The news that the Washington Supreme Court ruled the $30 car tab initiative unconstitutional was met with a somewhat tepid response by transportation agencies last week. While the ruling preserves some transportation funding, tax revenues are down due to the pandemic, adding another obstacle to a system that planners say is underfunded to meet the needs of the public.

OLYMPIA – A ballot measure that reduced most vehicle taxes and fees should be thrown out as misleading because the $30 tabs it promotes won’t exist and it’s guilty of “logrolling” by including more than one topic, attorneys for local governments opposing the proposal told the state Supreme Court Tuesday.

A $10.3 billion budget designed to resume work on transportation projects on “pause” because of last year’s initiative to reduce fees and taxes for vehicle license tabs passed the Legislature Wednesday with overwhelming majorities by both chambers.

Some years, the Legislature faces huge issues, spends months in partisan wrangling and needs extra weeks or even months to complete some tasks. 2020 might not be one of them.

Tim Eyman’s $30 car tab initiative has put the city in a bind trying to come up with cash for its future road projects. City Council President-elect Breean Beggs is eyeing a potential property tax levy to make up for the lost funds, but will voters have the appetite?

Washington motorists wondering how much they must pay to renew their December license tabs may have to wait for weeks to get the official notice from the state Department of Licensing.

Hoping for a break on your license tab fees? It’s still in the courts.

More than $90 million in Spokane-area transportation funding has been delayed due to last month’s passage of Initiative 976 by Washington state voters.

A King County Superior Court judge temporarily halted the Dec. 5 implementation of Initiative 976, which would limit car tabs to $30 a year, eliminate a host of programs that fund local road projects and dismantle some transit agencies.

Lawyers for cities and counties across the state are asking a King County judge to block Tim Eyman’s $30 car tab measure from taking effect, saying it was misleading and violates Washington’s Constitution.

A majority of Spokane City Council members said they are open to asking voters to reinstate an annual $20 car registration fee, or find other tax sources, to fund local road maintenance projects, after state voters repealed the local car tab and other similar fees under Initiative 976. The willingness to consider reinstating the tax illustrates the city’s reliance on the local registration fee, even in the face of solid approval of the ballot measure, which was ostensibly about strictly limiting vehicle registration fees to $30.

Spokane voters gave a big win to Tim Eyman’s latest anti-tax initiative strictly limiting vehicle registration fees to $30 a year, according to election results Tuesday.