Grab bag: Where will Road Usage Charge funds go?
Feb 28, 2023, 9:35 AM | Updated: 9:43 am
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It’s a Tuesday morning grab bag for Chokepoints. Let’s start with the upcoming lane shift on Interstate 5 in Fife.
The new 50-mile-an-hour safety zone went up on northbound I-5 near 70th in Fife in early February. This also included a lane shift to the right to create a work zone in the middle of the freeway. The southbound lane shift and lower speed was supposed to happen Monday night but was postponed for the weather.
Contractors will try again Tuesday night, so your southbound I-5 drive through Fife might look different on Wednesday. If they can’t get it done tonight, they will try Wednesday night.
Time to pay up or face Good to Go! toll fees and penalties
Just be prepared. Your lane configuration will be changing this week.
Protecting RUC money, when mandatory doesn’t mean mandatory
Next up in the bag, the Legislature. I want to update you on a few things we have been tracking in Olympia.
The first is the Road Usage Charge (RUC). The plan is to eliminate the gas tax and replace it with a 2.5-cents-a-mile fee. The voluntary plan would start in 2025, with the goal of making it mandatory in 2030. If you choose to participate in the RUC, you would get a credit for any gas tax you have paid.
There were so many people signed up to testify about the idea that the House Transportation Committee had to extend the hearing into a second day.
Most of the testimony was in opposition to the plan, and it’s for the reason we have been discussing for years. As currently written, there is nothing in this bill that would protect the money and make sure it goes to roads.
The gas tax is protected by the 18th Amendment in the state Constitution. It must go to roads under that amendment.
Mike Ennis is with the Association of Washington Business. He is concerned the Legislature could siphon away funds to pet projects and issues, leaving our roads without proper funding.
“If the road usage charge is meant to replace the gas tax, then it should be treated in the same way,” he testified on Friday. “Protecting an RUC under the 18th Amendment would honor the principle that users should pay the fee and are ensured to receive the benefit. The Legislature has a long history of sweeping funds for other uses.”
And that history is one of the reasons this Road Usage Charge did not make it out of committee last session and why it still has somewhat lukewarm support this session.
State Rep. Beth Doglio (D-22) didn’t seem to understand why protecting the funds is so important.
“Can you just explain why that’s so important to you?” Doglio asked Ennis and others testifying in opposition.
“Those dollars should be protected to those who paid into that system, and they should be the ones that benefit from it,” Ennis responded.
Ennis and others support the idea of switching to an RUC, but only if the funds are protected in the Constitution. I’ll be watching closely to see if the bill gets amended or dies. There is still no companion bill in the Senate.
More from Chokepoints: SR-520 Montlake Project to hit milestone this weekend
Don’t forget to check your odometer
And finally, let’s look into the odometer reading bill. It is tied to the Road Usage Charge. It would require drivers to give their car’s odometer reading when getting their tabs, starting next year. The idea is to get drivers used to giving their mileage in anticipation of an RUC being approved.
The bill moved out of the House Transportation Committee last week, but only after an amendment was added, stripping any penalties if you refuse to give your odometer reading.
The original bill required the reading to get your tabs. Now the bill reads that you can still get your tabs, whether you comply or not.
Going forward, I will refer to this as the “just kidding” bill.
Check out more of Chris’ Chokepoints.
