Municipal
League of King County
Position on
Referendum 51
Adopted by the
Board of Trustees, October 21, 2002
General
Election Ballot Measure
Position and Rationale
The Municipal League of King County endorses Referendum 51. The need to address transportation infrastructure has reached a crisis condition. R-51 does not completely solve this crisis, but is an important first step. If R-51 fails, many legislators have said, the Legislature will interpret the vote as a call for a much more modest investment and will significantly reduce any future proposals. Considering the statewide nature of the problem, it is unlikely the next Legislature would make significant changes in direction. The measure does appear to complement the approach being taken in the development of a Puget Sound Regional Transportation Improvement District. However, if R-51fails, the regional package will need to provide a much larger funding for local projects such as the Viaduct, SR520 and I-405. To begin to address the traffic problems in King County, both R-51 and a RTID will be required.
Supporters of the referendum acknowledge that R-51 will need to be followed by other measures. The general approach of spreading funds among many projects, even if all projects cannot be completed, is a compromise that encourages statewide support for the measure. Some of the very largest projects will clearly have to be phased over many years. The distribution of funds among transportation modes is reasonable based on the funding sources being used. Given established constraints on the proceeds of transportation-related taxes, the amounts allocated to rail and public transportation improvements are as large as could be expected.
Referendum 51 asks the voters of the state to raise $7.7 billion in new transportation revenues over 10 years by raising three taxes and issuing $4.8 billion in bonds. The tax increases are comprised of:
v A nine cent per gallon increase in the gas tax;
v A 30% increase in truck weight fees; and
v A one percent tax on the sale of new and used vehicles.
R-51 includes a list of 80 projects across the state, grouped into five categories:
|
State
Highway Projects |
$5.4
billion |
City and County Road
Projects
|
440 million
|
|
Washington
State Ferries |
688
million |
|
Rail
System Improvements |
294
million |
|
Public
Transportation |
820
million |
The current state gas tax is 23 cents per gallon. The last time it was raised was 1991. Revenue generated from the gas tax is distributed among the Washington State Department of Transportation and city and county governments. The Washington Constitution requires that proceeds from gas taxes and vehicle license fees be spent only for highway purposes.
Adjusted for inflation, actual state expenditures for transportation over the past 10 years have averaged $1.1 billion per year. Without passage of R-51, annual state expenditures over the next 10 years for transportation are projected to average $967 million per year. At the same time, the costs of land, construction and environmental regulation are causing transportation projects to cost more each year. During the same period, if R-51 passes, the state will have $1.6 billion available per year to spend on transportation. These funds will be used for projects in all parts of the state. In the Puget Sound region, major projects would include widening I-405, SR 167, and the SR 520 bridge and beginning to replace the Alaskan Way Viaduct.
A related transportation measure will be on the ballot next May in King County. It would create a Regional Transportation Improvement District (RTID) and authorize additional local taxes to match the funds that would be generated by R-51. The regional funds would be added to the state taxes to begin to fix a number of the major freeways and bridges in the Puget Sound region as well as to complete dozens of local arterial and transit projects.
Proponents of the
measure have advanced these and other arguments IN SUPPORT:
v Transportation capacity, maintenance and safety have been identified as a high priority for citizens in Washington. Especially in the Puget Sound region where traffic congestion is among the worst in the nation, citizens have told elected officials that transportation improvements must be a top priority for government.
v Business leaders and economists argue that congestion is an enormous burden on the state’s economy. They have urged that state and local governments invest in transportation to improve freight mobility and reduce the cost of time lost in traffic.
v R-51 is a wide-ranging package that includes improvements for highways, local roads, ferries, rail and public transit. It includes funds for all geographic areas of the state.
v In 1998 voters of the state passed Initiative 695, which eliminated the motor vehicle excise tax, a tax that caused state and local governments a loss of about $800 million per year. R-51 replaces some of the revenue that was lost to public transportation and rail purposes.
Opponents of the
measure have advanced these and other arguments AGAINST:
v R-51 has the wrong approach and the wrong priorities. The referendum tries to “build our way out of congestion” with new highways instead of improving transit and designing “smart” road projects like fixing choke points.
v If R-51 is turned down, the Legislature will take a different, more sensible approach in assembling a future proposal.
v R-51 is financially irresponsible because it starts dozens of road construction projects that can’t be finished without multiple future tax increases.
v The measure is bad for the environment because it encourages sprawl.
|
Municipal
League of King County 810 Third Avenue, #224 Seattle, WA 98101 |
www.munileague.org 206-622-8333 muni@munileague.org |