Seattle City Council President M. Lorena González issued the following statement after the Washington State Supreme Court overturned I-976:
“Today’s Washington State Supreme Court ruling that Initiative 976 is unconstitutional, is a win for Seattle voters, who in 2019 overwhelmingly voted to reject Tim Eyman’s I-976. Everyone benefits from our transportation and transit infrastructure, which heavily relies on Vehicle License Fee revenue that will be preserved due to this court ruling. Seattle voters, who know the importance of investing in and growing our transit systems, strongly opposed I-976 by 76 percent. The City of Seattle stood with a broad coalition of other local jurisdictions and community-based organizations to challenge the constitutionality of I-976, because of the devastating impacts this Eyman Initiative would have had on our region’s transportation network and infrastructure. In Seattle alone, our residents were primed to lose tens of millions of dollars annually in necessary transit improvements.
“Our residents rely on public transportation and the city’s roads and bridges to access jobs, childcare, school, healthcare and so much more. Our ability to collect vehicle license fees for transportation is vital in our continued effort to improve our region’s transit system and advance projects that mitigate the effects of climate change and advance transportation equity in all neighborhoods across multiple modes of transportation.
“The positive ruling on I-976 was a long journey, but a vast majority of Seattle and King County voters opposed I-976 because we all rely on these revenues to maintain our roads and bridges and to advance transit services via buses and light rail. This ruling allows the City of Seattle and many other jurisdictions to continue to fund the critical transportation infrastructure we all rely on.”