Today the Washington State Senate transportation committee met to discuss multiple measures that would undermine the implementation of the voter-approved Sound Transit 3 ballot measure. These bills would roll back voter-approved taxes and restructure Sound Transit governance, resulting in a delay of implementation and ignoring the will of the voters to expand and improve our region’s mass transit system.
Let’s look at each bill:
SB 5001: Modifying the election and authority of regional transit authority board members.
Currently, the Sound Transit board is comprised of 18 elected officials from King, Snohomish, and Pierce Counties, who are appointed by their respective county executives. SB 5001 would call for the direct election of a total of 11 board members, whose districts would be defined by a new districting commission appointed by the governor. These elected board members would not be able to concurrently hold another elected office.
Transportation Choices is strongly committed to accountability and good governance for all transit agencies. While on the surface this bill looks like it would be good for transparency and oversight, we believe the bill will do more harm than good:
- Our system is regional in focus and scope, and the current board is structured to best serve all residents of the Puget Sound. If the Sound Transit board were to be directly elected, we are concerned that decisions would miss important opportunities for regional planning as board members would be beholden to a small part of the larger system.
- Under this proposal, these new board positions would also receive stipends and paid staff, which would add additional costs for the region, taking resources away from building transit. Moreover, the time spent restructuring the board would be a distraction that could result in delayed projects.
- Sound Transit currently has AAA bond ratings – we are concerned that confusion and unstable oversight of the board could compromise the agency’s bond rating, resulting in diversion of resources from transit, further delaying projects.
SB 5817 & SB 5854: Nullifying the imposition of certain taxes within regional transit authority boundaries.
SB 5817 and SB 5854 would give local cities and counties the authority to opt out of paying Sound Transit taxes. Transportation Choices strongly opposes these bills. Voters within the Sound Transit taxing district approved Sound Transit 3 last November with 54% support. Giving localities to opt out of investing in growing our regional transit system threatens Sound Transit’s ability to build out a regional system and undermines our region’s collective transportation future.
SB 5851: Concerning the valuation of motor vehicles for purposes of determining excise taxes.
SB 5851 would alter the Revised Code of Washington to set the value of a motor vehicle by Kelly Blue Book values or National Automobile Dealers Association values.
The Motor Vehicle Excise Tax (MVET) is one of the more progressive taxes available in our state – because it is based on the value of your car rather than a flat rate. Any effort to update Sound Transit’s MVET collection process should be done in a way that does not compromise project delivery and finances the way this bill does.
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Transportation Choices led the 2016 coalition of business, labor, environment, and community organizations to support the passage of Sound Transit 3 that succeeded last November. Our broad coalition attended hundreds of events and talked to thousands of voters in 2016. It was clear from our community engagement that the main priority of voters is to find solutions to get more transit faster. Unfortunately, the above bills jeopardize the ability of Sound Transit to deliver this transit on time.
What can you do to help?
Contact your legislators (find their contact information here). Emails are great, phone calls are better! Let them know you want more transit without delays. You can also visit the pages for the bill and leave your comments there.
Senate
Returning Senators Steve Hobbs (44th) — Chair Rebecca Saldaña (37th) — Vice Chair Marko Liias (21st) Freshmen Senators Mona Das (47th) Joe Nguyen (34th) Emily Randall (26th)House
Returning Representatives Jake Fey (27th) — Chair Sharon Wylie (49th) — 1st Vice Chair Vandana Slatter (48th) — 2nd Vice Chair Javier Valdez (46th) — 2nd Vice Chair Beth Doglio (22nd) Mia Gregerson (33rd) Shelley Kloba (1st) Mike Pellicciotti (30th) Marcus Riccelli (3rd) Freshmen Representatives Debra Entenman (47th) Jared Mead (44th) Bill Ramos (5th) Sharon Shewmake (42nd)Hot issues for 2019
A cleaner transportation system
After the defeat of I-1631 at the ballot box, environmental, climate and social justice advocates, as well as electeds, are pursuing legislative options to build a cleaner, healthier state. Policies like a low-carbon fuel standard, a Zero Emissions Vehicle (ZEV) mandate, or a legislated fee on carbon are already circulating as potential options for legislators to champion.
House Transportation Chair Jake Fey has stated an intention to pass a “green transportation” bill. In December he pulled together a variety of transportation, utility and industry stakeholders to discuss ideas. TCC will look to ensure this effort supports growing transit, transit electrification, and uses an equity lens.
A more just environment
With many strong progressive legislators, including new legislators of color, there is momentum to advance equity policies at the state level. Representative Mia Gregerson is leading the charge, with a bill that would create a new Office of Equity within the Office of the Governor to improve state services and improve outcomes across issues like health, education, and environment.
Senator Saldaña, along with our partners at Front & Centered, are specifically targeting environmental justice with a bill that would create a governing council to embed environmental justice principles into state agencies, including transportation. From the placement of roads and highways, to how stormwater is managed, the transportation sector has significant environmental impacts that disproportionately impact some communities over others — this bill is taking a step to recognize and correct for this.
A new transportation package
Finally, legislators and advocates will begin discussions around a new transportation package. The State’s last transportation package, Connecting Washington, passed in 2015. How to create a cleaner transportation system will continue to be a key theme of discussions around a new transportation package. TCC will look to grow investments for the multimodal account, which funds transit, walking and biking projects, and important grant programs like Safe Routes to School and special needs transit.
Budget negotiations
The State of Washington passes a new budget every two years, and this is a budget year. In late 2018, TCC advocated for increased investment in the State’s Commute Trip Reduction program, active transportation, and I-5 corridor planning. Governor Jay Inslee released his initial budget in December, reflecting several of our asks. The legislature will now take up budget deliberations, with opportunities to advocate for additional investments and policy direction. TCC’s top-of-mind is to ensure any work or planning involving new technologies (like autonomous and connected vehicles) studies the impacts on health and safety.
Our priorities
In addition to engaging in the big discussions around environment, equity, and funding this session, we’ll be supporting several other bills to help keep transit moving and better manage our current system:
- Bolstering High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) enforcement through increased penalties, in order to maximize efficiency of these lanes and ensure reliable trips for transit and carpools
- Expanding traffic camera statutes to include automatic enforcement of bus lanes and crosswalks (especially important for the Seattle Squeeze)
- Authorizing tolls on 405 and 167 to help manage congestion, improve transit reliability, and raise revenue for facility improvements
See our full list of priorities here. Download our priorities one-pager here.
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Stay engaged
Here are ways to stay engaged and participate in our state’s policy-making process.
- TCC Bill Tracker.The bills we are closely tracking along with status updates and actions.
- Sign up for our Action Alerts.Be the first to know when a bill is at risk and take action to keep our transportation moving.
