Washington Motor Vehicle License Fees Initiative (2017)
| Washington Motor Vehicle License Fees Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 7, 2017 | |
| Topic Taxes and Transportation | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The Washington Motor Vehicle License Fees Initiative was not on the ballot in Washington as an Initiative to the People, a type of initiated state statute, on November 7, 2017.
The measure was designed to limit motor-vehicle license fees to $30 annually. A method for calculating a vehicle's taxable value based on the vehicle's market value and years of service would have been established.[1]
The measure was also designed to repeal language authorizing regional transit authorities that include counties with 1.5 million people or more to refer to voters a ballot measure asking them if it can impose an excise tax on motor vehicles of not more than 0.8 percent for funding high-capacity transportation services.[1] Specifically, this language was designed to authorize Sound Transit 3 (ST3), based in King County, to ask voters if it can impose a motor-vehicle license fee to add additional miles of light rail and rapid bus transit. Voters addressed such a question on November 8, 2016, and approved it.[2][3]
Tim Eyman was involved in developing the initiative.
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title was:[4]
| “ | Initiative Measure No. 1544 concerns motor vehicle taxes and fees.
This measure would set annual motor vehicle license fees for certain vehicles at $30; limit or repeal authority to impose some vehicle taxes and charges; and calculate vehicle taxes using the purchase price. Should this measure be enacted into law? Yes [ ] No [ ][5] |
” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary was:[4]
| “ | This measure would set annual license fees at $30 plus voluntary fees and voter-approved charges for certain motor vehicles weighing under 10,000 pounds; remove authority for certain taxes and charges, including the additional vehicle sales tax and the tax funding regional transit authorities; calculate all vehicle taxes using a depreciation schedule based on recent purchase price; and require regional transit authorities to cease collecting taxes pledged to secure bonds and retire bonds early where allowed.[5] | ” |
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
Support
Tim Eyman, Leo J. Fagan, and M.J. Fagan designed the initiative.[4]
Background
Sound Transit 3
In 2015, the Washington Legislature approved a transportation bill titled Senate Bill 5987. Gov. Inslee (D) signed SB 5987 on July 15, 2015. Part of SB 5987 authorized Sound Transit, a regional transportation authority, to impose an annual excise tax of up to 0.8 percent on the value of motor vehicles, an additional 0.5 percent sales and use tax, and a property tax of 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. Sound Transit needed to refer to the ballot a measure asking for permission from voters to increase these taxes.[6][7] Sound Transit offers train, light rail, and bus services in the greater Seattle, Washington, area.[8]
Sound Transit referred an expansion package, known as Sound Transit 3 (ST3), to the November 8, 2016, ballot.[9] The measure was designed to enact a 0.005 percent sales tax increase, a 0.008 percent excise tax on motor vehicles, and a property tax of 25 cents per $1,000 of assessed value. The expansion package was intended to add 62 additional miles of light rail and 37 stations, expand regional rail service, provide bus rapid transit for Interstate 405, State Route 518, State Route 522 and Northeast 145th Street, and add more park-and-ride lots.[3][10] Voters approved the ballot measure.[11]
Path to the ballot
In Washington, the signature requirement for Initiatives to the People is equivalent to 8 percent of the votes cast for the office of governor at the last gubernatorial election.
To make the 2017 ballot, proponents of Initiatives to the People were required to submit at least 259,622 valid signatures by July 7, 2017.[12] No signatures were turned in for the initiative by the deadline.[13]
Sponsors of the measure originally proposed it as an Initiative to the Legislature, but failed to submit a sufficient number of valid signatures by the deadline on December 30, 2016.[14]
State profile
| Demographic data for Washington | ||
|---|---|---|
| Washington | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 7,160,290 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 66,456 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 77.8% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 3.6% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 7.7% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 1.3% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.6% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 5.2% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 12% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 90.4% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 32.9% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $61,062 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 14.4% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Washington. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Washington
Washington voted for the Democratic candidate in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, five are located in Washington, accounting for 2.43 percent of the total pivot counties.[15]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Washington had four Retained Pivot Counties and one Boomerang Pivot County, accounting for 2.21 and 4.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.
More Washington coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Washington
- United States congressional delegations from Washington
- Public policy in Washington
- Endorsers in Washington
- Washington fact checks
- More...
See also
- 2016 ballot measures
- Washington 2016 ballot measures
- Laws governing the initiative process in Washington
External links
Basic information
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Washington Secretary of State, "Initiative Measure No. 1544," accessed January 11, 2017
- ↑ The Stranger, "Tim Eyman Gives Up on Anti-Light Rail Initiative," June 3, 2016
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Q13 FOX, "Voter Guide: Sound Transit 3 — $54 Billion Expansion of Light Rail & Other Transit," October 10, 2016
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Washington Secretary of State, "Proposed Initiatives to the People - 2017," accessed January 19, 2017
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Washington Legislature, "Senate Bill 5987," accessed October 19, 2016
- ↑ The Urbanist, "The Washington State Legislature Passes A Statewide Transportation Package," July 2, 2015
- ↑ Sound Transit, "Homepage," accessed October 19, 2016
- ↑ The Seattle Times, "$50B Sound Transit proposal: big taxes, big spending, big plan," March 24, 2016
- ↑ Sound Transit 3, "Overview," accessed October 19, 2016
- ↑ The Seattle Times, "See how the Sound Transit vote went in your neighborhood — and everywhere else," November 12, 2016
- ↑ Washington Secretary of State, "Elections Calendar - 2016," accessed January 10, 2017
- ↑ Northwest Public Radio, “Election Rarity: No Initiatives Qualify For November Statewide Ballot In Washington,” July 7, 2017
- ↑ Ballotpedia staff, "E-mail with Washington secretary of state's office," January 3, 2016
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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