SEATTLE — Seattle and King County, Wash., are saying they will sue to block a measure passed by Washington voters on Tuesday which will cut auto registration fees, the Seattle Times reports. Those fees help fund public transportation, and the measure’s passage will likely lead to cuts in light rail and bus service in the Seattle area.
Initiative 976, which passed with 55% of the vote, would limit various fees known as “car-tab taxes” to a flat $30 fee, repeal a city’s authority to charge car-tab fees for local transportation, and roll back car-tab taxes charged by Sound Transit, which operates the bus, light rail, and commuter rail lines in the Seattle-Tacoma area. Sound Transit is also considering a lawsuit. Officials in Seattle and King County are questioning the constitutionality of the measure.
The Washington State Department of Transportation said in a prepared statement the cuts resulting from the measure would be “a significant loss” estimated at $451 million out of a $6.7 billion budget for two years. The agency said it was too soon to know the effects of the initiative.
Seattle would lose an estimated $33 million currently funding road maintenance and bus service. Sound Transit estimates it would lose approximately 11% of its annual funding, although opponents say agency has a number of other funding sources and could meet current obligations by deferring or cancelling some projects.
