Washington Votes Forum

Introduced in the Senate on February 1, 2008

Click here to view bill details.

Your joking, right? You need to take up golf dude!

And so the bloat of vehicle registration fees begins again. How many times to we have to battle this issue at the ballot boxes before someone in Olympia gets a clue?

What a waist of time! Are you nuts! Vote this greedy moron out of office!

I suggest Sen. Tom get around by horse, and be required to measure their emissions with a ruler.

Who is driving these bigger trucks? Hard working people who already pay more than their fair share of taxes and fees. You bureaucrats talk about helping the middle class! I use my truck to take my family camping in our travel trailer. A $400 fee will mean less camping for my kids. I read your bill. I'm guessing that none of you own a large truck and that at least one of you owns a motor home (since motor homes are exempted). Scott Dunn Arlington

What do these guy do at night? Do they stay up and try to think of new way to tax the S##T out of us. I guess they are making to much money down there at the capitol in Olympia. I drive a dually truck because I have to for my job. A Prius will not pull a 14,000lbs trailer. With this tax it might just push me over the edge. Then there go's one more small business owner down the drain. I am tired of paying for all the road improvement in Seattle. why don't you fix the road between Olympia and Portland. It really sucks. But then again they do not drive down there.

We already have a tax on vehicles with larger engines. It's called the gas tax. MORON! Larger engines/bigger vehicles get worse milage so the use more. Then you have to pay more. I can hear it now when you people in Olympia succeed in getting all of us in little cars.....We don't get enough money from gas taxes now because people are using less. We'd better raise the taxes some more! We'll all end up paying one way or another. If you're trying to "save" us from global warming, why don't you do something useful like put out all the coal fires in China!

Two bills, same result. License your pickup in WA and your tabs will be back up around $750 Per year... Aren't we paying .30 ($6-$10 tax per fill)a gallon for gas tax already?? Just say NO!

Washington democrats are OUT OF CONTROL! Notice motor homes are not included - guess their weight on our roads doesn't cause any problems...GET REAL! ATTENTION OLYMPIA: NO MORE FEES. Good thing it is an election year - let's get rid of these IDIOTS!

I drive my pickup truck about 10 times a year - mostly for hauling yard debris and home improvement supplies. I really fail to see how it's engine size (a 2003 Chevy Silverado with a 4.7 V8) is going to impact our roads or even the air quality with the amount I drive it. I see people in my neighborhood who use thier RV's nearly every weekend! They have much more impact on the air and roads than I ever will. Leave it to the damn tax and spend liberal democrats to keep trying to rob us.

To: Sen. Rodney Tom, (“D”unce-Medina) Obviously you live a lot better than the people of this state! Probably because it’s our money you are spending. What about all the state and county vehicles that are exempt, especially King County and Queen County (aka Snohomish)? How many hundreds of millions have been spent on studies with no return to the taxpayer? Here’s one for the Senate to think about!! All the bicycle lanes and trails that have been allocated at the tax payers expense to State and city roads; anyone using them should be licensed and pay a tax on their bicycle. They will need a special “Endorsement” and need a license plate and maybe the government can base the their fee on how many gears they have? How many miles of paved trails and lanes has state and local government made for these special interest groups? Steve in Stanwood So in parting I leave you with this "Politic" politick) archaic (of a person) (ORIGIN from Greek polus ‘much,’ polloi ‘many.’) tick noun: a parasitic arachnid that attaches itself to the skin of a terrestrial vertebrate from which it sucks blood.

Obviously Senators Tom, Kohl-Welles, Pridemore, Keiser, and Kline need to be voted out of office in the next election. They do not have their constituent's best interests in mind. Furthermore they are ignoring the voter's wishes that have been made perfectly clear.

Here's an opportunity for lobbyists to do something useful (at least aligned with the masses) for a change. I'm forwarding to the Recreational Industry Vehicle Association, GM, Chrysler, and Ford just to get the ball rolling. I would encourage everyone to get the word out to industry associations that will fight this tooth and nail. I very much support the sentiment that Olympia fails to recognize the will of the voters.

the lobbyists representing the auto manufacturers have supported one emissions-reducing bill after another this session, including this one which aims to get all drivers off the road-the auto manufacturers are giving in and you and I, as consumers, will pay a very dear price (from the front lines in the Senate)

ARE YOU CRAZY!!!! I am sick and tired of you liberal tax and spent legislators on the west side of this state. How much more of my money do you want? I might as well turn my whole check over to you. You need to be voted out of office for proposing yet another bill to tax us more to live in this liberal state.

