Lawmakers to introduce amendments to lower car tab fees

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Lawmakers in Olympia are taking a big step Wednesday to try to lower car tab fees.

Republican representatives will introduce several amendments to try to bring relief to taxpayers.

Lawmakers have gotten an earful from their constituents.

Vehicle owners are seeing a spike in car tab fees because of Sound Transit 3, the voter-approved light rail expansion.

To ease the pain, House Republicans are proposing 6 amendments to the transportation budget.

One would exempt Pierce County taxpayers from paying ST3 taxes.

Another would allow cities and counties to opt out of the extra taxes to pay for light rail.

A few representatives want to require Sound Transit to use Kelley Blue Book prices to assess the value of vehicles for car tab fees, instead of the manufacturer's suggested retail price, which inflates what is paid for tabs.

Another amendment would prohibit Sound Transit from issuing any new bonds without legislative approval.

House Republicans say Democrats haven't addressed these issues in committee, so they're going directly to the House floor for a vote Wednesday.

If the majority of Democrats refuse to allow a vote, Republicans will have to consider other options.

For its part, Sound Transit has said changing the formula to calculate car tabs would cost the agency $6 billion in revenue.

The six Sound Transit-related amendments to the transportation budget, House Bill 1147, would do the following:

Amendment 410 | Rep. Michelle Caldier
Exempt Pierce County from Sound Transit 3 taxes

Amendment 416 | Rep. Morgan Irwin
Allow cities and counties to opt out of all Sound Transit 3 taxes.

Amendment 423 | Rep. Dick Muri
Prohibit Department of Licensing (DOL) from collecting a motor vehicle excise tax (MVET) from residents of cities or counties that choose to opt out of the MVET.

Amendment 422 | Rep. Paul Graves
Require Sound Transit to assess vehicles using their Kelley Blue Book value if they want to use DOL to collect the MVET.

Amendment 420 | Rep. Drew Stokesbary
Require Sound Transit to assess vehicles using their Kelley Blue Book value when assessing the MVET.

Amendment 421 | Rep. Ed Orcutt
Prohibit Sound Transit from issuing any new bonds without receiving legislative approval.

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