Seattle Transit Blog had more details yesterday about Tim Eyman’s latest initiative (we wrote about provision of the proposal, which could hamper Sound Transit’s expansion north to Lynnwood and east to Bellevue, last week) that would hamper local governments’ ability to raise money for transit—and, just because, reduce fines on drivers who drive through red lights.
The initiative, which Eyman is calling the “Vehicle Owners’ Bill of Rights,” would, among other things:
• Roll back vehicle license fees to $30 statewide (overturning car tab fees that have been put in place by local jurisdictions);
• Eliminate the 0.3 percent sales tax on vehicles;
• Require that tolls collected on a roadway be spent on the roadway itself (and stopped once construction is complete). The initiative specifically says that tolls on I-90 cannot be used to fund light rail across the bridge.
• Change the way the state calculates vehicle taxes by basing them on purchase price, not the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (a change that would reduce revenues that fund transportation projects around the state);
• Require the state legislature to approve any road tolls by a two-thirds majority (a move that would kill Seattle council members’ plans to toll some heavily used arterial city streets, and would likely doom any future efforts to raise money with tolls);
• Require voter approval before cities can install red-light cameras to deter drivers from speeding and running red lights; and
• Set fines for speeding and running red lights at “the least expensive parking ticket in that jurisdiction which was the original intent of the authorizing legislation in 2005.”
One thing that remains unclear is whether Eyman’s initiative would prevent Sound Transit from building east and north. Although the measure says the agency’s motor vehicle excise tax must be diverted to paying off bonds (currently, Sound Transit uses MVET revenues to both pay off its bonds and for ongoing construction projects), it only applies to bonds with a “defeasance” provision (a provision allowing an agency to retire bonds early), and Sound Transit’s bonds include no such provision. I have calls in to the Secretary of State’s office and Sound Transit to find out whether Eyman’s measure would impact the agency.
