Today, hours ahead of adjourning Sine Die, the Washington State Legislature signed off on a rare even-numbered year transportation package that would make substantial investments in public transit and fish passage, while continuing to allocate sizeable sums to highway construction and widening.
The Move Ahead Washington transportation package, negotiated and championed primarily by Senate Transportation Chair Marko Liias (D‑21st District: Snohomish County) and House Transportation Chair Jake Fey (D‑27th District): Pierce County, consists of two parts: a revenue bill and an appropriations bill.
The revenue bill (SB 5974) stipulates that the package shall be funded with Climate Commitment Act proceeds, federal dollars, transfers from the general fund and the public works trust fund account, and increases in a number of fees, such as the fee to obtain a driver’s license.
The appropriations bill (SB 5975) allocates that revenue to specific projects and needs, like the revived Columbia River Crossing project in Southwest Washington, the completion of State Route 520 through Seattle, several new ferryboats, grants for local public transit agencies, and ultra high speed rail planning.
Past transportation packages have been developed by legislators from both parties, but Move Ahead Washington was not, to Republicans’ chagrin.
With previous rounds of negotiations led by former Senator Steve Hobbs having failed to yield a package, Liias and Fey opted for a different approach to get across the finish line in a short session, pledging to entertain Republican feedback and critiques despite not having included Republicans at the negotiating table.
The roll call vote in the House on the revenue bill was as follows:
Roll Call
SB 5974
Transportation resources
Final Passage as recommended by the Conference Committee
3/10/2022
Yeas: 54; Nays: 44
Voting Yea: Representatives Bateman, Berg, Bergquist, Berry, Bronoske, Callan, Chapman, Chopp, Cody, Davis, Dolan, Donaghy, Duerr, Entenman, Fey, Fitzgibbon, Frame, Goodman, Gregerson, Hackney, Hansen, Harris-Talley, Johnson, J., Kirby, Kloba, Leavitt, Lekanoff, Macri, Morgan, Ormsby, Ortiz-Self, Orwall, Peterson, Pollet, Ramel, Ramos, Riccelli, Ryu, Santos, Sells, Senn, Simmons, Slatter, Springer, Stonier, Sullivan, Taylor, Thai, Tharinger, Valdez, Walen, Wicks, Wylie, Jinkins
Voting Nay: Representatives Abbarno, Barkis, Boehnke, Caldier, Chambers, Chandler, Chase, Corry, Dent, Dufault, Dye, Eslick, Gilday, Goehner, Graham, Griffey, Harris, Hoff, Jacobsen, Klicker, Klippert, Kraft, Kretz, MacEwen, Maycumber, McCaslin, McEntire, Mosbrucker, Orcutt, Paul, Robertson, Rude, Rule, Schmick, Shewmake, Steele, Stokesbary, Sutherland, Vick, Volz, Walsh, Wilcox, Ybarra, Young
Democratic Representatives Dave Paul, Alicia Rule, and Sharon Shewmake joined Republicans in voting no on the revenue bill. All other Democrats voted yea.
In the Senate, the roll call was:
Roll Call
SB 5974
Transportation resources
Final Passage as Recommended by Conference Committee
3/10/2022
Yeas: 29; Nays: 20
Voting Yea: Senators Billig, Carlyle, Cleveland, Conway, Das, Dhingra, Hasegawa, Hawkins, Hunt, Keiser, Kuderer, Liias, Lovelett, Lovick, Mullet, Nguyen, Nobles, Pedersen, Randall, Robinson, Rolfes, Saldaña, Salomon, Sheldon, Stanford, Trudeau, Van De Wege, Wellman, Wilson, C.
Voting Nay: Senators Braun, Brown, Dozier, Fortunato, Frockt, Gildon, Holy, Honeyford, King, McCune, Muzzall, Padden, Rivers, Schoesler, Sefzik, Short, Wagoner, Warnick, Wilson, J., Wilson, L.
Democratic Senator David Frockt opposed the bill. Republicans Tim Sheldon and Brad Hawkins crossed over to support the bill and voted yea.
