DALLAS - A $15 billion, 16-year transportation infrastructure plan proposed by Washington state lawmakers would be fueled with a higher state gasoline tax and more than $4 billion of state general obligation bonds.
The proposal would boost transportation construction spending across the state by $8 billion through 2031, said Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, chairman of the state senate transportation committee.
The transportation plan outlined on Feb. 12 by King proposes an increase in the state's gasoline tax of 11.7 cents over three years to bring in an additional $5.6 billion through fiscal 2031.
The bond bill in the package would authorize up to $4.3 billion of GO bonds. Washington's $18.9 billion of outstanding GO bonds, including $7.5 billion of debt supported by the fuel tax and toll revenues, are rated Aa1 by Moody's Investors Service and AA-plus by Standard & Poor's.
Washington is one of at least a dozen states, including Iowa, Michigan, and New Jersey that are considering increases in their fuel taxes to provide additional revenue for transportation because of uncertainties over the level of federal infrastructure funding
The long-range plan would provide full funding through completion for six large transportation infrastructure projects and 58 regional projects in Washington, King said.
The 11-bill legislative package includes the GO bond authorization bill, a revenue bill with the fuel tax increase, a spending measure, and eight reform bills.
The gasoline tax increase would be phased in, with a 5 cent hike in July, a 4.2 cent increase in 2016, and another 2.5 cents in 2017. The State Office of Financial Management predicted in November that Washington's current fuels tax of 37.6 cents per gallon on both gasoline and diesel will generate $13 billion over the next 10 years.
Lawmakers may not like raising fuel taxes, King said, but there are few options.
"We don't have any other way to do it, without changing our whole system," he said at a news conference. "We don't have another alternative at this point, but we also believe we can't wait any longer to address our maintenance and preservation issues."
King said the transportation plan will receive bipartisan support in the Senate. Co-sponsors include Sen. Joe Fain, the transportation committee's Republican vice chairman, and the two ranking Democrats on the panel, Sen. Marko Liias and Sen. Steve Hobbs.
"I don't think the four of us would be standing here if we didn't feel confident that could muster enough votes," King said.
Transportation committee hearings on the reform bills will begin Feb. 17, he said.
One of the bills would allow Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority to ask Seattle voters for a 0.5% sales tax, 0.3% motor vehicle sales tax, and a property tax of $1 per $10,000 of assessed value to fund infrastructure projects. If the local option measure passes and voters give their assent to the new taxes, Sound Transit would not receive any additional state funding.
The spending plan includes $8.2 billion of state and local improvement projects, $1.2 billion for infrastructure preservation, and $328 million for a new ferry boat and passenger terminal. Debt service over the 16-year span would total $2.5 billion.
House Transportation Chair Judy Clibborn, D-Mercer Island, said she was encouraged by the bipartisan proposal but noted that the bills must first pass the Senate.
"We must take action this session to build a better transportation system for our state, and this is an important first step towards that goal," she said. "This legislation must still pass the Senate before bicameral negotiations can resume in earnest."
