The State Legislature concluded its second special session of the year this morning after approving a supplemental budget and several other bills. Left on the floor was Senate Bill 6582, which would have given authority to counties, and possibly transit agencies, to seek voter approval of a motor vehicle excise tax (MVET) for transportation needs.
The bill existed in many forms throughout the sessions this year. In the end, it would have allowed counties to seek voter approval of an MVET up to 1 percent of a vehicle's value at registration. The county would have had to talk with local cities and transit agencies about how that money would be used. If the county did not seek the funding, the local transit agency could seek approval for up to 0.5 percent of a vehicle's value. That option could have created as much as $15 million a year in new funding for Community Transit, if approved by voters.
Last month, a letter was circulated to legislators urging passage of the bill, signed by all members of the Snohomish County Council as well as regional elected officials and business leaders. Community Transit will continue to push for additional state funding leading up to the next session which begins in January 2013.
For now, Community Transit's new funding will be coming from increased sales tax revenues as the economy recovers. Go Buy Local for Transit!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
It is very sad that our Washington State legislators were not able to pass SB6582 during this session. They took so much time trying to get a budget done, they were not able to get anything else done. If this type of decision making happend in the private sector, the company would go out of business. O, wait, no wonder why our state government is so disfunctional....
ReplyDeleteI hope the people will make their voices heard this November and elect representatives who can work together and also make our state better equipped to promote business growth. This will also help further reduce our high unemployment rate....