All other Republicans voted nay.
The roll call vote in the House on the appropriations bill was as follows:
Roll Call
SB 5975
Additive transp. funding
Final Passage as recommended by the Conference Committee
3/10/2022
Yeas: 57; Nays: 41
Voting Yea: Representatives Bateman, Berg, Bergquist, Berry, Bronoske, Callan, Chapman, Chopp, Cody, Davis, Dolan, Donaghy, Duerr, Entenman, Fey, Fitzgibbon, Frame, Goodman, Gregerson, Hackney, Hansen, Harris-Talley, Johnson, J., Kirby, Kloba, Leavitt, Lekanoff, Macri, Morgan, Ormsby, Ortiz-Self, Orwall, Paul, Peterson, Pollet, Ramel, Ramos, Riccelli, Rule, Ryu, Santos, Sells, Senn, Shewmake, Simmons, Slatter, Springer, Stonier, Sullivan, Taylor, Thai, Tharinger, Valdez, Walen, Wicks, Wylie, Jinkins
Voting Nay: Representatives Abbarno, Barkis, Boehnke, Caldier, Chambers, Chandler, Chase, Corry, Dent, Dufault, Dye, Eslick, Gilday, Goehner, Graham, Griffey, Harris, Hoff, Jacobsen, Klicker, Klippert, Kraft, Kretz, MacEwen, Maycumber, McCaslin, McEntire, Mosbrucker, Orcutt, Robertson, Rude, Schmick, Steele, Stokesbary, Sutherland, Vick, Volz, Walsh, Wilcox, Ybarra, Young
And in the Senate, it was:
Roll Call
SB 5975
Additive transp. funding
Final Passage as Recommended by Conference Committee
3/10/2022
Yeas: 30; Nays: 19
Voting Yea: Senators Billig, Carlyle, Cleveland, Conway, Das, Dhingra, Frockt, Hasegawa, Hawkins, Hunt, Keiser, Kuderer, Liias, Lovelett, Lovick, Mullet, Nguyen, Nobles, Pedersen, Randall, Robinson, Rolfes, Saldaña, Salomon, Sheldon, Stanford, Trudeau, Van De Wege, Wellman, Wilson (Claire)
Voting Nay: Senators Braun, Brown, Dozier, Fortunato, Gildon, Holy, Honeyford, King, McCune, Muzzall, Padden, Rivers, Schoesler, Sefzik, Short, Wagoner, Warnick, Wilson (Jeff), Wilson (Lynda)
Senator Frockt was a yea on the appropriations bill. No other senators voted differently on the appropriations bill than on the revenue bill.
Democratic caucus staff highlighted the following investments in a news release celebrating the adoption of Move Ahead Washington:
- $5.4 billion toward carbon reduction and multimodal expansion.
- $3 billion for maintenance and preservation.
- $3 billion for public transportation; free fares for passengers 18 and younger on all public transportation.
- $2.4 billion to fund fish passage barrier removals.
- $1.3 billion in active transportation, including Safe Routes to School and school-based bike programs.
- $1 billion to fund Washington’s portion of an I‑5 replacement bridge across the Columbia River.
- $836 million to build four new hybrid-electric ferries.
- $150 million towards ultra-high-speed rail.
- $50 million for walking and biking infrastructure in underinvested communities, and more.
“From the beginning, this package has been about listening to people’s needs and making sustainable investments in our future,” said Representative Jake Fey.
“We received critical feedback throughout the legislative process and incorporated that input into the final package. I am glad that we stuck with our priorities like preservation and maintenance, finishing critical projects, expanding accessible transportation options, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and addressing past harms caused by our transportation system.”
“We said when this package was announced that it was a first draft, and now we’ve passed a package that incorporates the feedback we’ve received over the last month,” said Senator Marko Liias. “We’re investing in projects from rural to urban areas across our state, letting kids ride free on our buses, ferries and trains, and so much more — and all without punting the cost to working families.”
