OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — Washington state Senate transportation leaders have released a proposed transportation budget with fewer fee increases than put forward by their counterparts in the House.
Both plans fall well short of Gov. Chris Gregoire’s call last month for an infusion of $3.6 billion in transportation funds over the next decade. The centerpiece of Gregoire’s plan was a $1.50 fee per barrel of oil refined in the state.
The Senate’s transportation package would raise about $212 million in fees over the next three years — $50 million less than what is proposed in the House.
Senate Transportation Committee Chairwoman Mary Margaret Haugen, a Camano Island Democrat, said at a Tuesday press conference that the struggling economy makes now the wrong time to push for a large transportation package.
