Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Washington lawmakers push driving-related fee hikes

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington state lawmakers are pressing ahead with a series of mostly driving-related fee increases to raise money for road repairs and other transportation needs.

The fee increases, which include an 80 percent hike for driver's licenses, passed out of the Senate Transportation Committee Monday. They would raise an estimated $52 million next year and an average of $80 million each year over the next decade.

The money is a fraction of the $3.6 billion in transportation funds that Gov. Chris Gregoire had sought to secure over the next decade. The centerpiece of her plan was a $1.50 fee per barrel of oil refined in the state.

The barrel fee was declared dead last week by Senate leaders, though a stripped-down barrel fee remains alive in the House.

The Associated Press (“AP”) is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats. On any given day, more than half the world’s population sees news from the AP. Founded in 1846, the AP today is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering. The AP considers itself to be the backbone of the world’s information system, serving thousands of daily newspaper, radio, television, and online customers with coverage in text, photos, graphics, audio and video.