Here’s how legislators from Clark County voted on the transportation tax bill:
Yes
Rep. Jim Moeller, D-Vancouver
Rep. Sharon Wylie, D-Vancouver
No
Rep. Paul Harris, R-Vancouver
Rep. Liz Pike, R-Camas
Rep. Monica Stonier, D-Vancouver
Rep. Brandon Vick, R-Vancouver
Washington state funding for the Columbia River Crossing project hit a snag Wednesday, when the Democratic-controlled state House rejected a crucial part of a $10 billion transportation package that contains money for the CRC.
House Democrats say they were just one vote shy of the bill’s success, and they could be back on the floor as early as Thursday morning to run the bill again. It’s rare to see a bill fail in the House; usually the lawmakers in power make sure they have enough support for a bill before they bring it up for a vote.
Even so, “we anticipated this might happen, and that we would get close-but-no-cigar on the first try,” state Rep. Jim Moeller, D-Vancouver, said after Wednesday’s transportation package vote.
The bill required a simple majority of 50 votes to pass. Forty-eight voted in support of the legislation, 42 voted against it, and seven were excused from voting. State Rep. Marko Liias, D-Edmonds, supports the measure but ultimately voted no on Wednesday, Moeller said. Under House rules, that means Liias can bring the vote back for a re-do.