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Dear friends and neighbors,
Today is the 28th day of this 60-day session, last Wednesday was the first key deadline known as policy committee cutoff. Bills that didn’t pass out of policy committees by January 31 are considered dead unless they’re directly related to the budgets. The fiscal cutoff is tomorrow, Monday, February fifth, the last day for bills to pass out of budget committees.
It’s a very busy time in Olympia and we’re all in overdrive to get as many bills moving as we can before times runs out.
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Save the date: TOWN HALL coming up!
My seatmates, Rep. Lisa Callan, Sen. Mark Mullet and I will hold a town hall on Saturday, February 17 at 11 AM, at the Tahoma High School Performing Arts Theater.
With only two and a half weeks left of session at that point, it’ll be a great time to give you an update on how things are going.
WE HOPE YOU CAN JOIN US!
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Capitol Ideas Podcast
I was a guest on the Capitol Ideas Podcast a couple of weeks ago and want to share the audio file with you. I had a great conversation with Dan Frizzell, who has produced this podcast for over a decade. We spoke about the priorities I am working on this session, including illegal trash dumping, illegible license plates, amending the state constitution, and discussing who really pays gas taxes in Washington. Click here or on the image below to listen.
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Bill’s Bills
HB 1964 – GAS TAX COLLECTION
I am happy to report that my bill passed the House with strong bipartisan support (92-4) last Monday! Watch my floor remarks here.
From cars and boats to planes and trucks, fuel keeps Washington moving. But for some, the road to fairness in funding our transportation system is riddled with potholes. My bill tightens fuel tax enforcement and closes revenue gaps.
While the Department of Licensing (DOL) oversees transportation taxes in Washington, it lacks the same tools as the Department of Revenue to ensure everyone pays their fair share.
This bill targets a specific loophole: the fuel tax is included in the price of gasoline when we fill up our tank and we may assume that it is then forwarded to the state by the gas station. However, that responsibility actually lies with the entity transporting the fuel from refineries to stations.
My legislation empowers DOL to track and investigate any potential fuel tax and registration violations.
For more on this measure, watch my latest “Ask Bill” video below:
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HB 2207 – REDUCING IMPACTS OF SOLID WASTE DUMPING
I wrote about this bill in my previous newsletter, but I want to update you with some good news: It passed the Environment & Energy Committee on January 30 and is scheduled for executive action in the Appropriations Committee tomorrow!
My legislation will tackle illegal dumping head-on and protect our state’s precious natural resources by addressing four key areas: revised penalties, funding cleanup and preventing future dumping, addressing abandoned vessels, and empowering rural communities.
For all the details on this measure, please read the press release here.
You can also read this January 22 Northwest News Network article on my bill.
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HB 1963 – PROHIBITING LICENSE PLATE COVERS
We need to have readable license plates for the safety of law enforcement officers and for drivers’ accountability when they break the law or commit an infraction. My legislation will ensure license plates are always legible and clearly identifiable. My bill was heard in the Transportation Committee the first week of session (watch the hearing here where you’ll hear testimony from a Washington State Patrol representative) and was passed out of committee on January 17.
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A deeper look at the State’s Transportation Budget
This short legislative session presents significant challenges as we tackle rising construction costs for critical transportation projects like ferries, roads, and fish passages. While the 2023-2025 State Transportation Appropriations Act allocated $13.5 billion, Governor Inslee’s proposed supplemental budget (HB 2134) requests an additional $1.6 billion to fulfill promises made in the Move Ahead Washington and Connecting Washington packages.
This past week, the House Transportation Committee held working sessions with the Washington State Department of Transportation to address difficult choices that will need to be made with this year’s budget. Some of these issues include:
- 520 Bridge/Portage Bay: When the legislature initially approved a new concrete girder on the bridge with a targeted completion date in the early 2030s, we estimated the price tag would be $800 million. But when WSDOT sent out a bid to complete the project, only two vendors were interested—and their estimate came in at a whopping $1.3 billion. The Seattle Times covered this topic in-depth; click here to read more.
- Fish culverts: Last fall, the Seattle Times reported that the huge spike in costs to help salmon could derail the state’s transportation budget. Over the next two decades, remedying the state’s fish culverts is projected to cost anywhere from $7.3 billion to $7.8 billion, far beyond the $3.8 billion already spent or earmarked by the legislature.
- Proceeds from cap-and-trade auctions: The Climate Commitment Act passed in 2021 and more than 100 projects around the state benefited from the $76.2 million raised in the first year of cap-and-trade auctions. These proceeds are used in our state’s operating, capital, and transportation budgets, and are vital to keep important projects on track.
The transportation budget is certain to receive a lot more media coverage in the weeks to come, and I will continue to keep you updated as we work on these challenges and make some tough decisions.
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Temporary license plates delivering results
In 2022, I sponsored House Bill 1790 to replace temporary paper permits with temporary but durable license plates when registering a vehicle, until the permanent plates arrive.
The temporary plate is important and necessary because it allows the Washington State Patrol (WSP) to identify the vehicle and registered owner for safety, and the Washington State Department of Transportation’s Toll Division (Toll Division) to identify the vehicle and registered owner to pay outstanding toll bills. The previous paper permits that were taped to back or side windows were often unreadable, interfering with the work of the WSP and the Toll Division.
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My legislation was signed into law in March of 2022 and became effective last summer. The law required the temporary plates to be composed of a material durable enough to remain unaltered for a minimum of four months.
I am happy to report great news from a recent update from the Department of Transportation (DOT) stating that the new temporary plates are being used in dealerships across the state, which has allowed their cameras to capture images that have resulted in an increase in revenue from approximately $200/month to $193,000/month. DOT expects to collect over $2.5 million in revenue this year thanks to the temporary plates.
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Visiting the Capitol during session
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Thank you for reading my newsletter. If you need more information on any of the issues discussed here, or on any other legislative matter, please don’t hesitate to contact my office.
Sincerely,
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