Washington is among the top states in the country that spends the majority of its gas tax revenue on road construction and maintenance, a Reason Foundation study found.
According to the study, the state diverted $194 million – or 5.4 percent – of its $3.6 billion in gas tax revenue to projects unrelated to its roads. Most projects were related to transportation, including mass transit and sidewalk programs.
Washington’s gas tax is the fourth highest in the country at 49.4 cents per gallon. Roughly 8 cents goes to the Washington State Department of Transportation, or 16%.
However, The Washington Transportation Commission estimated in a report last year that gas tax revenue could decline by as much as 45 percent by 2035. Rising usage of fuel-efficient hybrid and electric vehicles is a contributing factor.
Roughly 4.1 percent of vehicles in Washington state are hybrid or electric vehicles, according to a report by car insurance website Insurify, the third highest in the nation.
The state’s infrastructure ranks in the bottom half of the nation, according to a recent study by Seattle-based QuoteWizard.
Washington spent $643 per motorist in 2019 with 29 percent of its roads said to be in poor condition.
The WSTC has since voted to move forward with recommendations for a proposed road usage charge or “by-the-mile” tax to replace the state’s current gas tax. Last year saw the end of a 12-month pilot program that drew approximately 2,000 participants.
Reporting miles traveled can be done via GPS, smartphone apps, odometer readings, or a pre-selected mileage permit.
So long as the gas tax remains in effect, out-of-state drivers would still pay at the pump until legislators decide how to charge out-of-state vehicles.
Rep. Andrew Barkis, R-Lacey, who is the ranking minority member on the state legislature Transportation Committee, said the state should be exploring any alternatives to the gas tax.
Barkis expressed concerns that the program needs to address issues of personal privacy when it comes to how it handles GPS and smartphone mile tracking.
“We know we’re seeing more and more of our privacy diminishing, especially anybody who carries an iPhone,” Barkis said. “But anyone with a smart device knows there’s always a major difficulty of privacy. If it is a viable option, it is still one to consider.”
Barkis said that reducing traffic, and thereby wear and tear on the state’s roadways, should be a key subject in the debate over transportation funding. Remote work remains one of them.
A bill granting tax credits to Washington businesses to incentivize remote work was introduced in 2018 by state Sen. Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim.
Tax credits would go toward any expenditures enabling remote work like computer equipment.
Companies would get an annual tax break of $250 per employee who works at least 12 days each month remotely, up to $10,000.
The credit applies only to employees of companies headquartered in Washington and cannot exceed the amount of taxes their companies owe.
“COVID hit and we all went to telework Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, right?” Barkis said.
Barkis expressed concern about the “ripple effect” on commercial property and state owned offices should increased teleworking more heavily impact brick and mortar locations.
Jesse Piedfort, director of the Washington chapter of the environmentalist group the Sierra Club, said that curbing climate pollution should be at the center of the legislature’s transportation priorities.
Any transportation budget approved by the state legislature, according to Piedfort, should include a low carbon fuel standard as well as investments in transit, bike, electric, and pedestrian projects.
“There’s no silver bullet on climate pollution from transportation, but transitioning to clean fuels is a big and important step,” Piedfort said.
According to Piedfort, retrofitting the state’s culvert projects should be a higher priority than highway expansion and be paid for with the state gas tax.
In 2013, a federal court ordered the state to remove all public culverts hindering passage of salmon and steelhead by 2030 to uphold its duties to Washington Indigenous Peoples under the Stevens Treaties.
Transportation funding, Barkis said, is an issue that will likely fall by the wayside in the legislature next year.
“The operating budget will be the dominant conversation in the 2021 session,” Barkis said. “I would be amazed if that was even part of the conversation, to look at some of that revenue share or split with transportation. I think we’re on our own.”
The Washington Economic and Revenue Forecast Council estimated the state’s 2019-2021 operating budget will see a $4.5 billion revenue shortfall in light of the statewide shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
