The Washington Legislature Will Decide What To Do with $30 Car Tabs

The measure has been certified with more than the 259,622 valid signatures required by law.

A spokesman from Secretary of State Kim Wyman's office, Erich Ebel says the path forward moves through the Legislature.

Initiatives to the Legislature are submitted to the Legislature at its regular session each January. Once submitted, the Legislature must take one of the following three actions:

• The Legislature may adopt the initiative as proposed and it becomes law without a vote of the people;

• The Legislature may reject or refuse to act on the proposed initiative and the initiative must be placed on the ballot at the next state general election; or

• The Legislature may propose a different measure dealing with the same subject and both measures must be placed on the next state general election ballot.

Opponents of the measure point to all the various transportation projects that would be affected if the measure passes.  Sound Transit would take a hit as well as projects in over 60 cities and towns including Yakima that charge an additional vehicle-registration fee to fund transportation projects. On the other hand, statewide voters have repeatedly told lawmakers to lay off the car tabs--it is the fifth time Eyman and voters have tried to decrease car-tab taxes to $30 by ballot initiative.But wait there's more.  At the same time Attorney General Bob Ferguson is suing Eyman and Citizen Solutions, alleging that in the past Eyman has used money donated to initiative campaigns to enrich himself. Eyman filed for bankruptcy in November as he fights the political corruption charges.

According to the website Ballotpedia, Initiative 976 was designed to do the following:

Limit annual license fees for vehicles weighing under 10,000 pounds at $30 except voter-approved charges;

Base vehicle taxes on the Kelley Blue Book value rather than the manufacturer's suggested retail price;

Limit certain taxes and fees related to transportation; and

Repeal authorization for certain regional transit authorities, such as Sound Transit, to impose motor vehicle excise taxes.