Exciting news!
Yesterday, House transportation leaders addressed urgent
state and local needs while creating, or sustaining, thousands of jobs all over
Washington by advancing a great revenue package!
“Low interest rates and very low bids from businesses
competing for construction contracts make this an ideal time to take care of
some of our most pressing needs in transportation,” said Rep. Judy
Clibborn (D-Mercer Island), who chairs the House Transportation Committee.
The centerpiece of this package, which passed out of
committee yesterday, is HB
2660 which is expected to generate about $1.35 billion over the next ten
years by adding a $1.50 fee on barrels of refined oil in our state. Revenue from the
oil-barrel fee would be split 50-50 between the state and local governments.
This new plan exempts oil that is exported to other states or used for
non-highway purposes, such as aviation and marine fuels.
“Just by itself, the oil fee we’re proposing would support
around 1,100 jobs annually,” said Marko Liias
(D-Edmonds), a vice chair of the committee. “These are good-paying,
private-sector jobs for construction workers, who’ve been hit harder than
anyone else by the economic downturn.”
In addition to the revenue measures, the committee passed a
proposal (HB
2704) by Rep.
Andy Billig (D-Spokane) to create a task force for exploring new approaches
to funding transportation as the state becomes less reliant on fossil fuel.
“Today we passed a focused revenue package for urgent needs,”
said Billig, also a vice chair of the committee. “It doesn’t try to
replace the nearly $5 billion of gas-tax
revenues that we’re expecting to lose over the next dozen or so years due to
increased fuel efficiency and other factors. But it will put people to work
right away on state and local needs that just can’t wait.”
