Voters to Get Nonbinding Say on 11.9-Cent Gas Tax Increase

Gas prices in Lewiston, ME, 2008 (source: Mikov on Wikicommons)

Thanks to a provision in Initiative 960 (Ballotpedia), passed by Washington State voters in 2007, voters will have four non-binding Advisory Questions on the November 3, 2015 ballot. One of the questions will be on whether the legislature should have passed an 11.9-cent gas tax increase, (The Olympian) the main funding source for the $16.1 billion highway spending spree in SB 5987. This is the same bill that granted $15 billion in ST3 authority.

The first 7 cents of that increase is due to take effect August 1 of this year.

Whether the voters say "Yes" or "No", the gas tax increases remain.

Environmental groups could push for a symbolic "No" vote on the gas-tax question, to express distaste for the highway package. A "No" vote would not overturn any of the provisions of the relevant bills. However, the legislature is capable of undoing some of the provisions in later sessions, but not defunding programs against which the state or a lower governmental entity has bonded. This is why Sound Transit was able to maintain its car tab funding (Seattle Times $) after Initiative 776 passed.