Tim Eyman is giving voters a third chance to cap car-tab fees at $30 a year.
“It’s a tax cut for everybody in the state,” Eyman said Thursday, after turning in what he said were more than enough required signatures to put Initiative 976 on the November ballot.
On Tuesday, the Washington Secretary of State determined there were enough signatures collected and certified the ballot initiative that would lower car tabs to $30.
Eyman said he expected legislators to leave it to voters, who he expects will support the initiative.
Voters approved the $30 cap in 1999 and 2002. The Sound Transit 3 (ST3) measure approved by voters in 2016 raised the annual fees to pay for public transportation projects.
A lot of drivers felt car-tab sticker shock after the passage of ST3 when their fees doubled, or in some cases tripled.
Eyman said voters were not aware how high their car tab fees would go under the proposal.
“A lot of the things they (voters) were told turned out not to be true,” said Eyman. “Now that you know the truth, now that you know how obnoxiously expensive your car tabs are, do you think this is fair?”
Opponents of I-976 held a press conference at the Capitol in Olympia 30 minutes before Eyman submitted his signatures.
"Tim Eyman's I-976 is not a solution, it's a wrecking ball,” said No on I-976 Chair Andrew Villeneuve.
Villeneuve said opponents are worried voters will support the measure without thinking about the impact. He said capping tabs at $30 would gut voter-approved transportation projects from light rail expansion to improvements, to Amtrak and rail routes in Western Washington.
"If Tim Eyman gets his way these communities will be mired in traffic congestion for decades with no alternative to crowded roads,” said Villeneuve. “People will either be forced to drive, or they'll have to move somewhere where there is transit service if they want an alternative."