OLYMPIA — The transportation revenue package that would provide Washington’s $450 million share of the Columbia River Crossing project will be not be addressed until after the normal legislative session has passed, according to House Speaker Pro Tempore Jim Moeller, D-Vancouver.
“We just don’t have the votes yet,” he said.
The Legislature is expected to go into special session due to a lack of compromise between the Democratic House budget and the GOP-leaning Senate budget. The constitutionally mandated final day of regular session is Sunday.
“We could maybe do something by Sunday if the stars all aligned, but that’s not likely,” said Rep. Monica Stonier, D-Vancouver.
Stonier said she may be one of the votes not quite there for the transportation revenue package.
“The (revenue package) includes a gas tax, and my district has told me they don’t want taxes,” said Stonier.
She added that her vote may change based on the final product, which is in relatively fluid state thanks to negotiations between the House and Senate.
“If the tax is lowered to a point where I get positive feedback from my constituents, I may vote for it,” she said.
However, even if the package gets out of the House, funding for the CRC faces stiff opposition in the conservatively controlled Senate.
Sen. Don Benton, R-Vancouver, has opposed the CRC from the first day of session, and the Senate Majority Coalition Caucus has stood with him on the issue.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Majority Coalition Leader Sen. Rodney Tom, D-Medina, said funding for the CRC would need to be removed from a revenue package to see support from the Senate.
The Senate did vote to allocate $82 million in planning money for the CRC in the transportation budget, but an amendment to the transportation budget withholds that money pending Coast Guard appraisal of the proposed bridge’s height. The transportation budget is described as “bare bones” by Moeller, with no money for new construction, just maintenance.
Moeller said the House will likely vote on and approve the amended transportation budget Sunday.
Washington and Oregon are expected to jointly pay about a third of the CRC’s total cost. Plans call for federal funding sources and tolling to cover the rest. The $3.4 billion megaproject would replace the Interstate 5 Bridge, extend light rail into Vancouver and rebuild 5 miles of freeway and freeway interchanges near the bridge.
Oregon legislators have approved spending $450 million on the CRC, contingent on Washington legislators’ doing the same this year.
