Tag Archives: Senate Transportation Committee

King receives award for work on transportation issues

Sen. Curtis King has been honored by the Washington State Good Roads & Transportation Association for his work on transportation issues.

King, formerly the chair of the Senate Transportation Committee and currently its ranking Republican member, was named Legislator of the Decade by the association at its 2019 Legislative Breakfast Tuesday. The other Legislator of the Decade honoree is former 41st Legislative District Rep. Judy Clibborn, who served as the House Transportation Committee chair for several years until retiring from the Legislature last year.

“I’m honored to be recognized by the Goods Roads & Transportation Association in this way,” said King, R-Yakima, who serves the 14th Legislative District. “Representative Clibborn and I worked well together on transportation issues during our time as transportation chairs.”

King and Clibborn were the main architects of the Connecting Washington transportation package that was approved by the Legislature in 2015.

“The Connecting Washington package was a well thought out and negotiated start to the repair and restoration of our transportation system,” according a brochure produced by the association about the awards. “It incorporated significant resources to complete projects and finish gaps in the system. Listening to local communities and feedback statewide they (King and Clibborn) crafted a bipartisan package to begin repair of our transportation system.”

King holds key positions on transportation, labor panels as 2019 session begins

Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, has been chosen by his caucus to serve in a key role on two Senate committees as the 2019 legislative session begins today.

King returns as ranking Republican on the Senate Transportation Committee, a position he held last year after serving as the committee’s chair from 2015 to 2017. He said the top priority in the Transportation Committee this session will be developing a new two-year state transportation budget.

“The committee chair, Senator Hobbs, is promoting a new transportation package that includes a new carbon fuels tax, something I can’t support,” said King. “We’ll have to try to work through that.”

King plans to introduce a proposal to move sales-tax revenue generated by automobile sales from the state general fund into the state transportation budget.

“It makes more sense to put tax revenue from sales of cars and trucks into transportation instead of the general fund,” said King, noting that such a sales-tax transfer could mean up to $2 billion over a period of four biennial budgets (eight years). “I know this proposal will be a tough sell, but if we invest that money properly in transportation, the amount of taxes that would come back into the general fund would greatly help to offset that loss.”

King also has been selected by his caucus as ranking Republican on the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee. He said he is working hard on a bill to revise the prevailing-wage bill passed by the Legislature last year.

“I feel like the new prevailing-wage law was interpreted and implemented incorrectly by the Department of Labor and Industries, so we’re going to work diligently to see if we can get that changed,” said King.

It is rare that a senator is selected to be the ranking member on two Senate committees.

“I am extremely honored and pleased that my caucus had such confidence in me,” said King.

King also serves on the Senate Rules Committee, which selects which bills reach the Senate floor for consideration by the full Senate after they have been approved by Senate policy or budget committees.

The 2019 legislative session lasts 105 days and is scheduled to end April 28.

Senate transportation-committee chair responds to governor’s ‘scurrilous’ accusations

Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, today made this statement clarifying his role as Senate Transportation Committee chair and the Senate’s decision Friday to reject the appointment of state transportation secretary Lynn Peterson:

“Today the governor claimed the rejection of former-Secretary Peterson came as a great shock to him. He must be the only person in Washington who was surprised. Over the past three years, stories of botched DOT projects and relentless mismanagement has provided fodder for every form of social media, as well as newspapers and nightly newscasts across the state. For my own part, I sent multiple letters to the former transportation secretary since 2013 expressing my concerns and lack of confidence over a number of issues. I think the biggest surprise to drivers in this state is that it took this long for a change to be made.

“When the members of the Senate Transportation Committee voted to move the confirmation of the former transportation secretary into the Rules Committee over a year ago, they were not voting ‘for’ or ‘against’ the agency head, they were voting to move the nomination forward. That is how the confirmation process works, and the governor knows it – or should. To characterize the words I said during the public hearing in committee as an affirmation of her work is disingenuous. Thanking Ms. Peterson for making her staff available to legislators is hardly a ringing endorsement.

