State will conduct meaningless vote on gas tax hike

An 11.9-cent hike in the state’s gas tax will go before voters this fall.

But what they say won’t matter because the results will only be advisory and, by that time, a chunk of the increase will already be in effect.

The meaningless vote will be held on the Senate bill containing the gas tax increase and hike in car tab fees that will help pay for a 16-year, $16 billion package of investments in the state’s transportation system.

It is one of four such advisory measures that will appear on the November ballot as a result of I-960, the 2007 initiative penned by Mukilteo’s Tim Eyman.

Here are the four bills on which voters will be asked their opinions:

–Senate Bill 5987 that concerns the gas tax and other forms of new revenue for transportation. Under this bill the gas tax will climb 7 cents on Aug. 1 and 4.9 cents on July 1, 2016.

–House bill 1449 that applies the existing barrel tax to oil shipped in rail cars. Today it is collected on shipments by marine tanker.

–Senate Bill 5052 which transitions medical marijuana operators into the recreational marijuana industry. This will result in new and higher taxes for some providers

–Senate Bill 6138 which will bring in money for state coffers by eliminating several tax breaks on certain business activities.