Editorial: 4 bills that need a second look by state lawmakers

By The Herald Editorial Board

Having noted what the state Legislature accomplished in terms of policy, let’s take a look at bills that didn’t cross the finish line this year but deserve reconsideration in coming sessions.

Per-mile fee as revenue source for transportation needs: House Bill 1921, seen as a beginning to end the state’s reliance on the gas tax for support of its transportation budget, would have slowly ramped up a road-usage charge — or per-mile fee — for vehicles.

Over eight years, starting voluntarily in mid-2027, for those driving electric and hybrid electric vehicles, owners would have been charged 2.6 cents per mile, with an annual fee assessed based on odometer readings — submitted by vehicle owners — when vehicle licenses are renewed. The road usage fee owed would be reduced by a credit for fuel taxes paid, with a standard deduction for a year’s first 200 miles driven.

State lawmakers, confronting an immediate need to boost revenue to continue already planned transportation projects, this session adopted a 6-cent increase to the state’s gasoline tax — already at 49.5 cents a gallon — that will take effect this July 1. By July 1, 2026, the gas tax will increase 2 percent annually, to keep up with inflation.

While the legislation addresses what the state was losing to inflation, increasing the amount of the gas tax fails to deal with the increasing fuel efficiency of gas- and diesel-powered vehicles — or the shift toward zero-emission vehicles — and the inevitable decline in revenue that the state has witnessed for several years.

Six cents more a gallon will allow for more projects to be completed, but it won’t provide a sustainable source of funding for transportation in coming years.

From the Feb. 22 editorial: “Rather than continuing to nickel-and-dime the gas tax, it’s time for a shift to revenue that provides sustainable funding and a fair contribution from all who use our roads, bridges, ferries and more.”

Prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products: House Bill 1203 would have prohibited the advertisement and sales of flavored tobacco and vape products. Even as smoking has declined among youths and teens, vaping products have gained in popularity, further strengthened by the use of fruit, candy and other flavors to introduce teens to the products and start their addiction to nicotine.

From the Feb. 18 editorial: “What was initially introduced as an alternative to cigarettes for those wanting to quit smoking, electronic cigarettes were by 2009, re-engineered with the addition of flavors that — not by accident — introduced nicotine to new, younger tobacco users, including underage youths.”

And new concerns about the health effects of vape products are becoming clearer.

Speaking at a committee hearing in support of the legislation, Dr. Ruchi Kapoor, a cardiology professor at the University of Washington Medical School, questioned vaping’s reputation as a safe alternative to smoking, noting an increase in blood pressure, heart rate and stiffness of blood vessels among users of vaping products.

“We should learn our lesson from combustible cigarettes and not wait 30 years before finding out that these nicotine-addicted kids are now going to be my patients,” Dr. Kapoor warned. “Flavors are the gateway to nicotine addiction.”

Restrictions of smartphones in public school classrooms: House Bill 1122 and Senate Bill 5346 — would have required the state’s nearly 300 school districts to adopt policies that restrict the use of cellphones during classroom time, by the start of the 2026-27 school year.

School districts can — and have, among them Everett and Monroe districts — set policies for smartphones in class, but the legislation would have required districts to begin drafting policies. As well, Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal has provided guidance on drafting such policies.

Data gathered for the National Center for Education Statistics, part of the federal Department of Education, found that 40 percent of U.S. school districts reported a negative impact on student learning from phones; while 41 percent reported a negative impact on teacher and staff morale.

From the Jan. 28 editorial: “Measured restrictions for smartphones aren’t a rejection of technology or the internet, even in the classroom; both are key to student development of skills they need now and later in life in navigating their lives and careers. Yet protection of young minds requires guardrails that allow their focus to be free of distractions and the content of what’s on their screens to be beneficial to learning.”

Support for local journalism: Senate Bill 5400, proposed by Sen. Marko Liias, D-Edmonds, sought to address concerns about the loss of staff and local journalism outlets in the state’s communities. The bill would have established a grant fund to support local journalism outlets in the state, helping sustain salaries and hire additional staff to better cover civic affairs in those communities.

Funding was to come through a business and occupation tax surcharge of 1.22 percent on social media platforms and search engines with revenues of $5 million or more. which generate revenue from advertising tied to local outlets’ reporting. That would fund a grant program to be administered by the state Department of Commerce, raising an estimated $74 million over four years to support employment of journalists at local newspapers and online and broadcast outlets covering civic affairs in under-served communities.

Among supporters speaking at a committee hearing was Dee Anne Finken, leading local news efforts with the state League of Women Voters: “The league does not believe that government should — quote, unquote — bail out the news industry or news outlets, but we do believe that government has responsibility to ensure conditions exist so that local news outlets can do their job of informing all Washingtonians,” she said.

The legislation won majority support from the Senate commerce committee and had a hearing before the ways and means committee, but did not advance to the Senate floor.

From the Feb. 1 editorial: “As the causes of local journalism’s waning business strength are varied, so, too, will be its solutions. Ultimately, local news outlets are working to rebuild business models that fund the work of those gathering, reporting and writing the news, but the stories and information that are provided are too important to communities, individuals and our democracy to interrupt, even in the short-term.

“The legislation offers a fair path to support more of that work, sustain newspapers and other news outlets and push back the shifting sands of news deserts.

Even good ideas can take more than one try to gain traction and support, even in a 105-day session. The four bills above are worth further debate.