Sources: The Transportation Package and CRC are now dead.

After almost a decade of fighting this rip off, we have finally arrived at victory.  The locak slime shilling this may be committing mass suicide: stand by.

AP State

APNewsBreak: Wash. lawmakers shelve transport plan

June 28, 2013 @ 10:38 pm

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OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Washington lawmakers shelved a plan Friday that would have raised the state's gas tax in order to pay for a series of major transportation projects around the state.

Democratic Rep. Judy Clibborn said Friday night that she was sorry and disappointed the $10 billion package did not have the support needed to pass. Clibborn had been working on the issue for some two years but said it became clear over the past week that the Senate was not willing to work on the plan, which would have included a 10 1/2-cent increase in the gas tax.

"It's time to let go," said Clibborn, D-Mercer Island. "I think I did everything I could."

Business leaders had supported the package, saying it was necessary because the state's highways and bridges can't wait any longer for improvements. Gov. Jay Inslee had also pushed for the measure and had hoped there the package would pass through the Senate by Sunday night.

Senate Transportation Committee co-Chair Curtis King, R-Yakima, said his caucus has no appetite for the transportation package and he didn't anticipate a vote this weekend, regardless of the governor's statement.

"He can hope all he wants," King said. "There's lots of reasons why we shouldn't go this way."

A version of the proposal approved by the state House included $3.2 billion for several state road projects, including State Route 167, Interstate 90 over Snoqualmie Pass and a replacement bridge over the Columbia River into Oregon.

That Columbia River bridge was widely opposed by Republicans in the state Senate, who said the current proposal for the bridge was too low and should not include light rail transit. They also expressed concern about the costs.

Supporters, meanwhile, said now was the time to approve that bridge. Oregon and Washington are each responsible for $450 million of the replacement span, with the federal government and toll revenue paying the rest. Oregon has already approved its portion, and officials have expressed concern that federal money provided for the project will fall through if Washington state fails to act.

Clibborn said lawmakers could try and return to the issue next year, but she suspect it may have to wait until 2015. In the meantime, she said motorists concerned about traffic and road conditions may want to put pressure on lawmakers and ask for change.