Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Spin Control

WALeg Day 50: Gas tax hike passes Senate 27-22

Washington state Capitol
Washington state Capitol
OLYMPIA -- A package of higher taxes and fees which would raise gasoline taxes by 11.7 cents over three years passed the Senate on a 27-22 vote.
It then approved a list of some $15 billion worth of projects those taxes and fees would support -- nearly $1 billion of it in the Spokane area -- on a 41-8 vote.
A bipartisan group of supporters conceded it wasn't a perfect plan but said it would get better as it continues through the Legislature, The bill now goes to the House, which is opposed to some shifts in money from the state's general fund to transportation projects.
Within minutes of its passage, House Majority Leader Pat Sullivan, D-Covington, issued a statement that "the bad outweighs the good".
Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, said he would vote for the first transportation package in his 23 years in the Legislature because  it provides for road projects all around the state, not just large projects in a few locations like gasoline taxes in 2003 and 2005. 
Opponents, who included some of the chamber's most conservative Republicans and some of its most liberal Democrats, criticized how the bill would raise money and where it is expected to be spent.
"My district, mostly rural, is going to be effected horribly by this," Sen. Brian Dansel, R-Republic, said. Washington would have one of the nation's highest gasoline taxes, along with the highest state minimum wage, a combination that could drive out businesses, he said.
A vote on the tax package was delayed from Friday when Democrats asked whether it would need a two-thirds supermajority to move through the Senate. 
When senators returned to the floor this morning, Lt. Gov. Brad Owen said it would, if that rule was constitutional. But it's not, he added.
"The Senate may adopt an unconstitutional rule, but the president will not enforce it," he told senators, who then delayed for a second time a vote on the tax and fee package needed for a multi-billion dollar plan of large transportation projects, maintenance, ferry construction and mass transit.
On the first day of the 2015 session, the Republican-led majority changed Senate rules to require a two-thirds majority to move any new tax to its final vote. At the time, the change was seen as heading off taxes being discussed by Gov. Jay Inslee, such as a carbon fuel tax or a capital gains tax,  
That rule hadn't been tested until Friday, when the Senate began consideration of a series of changes to the state's transportation policy and a revenue package that would raise an estimated $15 billion over 16 years, much of it from an 11.7 cent increase in the gasoline tax over a three-year period.
Before that could come up for a vote, however, Democrats asked if it needed a two-thirds majority to move to a final vote. Owen, who rules on such parliamentary questions, said he'd have to study the issue and the vote was put off until today.
The gas tax isn't new, but some things in the proposal are. Owen said. Those include weight fees that will be used for a variety of transportation purposes, and an increase for some people renewing their vehicle licenses, which would be used for ferry construction. Described in the bill as fees, they are clearly taxes, Owen said, and the entire bill as written would need a two-thirds vote under the new rule.
But is the rule constitutional? Sen. Steve Hobbs asked.
Owen, who said he and his office had been researching that question since before the session started and was clearly prepared to answer, said no, it is not. The state's constitution requires simple majority votes for "ordinary legislation", and the gas tax bill falls under that umbrella, he said.
"The president has no choice but to follow the dictates of the Constitution," Owen said.
A vote on the bill was delayed, the Senate went at ease and both parties went into caucus to discuss their next moves. They came back at 12:30 p.m. and began debate.
Before the debate, began, however, Sen. Mike Baumgartner, R-Spokane, essentially told Owen his ruling was wrong and the rule change was constitutional.
"We disagree," Baumgartner said. "For the time being, we're going to move forward and look at other options in the future."
We'll update the story as it develops.
 
 
 


Jim Camden
Jim Camden joined The Spokesman-Review in 1981 and retired in 2021. He is currently the political and state government correspondent covering Washington state.

Follow Jim online: