Washington senators propose multiyear, 15-cent gas tax hike

By DAVID AMMONSAP Political Writer (AP) – Senate transportation leaders on Monday proposed a 15 cent per gallon increase in the state gasoline tax, to be slowly phased in over the next 12 years. The package, heading to the Senate floor on Wednesday, would raise $9.1 billion over the next 16 years. It would help finance mega-projects needed for safety reasons, such as the Alaskan Way Viaduct in Seattle and a new Lake Washington floating bridge, plus congestion relief, farm-to-market projects and local roads across the state. The plan, dubbed the Partnerships Fund, also presumes that motorists in central Puget Sound will tax themselves additional sums and that many of the largest projects will carry a toll. The proposal calls for a 3-cent increase in the state’s current 28-cent-a-gallon gasoline tax this summer, followed by another 2 cents the following summer. After that, the tax would rise by a penny each year for the next 10 years. The bipartisan plan was developed by Senate Transportation Chairwoman Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, and her ranking Republican member, Dan Swecker of Rochester. “I think a lot of people have been waiting for this day,” Haugen told a joint news conference. The plan also includes a gross-weight fee on cars, sports utility vehicles and small trucks, as well as local-option tax increases for cities and counties. The voters in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties will be asked, possibly this fall, to approve an additional tax package to match the new state financing. Labor, business, environmental and local government leaders quickly endorsed the proposal. Haugen and Swecker conceded that it’s a tough vote, particularly with gas prices running so high. But they said motorists also want not fix severe congestion and safety problems.