Senate passes Transportation budget that increases gas tax, funds major projects

OLYMPIA – The Washington State Senate adopted a bipartisan transportation package on Saturday that would raise billions of dollars through higher gas taxes and some car registration fees, close a deficit in the transportation budget and fund the completion of the North Spokane Corridor.

“Washington faces some serious transportation problems, from unsafe roads that contribute to a high number of traffic fatalities, to highway projects that are far from being completed, to a failing ferry system,” said Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, the ranking Republican on the Transportation Committee. “The transportation budget passed by the Senate today reflects the collaboration and compromises from both sides as we try to fix our state’s transportation problems.”

The package closes a roughly $1 billion budget gap in the state’s transportation budget between 2025 and 2027, and raises $10.2 billion over six years. To raise revenue, the plan includes a 6-cent increase to the state’s gas tax, increased registration fees for electric vehicles and hybrids, and shifts 0.3% of the state’s sales tax, about $800 million a year, to the transportation budget.

If the plan is approved by the House of Representatives, Washington’s gas tax would rise to 55.4 cents per gallon.

“This is a year of budget challenges, but through a spirit of collaboration and compromise, we found a bipartisan solution to keep Washington moving ahead,” said Washington State Sen. Marko Liias.

As they unveiled the package last week, the heads of the Senate Transportation Committee said projects across the state, including the North Spokane Corridor, could face delays unless the state increases revenue.

According to Liias, the lack of adequate funding in the transportation budget became apparent within “weeks” of legislators beginning planning. If legislators opted to balance the budget through cuts, the capital projects budget would be reduced by $941 million and agency operating costs would decrease by $156 million over the next two years, putting projects across the state at risk of delay.

Initially conceived in the 1940s and partially completed, the 10.5-mile overpass will eventually stretch from U.S. Highway 2 to Interstate 90, offering drivers an express option to drive through Spokane. Construction crews are finishing the section of the project that spans the Spokane River near Spokane Community College.

“Based on the funding we have available right now, we can’t do everything,” Liias said last week. “In that all-cuts budget, it shows that essentially all of the projects that aren’t currently under construction would be paused for at least six years in order to catch up.”

Spokane City Councilmember Jonathan Bingle was among those to testify in support of the transportation budget proposal, noting the importance of the project for both residential and commercial use.

“This budget takes an important step forward by funding more than 90% of the North Spokane Corridor project, setting us on a path to finish major construction by 2029,” Bingle said during a Senate Transportation Committee Tuesday. “That’s a big deal for us, and we’re grateful to see the state’s continued investment in this long-awaited project.”

Spokane City Council Member Michael Cathcart said Thursday that when completed, the project will boost economic development and provide an alternative route for freight traffic in the area. Delays, he said, could affect other projects planned for the area.

The package passed Saturday would also invest $700 million in state and local safety projects, $366 million in active transportation projects and $33.3 million to improve safety on rural roads and at railroad crossings. According to the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission, Washington reported 809 traffic fatalities in 2023, the last year for which data is available – the most in a single year since 1990.

Last week, leaders in the House Transportation Committee released a separate budget proposal that includes a 9-cent increase to the gas tax, which would then be tied to inflation, among other proposals, to raise new revenue.

Rep. Jake Fey, D-Tacoma, chair of the House Transportation Committee, previously floated a new Road Usage Charge that would cost Washington drivers 2.6 cents for each mile driven to raise revenue. Following feedback, Fey introduced a Highway Use Fee, which would charge drivers a flat fee based on vehicle MPG and average miles driven in Washington. The program would be modeled after a similar one in Virginia.

“I put a proposal out there because I thought we needed to have a conversation about it,” Fey said.

According to Fey, the gas tax funds more than a third of the state’s transportation budget.