Crazy. Those guys need to be voted out of office for thinking of such a thing. If this goes through I will register all of my vehicles in Idaho and they will get NONE of my money!

We have large trucks that are mandantory for our busines, (hauling large equipment) so we need lots of power and the large frames and brakes etc. that go with that. Also our employees who work hard and have the disipline to save $800. to $1000 by the end of the year for vacation, retirement account, etc. do not wish to have even that taken away. They are living on a tight enough margin as it is. Where is the motivation to work hard, long hours and deliver goods and services to the public when the worker bees have give all their profits to the government?

To our legislature: It is interesting to me how many senators and representatives spend much money and time telling us how they want to help the less fortunate and then propose taxes that focus on those same people. When folks buy used vehicles, guess what;; they buy what they can afford and that is usually a larger vehicle without the fancy small motors and hybrids. The older vehicles these folks can afford have the large motors that will cost the most in taxes. Help the underpriviledged,, my !!!!

So I will be paying the same for my ten minute commute as someone who travels a half hour or an hour? What exactly is it you propose I will be taxed for? Is this a penalty for living too close to work? I and others like me who choose to work near where we live don't get any recognition for not being as much of a strain on the infrastructure. Now you are proposing I be disproportionatly taxed for the efficiency of my engine? I agree in part to the premise but not the method. Doesn't the person who drives farther with a less efficient engine already pay more overall in gas tax automatically? If the price of gas keeps climbing it won't be long before the whole thing shakes out anyway. This proposal sounds like yet another way to get into the little guy's wallet. If you persist in this I suspect you will run into a major political road block.

To the guys driving the bus, we are tired of being thrown under it. A very informed friend recently pulled me aside and shed some light on the Shenanigans that are being tossed around. I personally own a heavy vehicle and just opposed. This will surely be discussed around the Campfire.

Are you just trying to get a rise out of use tax payers. Why would you even think you could get away with this. I really commend everyone on the comments made and I agree with them 100%. If I were the people that are trying to pass this **** start looking for another job.

This is an injustice and is laughable to even attempt. Sir with respect to you position what are you thinking. Hard working people Blue collars whatever you want to call us are the ones that will be impacted by this. Look somewhere else than these pockets most of us pay in our sweat and blood to keep this country the best.

I own a 3.5 liter sedan. My husband's work truck is a 5.9 liter. We own a muscle car that has an engine being built for it. We're hard working, over taxed citizens. If they keep up these fee's and taxes, we're going to move. We'll have no choice since we won't be able to afford the cost of living in this state. What are these law makers thinking? Why is it that the solution is always to pay more taxes? I know who I'm voting out in the next election. I think these folks who sponsored this bill just sealed their political fate - at least in my district.

Sir Engines that large should be regarded as a luxury and not unreasonably taxed. I am subsidizing your fuel through federal military taxes, while your monsterous vehicles polute our air and erode the common rights-of-way at an accelerated rate. Please consider your neighbors.

Can't waite till Rossi gets in. Tired of dem's taking money out of our pokets, use the money in surplus if you need some and quite running this state like a "for profit" private company.

Can't we just try wind mills over on the west (windy) side, generate tons of electricity and as a by-product become less dependent on petro. Maybe this isn't probable because it would ruin the view, and requires cool air instead of hot air, the normal product of the west side.

I, too, will vote that bloodsucker out!

They have a clue, they just don't care.

It looks like I'll be commuting in a 40' diesel pusher next year.

Karl Marx, best known for the father of communism, believed one of the top rules for subduing the people was... TAX 'em for all they're worth! This guy is no better than Marx in my book and deserves no position of leadership for this country! Vote him and his co-signers out!!!!! If you want to be fair about taxes there's nothing better proposed than the Fair Tax. Check it out at Fairtax.org.

What are you all doing out there? Dont get this kind of thing started it might spread!!! Concerned in Colorado!!