“In 2015 it was the Legislature which determined the scope, budget and project list for the largest transportation revenue package in state history. The role of DOT and the former transportation secretary was to implement the package. To suggest that our approval of the package itself constitutes an endorsement of Ms. Peterson is also inaccurate.

“Agency directors should be well aware that they are ultimately responsible when there are problems within their agency. Pointing fingers at contractors is just blame-shifting. The Senate confirms or rejects people appointed by the governor, not contractors hired by those people. We are also not the human-resources department for the executive branch – meaning our job is not to coach agency heads or manage them. That is the job of the governor. When he fails to do his job, then we are forced to do ours.”

Transportation reforms, revenue and projects now at House doorstep

Two days after the Senate passed a $15 billion transportation package, its transportation-committee chair is crediting the people of Washington for the cost-saving reforms that set the package apart from anything the Legislature has passed.

“The bills we have laid at the doorstep of the House of Representatives, with broad bipartisan votes, contain some very effective consumer protections – including one meant to keep fuel-related revenue from disappearing into the air, under the disguise of a low carbon fuel standard, instead being put toward roads and bridges,” said Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima. “Our negotiating positions have been closer than most folks know; taking the time to work out more of the details resulted in a great package for nearly every resident of our state.

“After the Senate put the brakes on the governor in 2013, and set aside the no-reform package he wanted, we went around the state listening to what the people said they wanted in a transportation system. At every turn they indicated a willingness to invest more in the infrastructure but only if we included reforms that would protect their investment and stretch their dollars,” King explained. “It’s those reforms that make this package so much better than the governor’s approach as well as what the Legislature adopted in 2003 and 2005.”

The 11-bill transportation-revenue package would devote $8 billion to new construction and $1.4 billion to maintenance and preservation of existing roads and bridges across the state. The first eight bills passed in the Senate addressed key reforms that were sticking points for King during negotiations. Agreement on the accountability measures led King and his Majority Coalition Caucus colleagues to support the proposed 11.7 cent-per-gallon gas-tax increase, phased in over three years.

“No one likes paying more at the pump, including me. But people in our state are smart and they understand we can’t have a ‘no tax of any kind’ option and still fix our crumbling infrastructure. I think folks can also see through the ‘make the polluters pay’ scheme that is rife with feel-good sound bites and devoid of tangible details – we can’t build roads and bridges on ideology,” said King, R-Yakima.

A transportation-revenue package has not been approved by the Legislature since 2005, and that one allocated no money to maintenance and preservation. King noted that this package gets the state back on track.

“Our roads and bridges have been neglected for over a decade. It is time for us to step up and deal with the mess we’ve been left,” continued King. “Sometimes that isn’t the popular choice, but it is the responsible and proper choice. Not all of the decisions we make in life are easy, but they still have to be made.”

The package also includes a contingency that effectively blocks any effort by the governor to use executive action to impose low-carbon fuel standards on Washington’s citizens.

“The idea that we have to decide between the environment and this revenue package is patently false. Our state is already a low-carbon place and many of the programs we’ve already put in place continue to drive down our carbon output. This revenue package doesn’t imperil the health of one single citizen, but it does provide tremendous economic development, hundreds of thousands of good, family-wage jobs and safer roads,” said King.

Committee to put reform bills first when transportation-package discussion begins today

Today’s Senate Transportation Committee meeting will feature the start of public hearings on the proposed bipartisan transportation package announced this past week.

The eight bills slated for hearings today constitute the reform leg of the 11-bill package.

“The residents of this state have spoken loud and clear that they want to see changes in the state transportation department,” said Sen. Curtis King, committee chair. “I could not agree more. To that end I made sure that this proposal was a complete package with reforms first, revenue second.”

“It has taken nearly three years to get to this point. I’m excited for people to hear the details of these accountability and cost-saving measures as they move through the legislative process,” said King, R-Yakima.

