“Everyone benefits from our transportation and transit infrastructure, which heavily relies on Vehicle License Fee revenue that will be preserved due to this court ruling.”, Washington State Supreme Court strikes down $30 car tabs, I-976 was struck down by the state Supreme Court. Even before the pandemic and economic crisis, Seattle’s transportation budget was unnecessarily decimated by I-976 last year and our residents and businesses have felt the real impacts of cuts. “We knew this initiative had some fairly obvious legal problems from the outset. document.body.appendChild(img); Those exist to prevent a practice known as “log-rolling,” which occurs when an initiative combines multiple topics that are not necessarily related to each other. As the highest court in the State of Washington, the mission of our court is to uphold the constitution and when called upon through cases, interpret laws passed by the legislature and enforced by the executive branches of government. - The state Supreme Court has struck down the voter-approved $30 car tab initiative. Before taking more drastic action, they wanted to wait for the court’s ruling on whether or not the initiative was valid. src += '&tid=UA-1197400-7'; Justices Strike Down Eyman's $30 Car Tab Initiative The Washington Supreme Court has unanimously struck down Tim Eyman's Initiative 976, a measure … The court ruled Thursday morning that I-976, the Tim Eyman-sponsored initiative that would cap car tab … The Washington Supreme Court struck down Initiative 976 to reduce car-tab taxes, nearly a year after statewide voters approved the tax-cutting measure. window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', (event) => { My constituents don’t believe light rail will benefit them, just Seattle. It also would implement a laundry list of tax and fee reductions, including: In addition to the city of Seattle and King County, plaintiffs include the Garfield County Transportation Authority, Washington State Transit Association, Association of Washington Cities, the Port of Seattle, Intercity Transit, Amalgamated Transit Union Legislative Council of Washington, and Michael Rogers, an individual with cerebral palsy in Lacey. Learn more from our I-976 Fact Sheet. Vehicles with tabs overdue by more than two months can cost up to $228 and be impounded by law enforcement. The court rightly recognized that a clearly inaccurate initiative title and logrolling subjects is unlawful,” Holmes said. In Washington, a vehicle with expired registration can carry a standard fine of $136 in addition to delinquent tab fees. Composer Osvaldo Golijov Puts It To Music, Census Director To Quit After Trying To Rush Out ‘Indefensible’ Report, For Many Areas, Count Of Homeless Population Is Canceled, Or Delayed, Washington Will Use National Guard, Partners With Microsoft, Costco, More To Boost Vaccine Delivery, 3 Questions And The Emerging Answers About COVID-19 Vaccine Protection, NASA’s 8-Minute Rocket Test Shuts Down After 67 Seconds. Public Documents }); Northwest Public Broadcasting Now, as they grapple with the economic fallout from a global pandemic, high unemployment and the closure of businesses, I-976 is one less thing they have to worry about. One of Eyman’s main targets with the initiative was Sound Transit, which is building a regional light rail network paid for in part by higher car-tab fees. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren). Download KWSU Schedule The initiative passed anyway, winning 53% of the vote in November 2019. — Mayor Jenny Durkan (@MayorJenny) October 15, 2020. Together, we’re NWPB. “With that has come many challenges and opportunities on our path to building a more livable, inclusive, and accessible city. © 2021 Bonneville International. A robust and reliable public transportation system available to all is foundational to that vision of a thriving, growing Seattle, and we still have a long ways to go.”, “The passage of I-976 was a dangerous derailment to our shared efforts to create a more equitable transportation system,” Zimbabwe added. On Thursday, the state Supreme Court struck down Initiative 976, a measure Washington voters approved last November to reduce the cost of annual vehicle licensing fees. Business Support & Community Sponsor, Editorial Policy | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use. Most of that money would have come from transit and nonroad projects. Thanks for visiting www.nwpb.org. We will continue to collect all current vehicle fees and taxes. The new year brings an internal change to our organization, joining TV and radio. “That’s why I authored a bill to enact $30 car tabs earlier this year. Get an estimate. Watch Online The Washington State Supreme Court has issued a ruling striking down Tim Eyman’s Initiative 976 for $30 car tabs across the state. On October 15, 2020 the Washington State Supreme Court ruled I-976 unconstitutional. Jay Inslee suspended some projects and shuffled budgets as if the tax reduction will take effect, but the court has yet to rule, The Seattle Times reported . “Cruelly, it arrived as a global pandemic set in and placed further out of reach essential transit services when those traveling to reach front-line jobs, school, and other essential services needed it most. State officials had estimated I-976 would cause state and local governments to lose a total of about $4.2 billion in revenue for transportation and transit projects over the next six years. Supreme Court justices announced Wednesday they will hear arguments on … For the third time in state history, a measure promising to cut car-tab taxes to $30 a year has been blocked by Washington state courts. Today’s decision to overturn I-976 is an incredible victory for the 76 percent of Seattle voters who rejected this initiative last November, and for everyone who wishes to build a more inclusive city focused on correcting our historic shortcomings. var src = 'https://www.google-analytics.com/collect?v=1'; A ballot measure to lower car tab fees and some other taxes for vehicles is unconstitutional, the state Supreme Court said today. Estate Planning If you're stationed outside of Washington when your tabs expire, you may be able to get a new expiration date. The Washington Supreme Court has unanimously struck down Eyman's Initiative 976, a measure that would have steeply discounted the price of car registrations while gutting transportation budgets across the state. 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