Washington State Senator Has Plan To Boost Roads Funds
The Washington State Legislature will begin the 2025 session on January 13th. This is the 'long' session, meaning those 105 days will include determining the 2027-2028 biennial budget. Before they get to that business, they have to figure out the potential $10-12 projected funding shortfall.
On the periphery is the possibility that WSDOT (Washington State Department of Transportation) may overspend revenue by $7 billion. One longtime State Senator has an idea that would bolster transportation funds without raising taxes on Washington residents.
A Brief History of The Transportation Fund
In 1944, the State legislature passed the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. It specifically protected revenue deposited in the Motor Vehicle Fund (gas tax revenue, vehicle license fees, and other revenue tabbed for highways) from being used for general expenses.
As gas mileage efficiency has increased, along with more electric vehicles on the roads, the revenue from the gas tax has been declining. When revenue in the Motor Vehicle Fund is down, it impact transportation projects around the state. Figuring out how to reverse the downward trend has been stumping lawmakers for a few years.
Is This The Possible Solution?
Sen. Curtis King (R 14th District, Yakima) is the ranking member on the Transportation Committee. He is putting forth a bill in the coming session to add money to the MVF without adding more pain to the taxpayer. Senate Bill 5026 calls for a major modification regarding the vehicle sales tax.
Currently only .03% of vehicle sales tax collected goes into the MVF, 99.7% goes into the general fund. King's bill would increase the percentage of the vehicle sales tax deposited into the MVF by 16.66% until 100% of the tax is firmly deposited into the Motor Vehicle Fund. The Senator's math believes that will happen around 2031.
The first year of collections after the shift could see around $400 million more in the MVF and over $1 billion after the third year of adjusted percentage. A road usage charge has also been discussed to get more out of those driving EVs, but the means of determining mileage and how to collect has yet to be determined.
That would mean more money from already tax weary residents. This bill would simply move revenue already being collected by the sale and lease of motor vehicles to a protected fund from the general fund. SB 5026 was prefiled for the coming session on Tuesday December 10th.