WASHINGTON STATE

Washington State House Democrats

HOUSE DEMOCRATS

Car tab update, end of regular session, and bill passage

Friends and neighbors –

It’s been a busy few months during the legislative session. There’s more work to do. Here’s a quick update.


My Sound Transit Car Tab Bill Passes House

I have heard from many of you looking for a fix to the inflated Sound Transit car valuation. In response, I introduced a bill, HB 2201, that creates a market value adjustment program to reimburse or credit taxpayers for part of their ST3 car tab taxes that exceed the current and accurate value of their car.  As a new legislator, I have presented the bipartisan solution, having received support from every House member — Democrat and Republican — who represent Sound Transit districts in the Puget Sound. I am pleased that my bill broke through this partisan gridlock to pass the House of Representatives.

The bill is now sitting with the Senate, and I’m waiting for the Senate to act quickly so we can get this bill to the Governor’s desk and get reimbursements back to the taxpayers. This solution fixes the valuation problems, returns $780 million to taxpayers over the next decade, holds Sound Transit accountable, and keeps light rail on track. Leading on issues like this through the House of Representatives is not easy, but it’s what the people of our district expect.


Legislative Update

The House and Senate have an agreed to Transportation budget, negotiated by leaders on both sides that has passed the House. If passed by the Senate before Sunday, this will be the first financial budget resolved during a regular session in years. As a member of the House Transportation Committee, I’m proud that our work led to this bipartisan budget that continues to invest in road safety, salaries for a state patrol, and projects that improve commute times in our region.

Despite four months of hard work on policy, budget negotiators have yet to come to an agreement on our final Operating budget, which includes education funding. The Senate is currently unwilling to come to the table to negotiate this part of the budget, necessitating a special session. This is disappointing to me, but I am hopeful this Senate position changes soon, since we must pass this budget before July 1 in order to avoid a state government shutdown, and we need to fully fund education.

I am confident, once the Senate begins to negotiate the final Operating budget in the special session, the House and Senate can negotiate a compromise that both sides can agree on and that meets our constitutional obligations. There is bipartisan support in the House for this resolution.

I will also continue to advocate in this final negotiation process for those issues I’ve included in the House Capital budget, which include a conservation study of the Weyerhaeuser Campus, a review of airplane noise in our area, senior accommodation investments, and public safety infrastructure improvements in Federal Way. I am hopeful the Senate accepts these proposals in its final budget.


Passing Law

I’m pleased this week to have the Governor signed into law my bill, HR 1832, which furthers the research and coordination of the efforts to combat child exploitation and human trafficking in our community and around the State. I was honored to receive the pen from the signing, and I look forward to soon attending the signing of other bills that I sponsored this legislative session.