SEATTLE — A Washington state initiative that would slash car tabs to $30 and leave the state and local governments scrambling to pay for road paving and other transportation projects was passing in early returns Tuesday.
Returns showed Initiative 976 passing after the first votes were tallied in the all mail election.
Sponsored by Tim Eyman, the measure would cap most taxes paid through annual vehicle registration at $30 and largely revoke the authority of state and local governments to add new taxes and fees without voter approval.
The measure would also repeal taxes and fees that were already in place, which could cost the state and local governments more than $4 billion in revenue over the next six years, according to the state Office of Financial Management.
King County, the state’s most populous, was strongly rejecting I-976 but most other counties were approving it by healthy margins.
Eyman says people are fed up with rising car tab costs.
Just before the first votes were tallied, Eyman claimed victory Tuesday night, saying just getting the initiative on the ballot was a win.
However, a large group of mostly businesses including Microsoft and Amazon, as well as labor unions, have waged a nearly $5 million campaign in opposition, saying the state needs car tab dollars to maintain a safe and effective transportation system.
Joanne Lind, 60, Tumwater, dropped her ballot off at the drop box outside of Olympia City Hall Tuesday afternoon. She said she voted no on I-976.
“I feel like people who own cars should help pay for the infrastructure,” she said.
More than 60 cities use car-tab fees to pay for road construction, bus service and sidewalks. The state also charges fees to help pay for programs including Washington State Patrol traffic enforcement, highway maintenance, ferry operations and maintenance of county roads and bridges.
Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan and other government leaders have been vocal in their opposition and over a half-dozen city councils passed resolutions against it. The city of Olympia also sent a mailer urging people to vote no which the state Public Disclosure Commission said it would investigate because state law prohibits city councils from using public resources to promote or oppose measures.
Eyman is also using the initiative to try and undo a car-tab fee hike collected by Sound Transit in the Puget Sound region, which uses a method of vehicle valuation that inflates some car values. Voters approved the increase as part of a light-rail expansion package in 2016 for King, Snohomish and Pierce counties.
If Initiative 976 passes, the agency stands to lose about $328 million a year, or about 11% of its annual revenue, according to the state analysis. Sound Transit said it could lose about $13 billion more over 20 years because of higher borrowing costs and possible project delays.
Eyman’s $30 car tab initiative first passed 20 years ago. It was struck down in court before being enacted by lawmakers. The fees have crept up in recent years as lawmakers allowed them and voters approved them.
Eyman’s latest measure comes as he fights a campaign finance lawsuit filed against him by Attorney General Bob Ferguson. Eyman has been held in contempt of court for refusing to cooperate with court rules while a judge has ordered a for-profit signature-gathering firm to pay over $1 million for deceiving state residents by funneling their campaign donations to Eyman for his personal use.
Ballots were sent to the state’s nearly 4.5 million voters in October. Ballots had to be postmarked or deposited in drop boxes by 8 p.m. Tuesday. That means final results might not be known for days after the election.