I am a blue collar worker and have a SUV my self. If they want us to pay these fees just to own something that will get me to work when there is snow on the ground then i feel that the wages of all the government officals (i.e. Congress, The Senate, Governers, etc) should be cut so they can feel the strain that myself and countless others are going through just to get to work or getting their families to school or elseware for that matter. Chapped in Colorado

Washington should rethink this bill. If they are trying to charge the public the STUPID FEES what will this do to the cost of grocries. What will it do to the farmers across the nation. I know what it will do: EVERYTHING WILL COST MORE!!!!! What is next, will a gallon of milk cost $50 a loaf of bread $100. When will they get it through their head that we need to feed our children after we pay our taxes. YES WE PAY TAXES FIRST BEFORE WE CAN FEED OUR FAMILIES!!!!!!!!!!!! They just need to figure out another way to accomplish this feat. Chapped in Colorado

People in the rest of the country should probably boycott goods and services from Washington state on the grounds of their morons in charge being delinquent on their Stupid Tax payments. People should also write to their own state elected people, and let them know this isn't going to fly.....

here's my email to our Senator and two Rep's PLEASE WRITE TO YOURS! Please vote no on SB6900! The additional tax burden for owning our one collector car (that gets 300-400 miles per year) is enough to make me ask you to vote no. The new tax would work out to about $1.00 per mile of use on that car alone!!! The other cars in my household combine to make this potential NEW TAX on me equalling close to $1,000. per year!!!! We already pay some of the highest gas/road use taxes in the nation & those of us who are trying to drive safer, larger cars and continue to buy AMERICAN MADE would be further penalized buy SB6900. VOTE NO on SB 6900 and any similar proposals. Mike Keller, Anacortes WA

As a car hobbyist I will be stuck with the largest possible tax on a car that sees 1500 - 2000 miles a YEAR. All because the it came equipped FROM THE FACTORY with a 500cu in engine. I don't drive this car often, it is a show and shine car, and this is what I get stuck with. It's bad enough that I have to pay a "road wear" tax and again get stuck with a high value because my car weighs in at 9000lbs. If the state wants to generate money for environmental purposes then make it a FAIR USE TAX. A gas tax or a mileage tax. But engine size is absolutely ridiculous.

do the senators really believe that this is the answer. I use a truck because it accomplishes both work and play. One truck, one payment, one insurance bill. The sort of it is that it costs less to me. You can not imagine the sinking feeling that MY government gives me when they tax me, and the rest of the middle class into a pool of dept that we could avoid. Senators I beg you to think of this as a means of economic stiffling. if I only work to pay the gov., who does it help. Sincerly Dan, colorado

typical democratic predudices: stick it to the working class, they're used to it. you segregate the retirees in their rv's and the youth in their racey little hondas, and target the working class because they have enough going on with careers and family that they'll get distracted by election time. it must work, because you evil bastarts are everywhere. I-695 wasn't enough of a hint, you have to invent new gimmicky taxes, just to distract us from the rest of the evil $hit you do. even if i agreed with the ridulous idea that we need to increase taxes on vehicle use, this bill is written to cause maximum inefficiency. by taxing displacement, not fuel use, or co production, they show their complete disinterest in pollution, and traffic, and attack ghosts such as displacement. if they were concerned by pollution, this bill would tax based on pollution. no, they attack co2, because that's the new politically correct target. if they wanted to cut down on CO2, they'd tax joggers(just look at how much they breathe! i feel warmer just watching 'em!) and higher taxes for wetlands! as wetlands produce huge amounts of methane, and CO2. my liberal friends whine about not getting 50 mpg in econoboxes in this country. the reason is regulation: the EPA measures pollution requirements based on pollution generated based on time, not fuel, so brand new cars have a 6-12% misfire rate, but that's ok, because the unburnt fuel gets burnt up in the catalytic converter. except that decreases the energy available to move the car down the road. my liberal freinds then say: "hey, at least we're doing something, it may not be right, but at least it's something!" to which i respond: first, do no harm. when your doctor doesn't know whether or not your leg is broken, he doesn't perform a colonoscopy, and say: "well lets see if that fixes it. come back in 2 years and let me know if it's all better..." we have REAL issues in this state, but this bill is just another anal probing...

As if our high gas tax is not enough! $30 tabs are not $30 any more...the larger vehicles already pay extra for GVW so that $30 tab on a 3/4 ton truck is now $70. Any trailer that I decide to pull is also taxed for GVW. When I am pulling I do use more fuel so I am paying more in fuel tax. These idiots want to tax me each year for the engine I have under the hood. The people of Washington voted to have the $30 tabs. The people can also vote these knuckle heads out of office.