Tag Archives: state

Vehicle tax for ferries fizzles in Olympia

Despite calls from transportation experts for a statewide tax to maintain the ferry system, the idea appears to have gained little traction in Olympia.

“I don’t think you’ll see an (motor vehicle excise tax) or anything else that the Transportation Commission put forward,” said Rep. Christine Rolfes, D-Bainbridge Island, who attended a briefing Monday about the state’s long-term ferry plan. “We’re looking at the transportation budget to see how we can accelerate the boat-building process without revenue increases. If we don’t have new state taxes and we’re serious about the ferry system, then we need some agreement on making the ferry system a priority for the first time in a decade.”

Postponing highway projects to meet ferry system needs by well-placed legislators, Rolfes added.

Read Ed Friedrich’s story about the the proposed ferry funding here.

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BI’s change-in-government bill flies through Senate

A bill aimed at allowing Bainbridge Island to hold a special election in May to change its form of government passed the state Senate today.

The bill now goes before Gov. Chris Gregoire for final approval.

“This was one of the fastest moving bills I have seen in ten years,” said Sen. Phil Rockefeller, a Bainbridge Democrat and the bill’s prime sponsor.

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BI’s special election bill passes committee

Doubts about Bainbridge Island’s special elections bill were eased yesterday with its passage out of a House committee. Read about it in today’s story by Keith Vance, our man in Olympia.

The bill would free Bainbridge and other cities from hold special change-of-government elections only during November, when general election ballots go out.

While yesterday’s action was only the first step, some islanders – including Rep. Christine Rolfes, the bill’s prime sponsor – didn’t think such a relatively minor piece of legislation would have much of a chance during a year when the state’s economy is likely to dominate discussion. The provision listing the bill as an “emergency” was also seen by some as a bit presumptuous, especially in light of the state’s flooding highways, crumbling viaducts, faltering support for schools and plans to close parks.

Already exceeding expectations, the bill may yet put a special ballot in your mailbox in May, rather than November.

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Rolfes backs bid allowing Bainbridge to change its government

UPDATED: An emergency bill that would grant Bainbridge Island an early vote on changing its form of government will have a hearing before members of the state Legislature on Thursday.

The House Committee on Local Government & Housing will hear from the bill’s prime sponsor, Rep. Christine Rolfes, and supporters of a public vote that may replace the city’s elected mayor with a hired city manager.

The bill would alter state law, allowing cities to schedule special elections to alter the structure of local governments. Current state rules require that change-of-government ballot measures go to voters only in November. The rule was enacted to save small cities from having to spend thousands of dollars on special petition-driven elections.

The Bainbridge City Council and petitioners who gathered signatures for the ballot measure support a vote on May 19, about six months earlier than the law allows.

Rolfes, a Bainbridge Democrat and former Bainbridge city councilwoman, said the rule change is good for Bainbridge and other Washington cities.

“I believe that the proposal itself is good public policy – it makes better sense for the people of a city to decide their form of government prior to council and mayoral elections,” she said on Monday. “And that makes sense statewide, not just on Bainbridge. I’ve talked with a number of legislators, and there is general agreement that it’s a good change to make.”

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New May date to vote for swapping the mayor for a manager

Bainbridge Islanders have set a new date to vote on ballot measure that would dramatically change their city government.

Now they just need to change state law to make the vote legal.

The City Council on Tuesday approved a resolution marking May 19 as the day voters may chose to eliminate the elected mayor position and replace it with a hired city manager. But moving the vote almost six months prior to the November 2009 general election runs counter to state law. That’s why the city aims to lobby Olympia to soften voting date rules.

“You’ve made your statement, and we’re going to take care of it,” council chair Bill Knobloch said to the crowd filling much of the council chamber. The council unanimously approved the request for emergency state legislation, the May 19 special election date and a plan to hire a lobbyist to bend the ears of legislators during the 2009 session, which starts in January.

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Liveaboard plan sidelined by state

The city sidelined a plan for regulating Eagle Harbor’s liveaboards this week after the state reversed its position on a key, and possibly contradictory, maritime regulation.

“Suddenly, we had a new interpretation (of state law) brought to us” from the state Department of Natural Resources, said Councilwoman Hilary Franz, who has led efforts in recent months to develop three options for creating an open water marina, the first of its kind in the state and the last bastion for a anchored-out liveaboard community in Puget Sound.

DNR’s reversed position on marina regulations last week spurred the city to cancel a discussion of the options at Wednesday’s night’s City Council meeting, further delaying open water marina plans that have spent nearly a decade in development.

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