“Move Ahead Washington dedicates nearly 18% of the total package to public transit and 25% to multimodal,” noted Washington State Transit Association Executive Director Justin Leighton following passage. “To put that into perspective, Connecting Washington, approved in 2015, only dedicated 4% to transit and 6% for all multimodal projects. Move Ahead Washington will add one and half times more funding for public transit than it gets today.”
Although the package still has too much funding for highway widening in it, it is definitely more safely and climate focused than past packages. Making transit fare-free for all youth under the ages of eighteen will be a big win and is an important step towards a transit-for-all future. NPI congratulates the Legislature on getting a new transportation package adopted in a short session.
Thursday, March 10th, 2022
Move Ahead Washington transportation package gets final legislative approval
Today, hours ahead of adjourning Sine Die, the Washington State Legislature signed off on a rare even-numbered year transportation package that would make substantial investments in public transit and fish passage, while continuing to allocate sizeable sums to highway construction and widening.
The Move Ahead Washington transportation package, negotiated and championed primarily by Senate Transportation Chair Marko Liias (D‑21st District: Snohomish County) and House Transportation Chair Jake Fey (D‑27th District): Pierce County, consists of two parts: a revenue bill and an appropriations bill.
The revenue bill (SB 5974) stipulates that the package shall be funded with Climate Commitment Act proceeds, federal dollars, transfers from the general fund and the public works trust fund account, and increases in a number of fees, such as the fee to obtain a driver’s license.
The appropriations bill (SB 5975) allocates that revenue to specific projects and needs, like the revived Columbia River Crossing project in Southwest Washington, the completion of State Route 520 through Seattle, several new ferryboats, grants for local public transit agencies, and ultra high speed rail planning.
Past transportation packages have been developed by legislators from both parties, but Move Ahead Washington was not, to Republicans’ chagrin.
With previous rounds of negotiations led by former Senator Steve Hobbs having failed to yield a package, Liias and Fey opted for a different approach to get across the finish line in a short session, pledging to entertain Republican feedback and critiques despite not having included Republicans at the negotiating table.
The roll call vote in the House on the revenue bill was as follows:
Democratic Representatives Dave Paul, Alicia Rule, and Sharon Shewmake joined Republicans in voting no on the revenue bill. All other Democrats voted yea.
In the Senate, the roll call was:
Democratic Senator David Frockt opposed the bill. Republicans Tim Sheldon and Brad Hawkins crossed over to support the bill and voted yea.
All other Republicans voted nay.
The roll call vote in the House on the appropriations bill was as follows:
And in the Senate, it was:
Senator Frockt was a yea on the appropriations bill. No other senators voted differently on the appropriations bill than on the revenue bill.
Democratic caucus staff highlighted the following investments in a news release celebrating the adoption of Move Ahead Washington:
“From the beginning, this package has been about listening to people’s needs and making sustainable investments in our future,” said Representative Jake Fey.
“We received critical feedback throughout the legislative process and incorporated that input into the final package. I am glad that we stuck with our priorities like preservation and maintenance, finishing critical projects, expanding accessible transportation options, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and addressing past harms caused by our transportation system.”
“We said when this package was announced that it was a first draft, and now we’ve passed a package that incorporates the feedback we’ve received over the last month,” said Senator Marko Liias. “We’re investing in projects from rural to urban areas across our state, letting kids ride free on our buses, ferries and trains, and so much more — and all without punting the cost to working families.”
“Move Ahead Washington dedicates nearly 18% of the total package to public transit and 25% to multimodal,” noted Washington State Transit Association Executive Director Justin Leighton following passage. “To put that into perspective, Connecting Washington, approved in 2015, only dedicated 4% to transit and 6% for all multimodal projects. Move Ahead Washington will add one and half times more funding for public transit than it gets today.”
Although the package still has too much funding for highway widening in it, it is definitely more safely and climate focused than past packages. Making transit fare-free for all youth under the ages of eighteen will be a big win and is an important step towards a transit-for-all future. NPI congratulates the Legislature on getting a new transportation package adopted in a short session.
# Written by Andrew Villeneuve :: 7:45 PM
Categories: Legislative Advocacy, Policy Topics, Public Planning
Tags: Transportation
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