New ST Funding Reduction Bill About to Be Fast-Tracked

A new bill that will reduce Sound Transit's motor vehicle excise tax (MVET) funding stream will be introduced Monday, heard in the House Transportation Committee at 1:30 pm Tuesday afternoon, and is expected to be voted out of committee by Friday's cut-off.

Rep. Mike Pellicciotti

House Bill 2123, by Rep. Mike Pellicciotti (D - Federal Way) would implement a market-value adjustment program on Sound Transit's portion of MVET payments, starting in 2020.

The bill is sponsored by 30 House Democrats, including 9 of the 17 Democratic members of the House Transportation Committee.

Eight who represent portions of Seattle are on the sponsor list, including:

• Committee 2nd Vice Chair Javier Valdez
• Steve Bergquist
• Lauren Davis
• Zach Hudgins
• Eric Pettigrew
• Jerry Pollett
• Cindy Ryu
• Sharon Tomiko Santos

The other 8 sponsors on the committee are:

• 2nd Vice Chair Vandana Slatter (Bellevue)
• Pellicciotti
• Debra Entenman (Kent)
• Shelley Kloba (Kirkland)
• John Lovick (Mill Creek)
• Jared Mead (Mill Creek)
• Lillian Ortiz-Self (Mukilteo)
• Bill Ramos (Issaquah)

Since the bill is just being introduced, sponsors have the option of submitting a card to pull their name from the sponsor list by the end of business Monday. You can look up your two representatives and contact them through the district-finder tool. Olympia office phone numbers are all listed at the members' list page.

Conspicuously absent from the sponsor list is Committee Chair Jake Fey (D - Tacoma), who can cancel the hearing or decline to hold a committee vote on the bill.

The other 7 committee Democrats who haven't signed onto the bill are 1st Chair Sharon Wylie (Vancouver), Mike Chapman (Port Angeles), Beth Doglio (Olympia), Mia Gregorson (SeaTac), Dave Paul (Oak Harbor), Marcus Riccelli (Spokane) and Sharon Shewmake (Bellingham).

At the time of publication, the official bill analysis and fiscal impact statement were not available. However, the essence of the bill, if you want to try to figure out the math, is this section:

Under the market value adjustment program, the authority must provide a credit against the motor vehicle excise tax due in an amount equal to the tax due under RCW 81.104.160(1) calculated using the vehicle valuation methodology authorized under RCW 81.104.160(1), less the tax otherwise due calculated using the vehicle valuation schedule of percentages in RCW 82.44.035, as applied to eighty-five percent of the value of the vehicle, if the resulting difference is positive.

Under similarly-drafted bills, the primary beneficiaries have been owners of cars less than 10 years old.