Yesterday the Senate decided to not concur with the House versions of two important bills, ESSB 6455 and ESSB 6582. These two bills are crucial to the future of transit funding and service in Washington State. One of them would provide more local options to cities, counties, and transit agencies to fund transit service and prevent cuts or restore service. The other bill would raise transportation related fees and give a significant portion of that revenue to transit operations. If the House version of these bills past, it would park the first time since the lost of MVET that the State would be contributing directly to transit operations, and a huge step forward for local revenue options for transit.
Unfortunately, the Senate did no concur with the strong House versions of the bills. This means the bills will go to conference where appointed members of each caucus will debate the final versions of the bills. It is regretable that the Senate turned their backs on transit, but there is still hope. The conference committee could agree on a version that stands up for transit in our communities across Washington.
Thankfully, earlier 32 House Democrats stood strong in support of transit riders across the state. They sent a letter stating that the transit portions of these two bills must stay in tact in order for them to vote in support of the bills. These 32 members truly stepped up as strong advocates for transit. Stay tuned as we continue to work and watch this important end of session outcome.
