent increase in gas tax

Senate proposes 5-cent increase in gas tax

‘Pay even more, get even less’

SEATTLE—Mayor Greg Nickels this week said the Washington State Senate’s five cent gas tax proposal increases the burden on Seattle tax payers while funds for the Alaskan Way Viaduct are cut by more than $50 million.

"Stop the auction—we’re losing," Nickels said. "The gas tax proposals keep going up, up, up, while funding for the Viaduct goes down, down, down."

State Representative Ed Murray (D-Seattle) earlier proposed a three cent gas tax with $100 million for the Viaduct. Locke jumped in to raise the tax to four cents a gallon with $95 million for the Viaduct.

“Now the State Senate wants a piece of the action—a five cent tax with only $45 million for the Viaduct,” Nickels said.

"Clearly, the Governor and the State Senate are failing to recognize important facts—Seattle will contribute more gas tax revenues than any other city in this state, yet we’ll see much less funding for a disintegrating state highway that threatens public safety and the state’s economy. Everyone stands to lose under the Governor and the State Senate’s proposals,” he added.

Office of the Mayor release, March 28

Mar 31, 2003 --

THE SENATE Monday proposed a one-time 5-cent increase in gas tax to fund a 10-year, $4.1 billion transportation package. The proposed increase is the highest among the transportation packages proposed so far.

Early this month, State Representative Ed Murray (D-Seattle) proposed a 3-cent gas tax increase. Locke later submitted to the Legislature a roads and transit plan that calls for a gas-tax increase of four cents to address critical transportation projects and spur the state economy.

The plans differ in their mix of highway and non-highway dollars, which include transit, passenger rail, freight mobility and ferries. The Senate plan favors more roads spending while the House plan provides more for transit.

The Senate’s proposal—and Locke’s—however, immediately drew a strong opposition from Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. Read sidebar.

Locke, in the meantime, will call a meeting with the chairs of the House and Senate transportation committees in his office Tuesday evening in an attempt to reach an agreement on a statewide transportation-improvement package. Read full story.

“Our plan will build more projects and will do more to improve transportation than either the House of the governor’s proposals,” Senate Highways and Transportation Committee Chairman Jim Horn (R-Mercer Island) said.

“If we’re going to raise the gas tax, we need to do it right. It doesn’t make sense to raise the gas tax by 3 cents if it won’t get the job done,” Horn added.

The Senate proposal provides funding to address the following transportation problems:

• $2.266 billion in highway construction projects in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties, where most of Washington's traffic congestion problems are found

• $1.175 billion for highway construction projects elsewhere in Washington

• $298 million for the state's ferry system, including money for two new auto ferries

• $218 million for passenger and freight rail capital projects

• $156 million in matching funds for track improvements on the rail line between Bellingham and Vancouver.

Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen (D-Camano Island), the Highways and Transportation Committee's ranking Democrat, said the Senate package will begin to address many transportation problems throughout the state.

"After Referendum 51's defeat last fall, our challenge as elected officials was to make our transportation system more accountable - but we still needed to find new revenue for some long-overdue projects," Haugen said. "I think we've met that challenge in a strong bipartisan way."

Washington State Senate release, March 31

Reader Comments

Discuss this article in the forums!

No comments yet!