Democrats urging driver’s license fee increase

OLYMPIA — It’s been a while since the cost of getting a driver’s license went up.

And no car owner has ever paid for a first set of license plates.

That could change soon.

House and Senate Democrats want to hike nearly 100 transportation-related fees and use the money to avert

cuts in ferry sailings, bus service and road maintenance statewide.

Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, D-Camano Island, and Rep. Judy Clibborn, D-Mercer Island, who run the transportation committees in their respective chambers, wrote identical bills to boost fees. They’ll begin trying to pass them this week.

“We can make a very good point that what we’re doing is simply raising fees that have not been increased in many years,” Haugen said. “And if we don’t pass this, we’ll have to make those cuts.”

The two lawmakers also said if fees go up now, it will alter the transportation funding measure they expect to bring to voters next year.

“It lays a foundation so that when we have a package we won’t have to include this money to backfill these cuts,” Haugen said.

Clibborn plans a hearing Monday morning on her legislation, House Bill 2053.

Republicans are steering clear of both bills at this point.

“We’re not involved in this bill at all and our caucus does not support it as written because it goes too far,” said Rep. Dan Kristiansen, R-Snohomish, who serves on the transportation panel.

Rep. Mike Armstrong, R-Wenatchee, the ranking Republican on the House committee, said he understands why these long-unchanged fees are in the crosshairs.

“But I’m still not sure it’s the right time,” he said. “I have to think the public is not going to be too enamored with this package.”

Under the bills, 92 fees are increased and two fees are created. Collectively, about $162 million would be generated for the next two-year transportation budget.

Car owners, vehicle dealers, commercial haulers, scrap processors and driver training school operators are affected by the bills.

A change every driver will notice deals with their license. Since 1999, it’s cost $25 to get a license and $25 to renew it. With this bill, you’d pay $45 for the license and $40 for a renewal.

Lose your license and it would be $15 for a replacement, up from the present $10 charge. And the price of the driver’s exam would rise to $30, from $20.

Those who have an enhanced driver’s license to speed travel in and out of Canada are in for a bit steeper hike. The cost would rise from $15 to $55 under the bills. Renewals would go from $15 to $30.

Two new fees of note are proposed. One is a $20 charge for the first set of license plates for passenger vehicles, and the other is a $5 fee to be tacked on the price of each studded tire sold in the state.

Most of the new revenue would go to offset specific reductions spelled out in the proposed House and Senate transportation budgets.

For example, those legislative budgets require Washington State Ferries to trim $4 million worth of service in the next two years. That means a number of sailings will be canceled. These bills earmark $4 million to state ferries to avert those cancellations.

Another $21 million would go to the ferry system to cover spikes in fuel costs and fares. Plus Haugen and Clibborn set aside money to build a new 144-car ferry.

Their bills direct $8 million to bus service for riders with special needs and $26 million to cities and counties for urgent road preservation projects.

There is $29 million for the Washington State Patrol to buy equipment and keep an auto theft prevention program now on the block.

Clibborn knows the bills are not going to be an easy sell in the Legislature, especially coming so close to the scheduled end of the session on April 24.

“This may be an irritant and they don’t want to deal with it,” she said of colleagues. “Most people out there will like what the money does.”

Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com

More online

House and Senate Democrats are talking about raising nearly 100 fees to pay for transportation projects around the state. To see the fees, go to tinyurl.com/FeeHikes. To see what would be funded, go to tinyurl.com/3ob2qq6.

Read the bills at tinyurl.com/HB2053 or tinyurl.com/SB5925.

Where it might go

Washington State Ferries

•$4 million to prevent service cuts.

$4 million to partially offset fare hike.

$17 million to partially cover higher fuel costs.

$144 million in bonding authority and $10 million in annual debt service for 144-car ferry.

Local governments

•$13 million to Transportation Improvement Board serving cities.

$13 million to County Road Administration Board serving counties.

$8 million for grants for special needs bus service.

$2 million added funding for Safe Routes to Schools.