Washington-state voters reject gas-tax repeal

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Washington state voters rejected
a ballot measure that would overturn a gasoline-tax increase
intended to finance $8.5 billion in transportation projects,
according to election results on Tuesday.

The measure, Initiative 912, would have rolled back the 9.5
cents-per-gallon boost to Washington state’s gasoline tax
approved by lawmakers and Gov. Christine Gregoire earlier this
year.

With all counties reporting, 47.5 percent of voters had
voted for the measure, while 52.5 percent voted against it,
according to Washington state election officials.

The gasoline-tax increase, phased in over four years, would
finance various transportation projects statewide. They are
estimated to cost $8.5 billion and would be financed in part by
$5.1 billion in state revenue bonds issued over 16 years and
backed by gasoline taxes.

The state had to put a planned sale of at least $60 million
worth of the debt on hold pending the outcome of the vote on
the measure. The initiative set anti-tax Republican activists
at odds with allies in the state’s business community, who
favor more transportation spending to relieve traffic
congestion and improve freight mobility.

The campaign against the initiative boasted cash
contributions from prominent business people and companies,
including Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates, Boeing Co. and
Weyerhaeuser Co.

Revenues from the tax would finance 274 transportation
projects, including priority projects such as rebuilding
Seattle’s Alaskan Way Viaduct and its floating bridge to its
eastern suburbs.