20th District House Republicans Rep Richard DeBolt, R-Chehalis, and Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, say they will seek support for six economic and transportation reforms before they consider a House Democrat package to raise the state gas tax by 10 cents.
According to DeBolt and Orcutt, those reforms could be realized via House Bill 1236, which would require state agencies to make permit decisions in 90 days or the permits are granted; House Bill 1619, which would suspend Growth Management Act requirements in counties with persistent unemployment; House Bill 1985, which would exempt future state transportation projects from state and local sales and use tax; House Bill 1986, which would require WSDOT to report to the Legislature on engineering errors and mistakes that exceed $500,000; House Bill 1984, which would limit WSDOT’s tort liability based on the amount of the department’s actual fault; and House Bill 1989, which would limit bond terms for transportation projects to 15 years.
“We are concerned about signing a multi-billion dollar check to a group of state lawmakers who have neglected the economy and failed to properly manage the last gas tax increase,” House Republican Leader Richard DeBolt said. “We need jobs, accountability and taxpayer protections. Our solutions reflect these goals.”
