HOUSE BILL REPORT

REESSB 5338

As Amended by the House

BYSenate Committee on Transportation (originally sponsored by Senators Patterson, Bender, Bluechel and Nelson; by request of Governor)

Modifying transportation tax rates and distributions.

House Committe on Transportation

House Staff:Gene Schlatter (786-7316)

AS OF HOUSE SECOND READING MAY 7, 1989

BACKGROUND:

The current gas tax is 18 cents per gallon.  There are two parts of the 18 cents allocation:  (a) 17 cents distributed to state and local jurisdictions; and (b) 1 cent which is divided into thirds and distributed to UAB, RAP and DOT.  Gross weight fees have not been adjusted for nearly 20 years.

Current law does not authorize any local option taxes for transportation purposes.

The motor vehicle excise tax (MVET) under current law is extremely difficult to administer.  No MVET revenues are currently allocated for roadway purposes.

SUMMARY:

The current rate of 18 cents per gallon is increased 5 cents per gallon, effective August 1, 1989.

Proceeds of the new gas tax revenues are distributed as follows:

!tp1,2,1,1,1 !tj1!tl5 CENTS

DOT!tj1!tl1.50¢

Special "C" !tj1!tl .60

Cities !tj1!tl .40

Counties !tj1!tl .30

County Arterials !tj1!tl .60

TIB!tj1!tl1.40

RAP !tj1!tl .20

!tlTOTAL!tl5.00¢

Special category "C" priority criteria are established.

Fee increases of 25 percent are imposed on gross weight and overloads, effective January 1, 1990.

Three local option transportation taxes, all of which are subject to voter approval, are authorized:

      --Fuel tax (10 percent of state rate)

      --Registration fees (limit $15)

      --Commercial parking tax

The current motor vehicle excise tax (MVET) is reduced from 2.454 percent to 2.0 percent based on a new depreciation schedule and the statute is simplified.

A surtax of .2 percent is added on MVET and the revenue is placed in the newly created transportation fund for transportation purposes.

The MVET collections are aligned with annual registration fees.

Effective July 1990, MVET distributions to transits and cities (police and fire protection) are limited to consumer price index increases for six years.

The .1 percent MVET for the ferry operating budget is made permanent.

A statutory requirement for the Department of Transportation to collect tolls on the Hood Canal Bridge is eliminated.  Tolls are not required so long as a sufficient funds from the Puget Sound Construction Account are available to pay debt service (SHB 2201).  Requirements for the Marine Division to repay loans from the Puget Sound Ferry Operating Account to Motor Vehicle Fund totaling $11.6 are eliminated.

The County Road Administration Board (CRAB) is authorized to use RJC data to establish cost per mile on a regional basis in determining the counties' share of the fuel tax distribution.

The Department of Transportation is authorized to retire the remaining bond debt of $2.5 million on the Spokane River toll bridge (Maple Street Bridge); replace the bridge deck in the 1991-93 biennium with federal, state, and local matching funds; and bridge tolls are eliminated as soon as all bonds are retired.  An appropriation to retire the bond debt will be contained in the Transportation appropriation bill.

All sections of the bill are null and void if all of ESSB 5338 does not become law.

EFFECT OF HOUSE AMENDMENTS:  (1) Delays imposition of CPI growth limit on MVET for cities and transit systems until June 30, 1991.  (2) Withholds 25 percent of new fuel tax distributions to King, Pierce, Snohomish, Kitsap, Clark and Thurston counties, and the cities within those counties, beginning August 1, 1991, until the Legislature enacts legislation based on the report of the growth strategies commission, or enacts other legislation releasing the funds.

Revenue:    The bill has a revenue impact.

Fiscal Note:      Not Requested.