Dear friends,
It’s go time! Yesterday morning, Washington State legislators released their transportation budget proposals — and there’s a lot to wade through. Check out the Senate bills and narrative summaries here, and the House bills and narrative summaries here.
Or go directly to these Senate bills:
- An all-cuts budget with NO revenue added (PSSB 5161)
- New proposed revenue sources (SB 5801)
- New proposed spending (PSSB 5160)
And these House bills:
Our Analysis
Last week on our blog, we outlined what we’d be looking for as we review these transportation budgets. Now, we’re digging into them to find the good, bad, and the ugly. Here’s what we’re seeing so far.
The good:
- The Senate spending bill includes $450 million over 6 years to fund safety work on main street highways, which we’ve been calling for in our Megaproject for Safety proposal. This new funding would help save lives and build better main streets in communities across the state. This bill also renews the Sandy Williams Connecting Communities grant, invests in Safe Routes for Seniors, increases Green Transportation grants, and provides $100 million for transit safety investments like better lighting at bus stops.
- The Senate spending bill also includes $10 million to expand and improve Washington’s intercity bus program, which was one of our top legislative priorities this year. This program links small towns and rural areas to local bus networks and cities. It is a lifeline for many rural residents who need to travel but can’t drive, connecting them to healthcare, employment, and loved ones.
- The House budget seeks to ensure we don’t spend more than we bring in by pausing and pushing out highway expansion projects. These projects are mainly responsible for the ballooning budget deficit. As reported by The Urbanist, “putting the entire bicycle and pedestrian safety grant program and the entire safe routes to school program on hold for two years would save the same amount as postponing one highway [widening] project.”
The bad:
- The House budget includes cuts to transit and commute trip reduction, including pausing Regional Mobility Grants. Regional Mobility Grants are essential for improving connectivity and addressing congestion and pollution. To reduce costs, the legislature should pause more of the freeway expansion projects responsible for the ballooning budget deficit.
The ugly:
- The Senate proposal for new revenue includes taxes on electric bicycles and buses. We strongly oppose these new taxes. Legislators shouldn’t be making it harder to bike or take the bus. This will only encourage more people to drive alone, and make traffic and climate pollution worse. Sixty-two percent of Washingtonians showed they support substantial investments in transit and active transportation when they voted down Initiative 2117 to overturn the Climate Commitment Act. Our leaders should honor the intent of voters by not increasing taxes on public transit agencies and e-bikes to fill their budget gap. Both the House and Senate revenue bills include more cost-effective proposals, such as increasing the gas tax and imposing luxury taxes on vehicles. We should lean into those approaches.
Take Action With Us
We need you to join us in speaking out about new proposed taxes on buses and e-bikes. Please send a letter to legislators asking them to oppose these taxes!
We will be testifying in both the House and Senate Transportation Committee hearings today at 4 PM.
What Happens Next?
This process will move fast. The Senate is scheduled to vote these bills out of committee on Thursday and off the floor on Saturday. We anticipate the House moving the bills out of committee on the same timeline but then holding a vote by the full chamber next Monday, March 31st. We’ll continue to advocate with you as the bills go through the opposite chambers.
Keep an eye on your email for updates and action alerts!
Ride on!
– Transportation Choices
