Pierce Transit Bill Clears House Trans. Committee

Rep. Jake Fey D-27 (Tacoma)
Sponsor of HB1898

Pierce Transit's bill (HB1898 / SB5793) to allow a smaller zone within the PTBA vote on additional taxes and benefit from additional transit service cleared the House Transportation Committee today, by a 17-14, party-line vote.  The bill had substitute language introduced by Representative Fey.

Here are the changes, according to legislative staff:

• Creates a Zone as a separate, independent local government, governed by the members of the transit agency that created it, with specific authority to impose a sales and use tax.
• Allows a city, town, or county to opt out of a Zone prior to creation of the Zone, or at
• the time of reauthorization of Zone.
• Removes the requirement thata Zone include 55 percent or more of the low-income or minority population of the transit agency area and instead requires the establishing transit agency to include a significant amount of that population.

The companion Senate bill has not had action taken, yet.  It was given a hearing in committee on Feb. 25th (Previously: Pierce Transit Legislative Update: Get in the Zone), which was attended by members of the City Council, Pierce Transit Board, and by local riders.

Here's the roll call on the bill:

Do pass: (17)

Signed by Representatives Clibborn, Chair; Fey, Vice Chair; Liias, Vice Chair; Moscoso, Vice Chair; Bergquist, Farrell, Fitzgibbon, Freeman, Habib, Moeller, Morris, Riccelli, Ryu, Sells, Takko, Tarleton, and Upthegrove. 

Do not pass: (14)

Signed by Representatives Orcutt, Ranking Minority Member; Hargrove, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Overstreet, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Angel, Hayes, Johnson, Klippert, Kochmar, Kretz, Kristiansen, O'Ban, Rodne, Shea, and Zeiger.

Archived video of the House committee session is available here.