House and Senate negotiators working on a new package for transportation may take some solace from the knowledge that they are not alone: State legislatures across the country are increasing gasoline taxes and fees to pay for roads and transit, as recently reported in The Olympian (subscription may be required).
But although gas taxes for transportation projects are popular with voters in both blue and red states, there’s a catch: With increasing ownership of hybrid and other high-mileage vehicles, taxes on fuel are not as reliable a source of revenue as they once were. Plus, because they often are fixed at a certain amount, the taxes don’t keep up with inflation in construction and operating costs for transportation.
Gov. Inslee has stressed the importance of upgrading the state’s transportation infrastructure, and he hopes the bargaining will 
produce a bill that can be sent to him for signature soon. The House earlier this year passed a transportation package with a 10.5-cent-per-gallon tax hike. Recently, the co-chair of the Senate Transportation Committee rolled out a proposal with an 11.5-cent increase, but the Senate has not yet approved any new plan.