“The people of this state are smart – they know what it takes to grow jobs and the economy,” said King. “This transportation package is not just about roads, bridges and buses. It’s about a huge economic return on investment for our state. The citizens want an infrastructure that moves us forward, not holds us back, in a way that uses their money wisely. This proposal does just that.”

King selected to lead Senate transportation committee

During a meeting of Senate majority lawmakers Monday, Sen. Curtis King was chosen to chair the Senate Transportation Committee. As head of the committee, King will steer the transportation agenda and bill proposals, as well as write the biennial transportation budget.

It is anticipated that the agenda will focus on passage of a reform and transportation-revenue package. King has spent the legislative interim touring the state and meeting with local and regional officials to identify top infrastructure needs.

“Every corner of our state is facing critical road and bridge issues,” said King, R-Yakima. “The need for a new reform and transportation-revenue package is not limited to one side of the state or another. The high-profile fiascos have further cemented my contention that we need department of transportation reforms before we cut another check. I’m hopeful that those who haven’t wanted to see accountability are finally ready to listen to the folks they represent,” said King. Continue reading →

Governor violated confidentiality agreement with Senate and House negotiators

Senate majority sets the record straight with public release of transportation-negotiation documents.

In response to Gov. Jay Inslee’s violation of a confidentiality agreement between his office and transportation negotiators from the Senate and House of Representatives, Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, co-chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, today released the past nine months’ worth of House and Senate transportation proposals to set the record straight on the status of the state’s transportation package.

“In light of blatant and false accusations by the governor and his violation of a confidentiality agreement with the negotiating parties, we have been forced to release the negotiating positions of the House and Senate,” said King, who represents the 14th Legislative District. “In making these unprecedented disclosures, we are setting the record straight on just how far the Senate Majority Coalition Caucus moved toward the Democrats’ position and how truly close we came to an agreement during the last two weeks of the legislative session.”

“What was missing throughout the 2014 session was bipartisan leadership by the governor and commitment to reforming our broken transportation system,” King continued. “Governor Inslee failed to bring the two parties together and the Democratic co-chair of the Senate transportation committee along with leadership among the Senate’s minority Democrats, failed to allow reforms to come to a vote.” Continue reading →

King says failure to pass transportation package not due to lack of effort

At a news conference today – one day before the scheduled end of the 2014 legislative session – Sen. Curtis King, R-Yakima, and co-chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, lamented the fact that lawmakers did not pass an agreed-upon transportation revenue and reform package before adjourning. King added that the Majority Coalition Caucus, which leads the state Senate, repeatedly made compromises sought by the Senate minority, but to no avail.

“During the 2013 transportation feedback forum tour, we visited ten cities across Washington in five weeks. The vast majority of citizens made it clear that they wanted reforms before they’d accept any gas-tax increase, and we listened to the people.”

“From the very beginning, the MCC has prioritized reforms, and additional revenue was never off the table. But in the end, the Senate’s minority Democrats weren’t serious about making the tough reforms. They were more interested in tax increases and sound bites, despite knowing as well as I do that the state can’t win public support for a multibillion-dollar transportation package without first establishing that we are serious about fixing the waste, mismanagement and abuse that exists within the system.” Continue reading →

King supports minimal changes for second year of transportation budget

The state Senate last night approved minor adjustments to the state’s 2013-15 transportation budget that will continue maintenance and preservation of Washington roads, bridges and other infrastructure. Sen. Curtis King, co-chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, says the modest changes he supports through Senate Bill 6001 are not about adding spending for new projects but simply continue to fund existing work.

“Because of the hard work we put into the biennial transportation budget last year, there were very few areas that needed adjustment in 2014,” said King, a Yakima Republican who represents the 14th Legislative District. “Supplemental budgets are meant to address unforeseen issues, appropriations that didn’t balance right or issues that are time-sensitive. They’re not meant to be another bite at the apple.” Continue reading →