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The budget implications of I-976

Heidi Groover has a story in the Seattle Times today that considers what might happen with the state budget if I-976 is approved. (I-976 would reduce vehicle fees and revoke local governments’ authority to levy certain transportation fees and taxes.) The initiative would significantly reduce state and local funding for transportation. As we wrote in […]

More on the proposed new tax on Uber and Lyft in Seattle

Kevin Schofield of SCC Insight provides a rundown of some of the issues the Seattle City Council is debating as part of the 2020 budget. One of these is Mayor Durkan’s proposal to levy a new tax on transportation network companies (TNC; i.e., Uber and Lyft). The Council’s staff memo on the proposal includes some […]

Washington cities largely fund transportation from local revenue sources

According to a study commissioned by the Joint Transportation Committee (JTC), Washington cities collectively face an annual gap of about $1 billion between their available funding for transportation and their transportation preservation and maintenance needs. As Lens reports, the study was presented to the Washington State Transportation Commission yesterday. (The $1 billion figure does not […]

New brief: I-976: Reversing Transportation Taxes and Fees

I-976 would limit annual state and local vehicle license fees to $30, revoke the authority for transportation benefit districts to impose vehicle fees, repeal the state motor vehicle sales tax, revoke Sound Transit’s authority to impose a motor vehicle excise tax (if possible to do so under the terms of its bonds), and specify that […]

As part of her 2020 budget proposal, Seattle mayor would add a new tax on Uber, Lyft

Earlier this week Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan proposed a city budget for 2020. The Seattle Times reports, “The mayor’s proposed budget calls for $6.5 billion in total spending in 2020, including infrastructure projects and $1.5 billion in general-fund allocations for basic services such as parks maintenance and policing.” The mayor does not propose major spending […]

The costs of fixing culverts

Under an injunction issued by the U.S. District Court in 2013, the state of Washington must fix fish passage barriers in Western Washington by 2030. The state has begun this work, but there is a lot left to do. In the 2019–21 transportation budget enacted this year, the Legislature appropriated $100 million to replace culverts […]

Washington state Number Two in the nation for gas tax

The Tax Foundation is out with its annual rankings for state gas taxes (see map below), and Washington ranks second in the nation at 49.4 cents per gallon (numbers don't include the federal gas tax of 18.4 cents per gallon). But before you start wringing your hands, consider the Foundation's take on this particular form of […]

Environmental review process for coal export facility is inching along

A draft environmental impact statement (EIS) has finally been released for the proposed Millennium Bulk Terminals coal export project in Longview. The project was first proposed back in February 2012. Environmental reviews can take a few months or several years. They must be complete before permits can be issued. One reason that this review is […]

A positive outlook for West Coast ports, and will robots handle more cargo in the future?

The Journal of Commerce has an interesting story on the outlook for West Coast ports. 2015 wasn't a great year: "If the recession year of 2009 is excluded, laden containers moving through West Coast ports in 2015 hit the lowest level in 10 years." But Washington ports did see growth: The Seattle-Tacoma port complex was […]

Permitting and port competitiveness

Former U.S. Maritime Administrator David Matsuda has a nice op-ed in the Puget Sound Business Journal today. He notes that maritime industry stakeholders are concerned about infrastructure permitting. According to stakeholders, recent changes to Washington state infrastructure permitting rules have lengthened the process and created more uncertainty for potential investors. These changes can have major […]