Final 1.5 cents of gasoline tax passed in 2005 in effect today

Total taxes in state on gallon of gasoline now are 37.5 cents

By Adam Wilson | The Olympian • Published July 01, 2008

The state tax on a gallon of gasoline will rise a penny and a half today to 37.5 cents a gallon.

The increase is the last part of a 9.5-cent increase that has been phased in since the Legislature and voters approved it in 2005.

The money was dedicated to 274 projects statewide, including two megaprojects still waiting to start in King County.

The state has completed more than half of the 391 projects paid for with the 2005 increase and the 5-cent increase approved by lawmakers in 2003, the state Department of Transportation reported Monday.

The agency has completed 148 of the projects, including 19 in the past three months.

The additional 1.5 cent tax added today will cost the average driver $9 a year, according to the department. That assumes drivers will log 12,000 miles in a vehicle that goes 20 miles per gallon.

With the way gasoline prices have been going up recently, the tax increase is "not going to be real noticeable" because it's a diminishing component of the overall price, said Brad Benfield, spokesman for the Department of Licensing.

The statewide average for a gallon of gasoline Monday was $4.34, according to AAA Washington.

That's the same price as a week ago, indicating prices might have stabilized before the Independence Day weekend, said Janet Ray, a AAA representative.

She noted prices have been unusually volatile and continue to set records.

"All we have to go on is what the trend is, and look ahead four days and say is there anything going on geopolitically that would cause prices to change again," she said.

In the Olympia area, average prices are at an all-time high for standard unleaded fuel, at $4.40 per gallon, according to AAA Washington.

Even before prices topped $4 a gallon, state leaders, including Gov. Chris Gregoire, said high fuel prices make future gasoline tax increases unlikely. Majority Democrats in the Legislature have been laying the groundwork for more extensive tolling to pay for future projects.

Billions of dollars worth of construction is still planned under the 2003 and 2005 tax increases, however.

In South Sound, that includes expanding Interstate 5 to six lanes between Grand Mound and Centralia, and buying land to realign state Route 510 near Yelm.

The biggest project in the package is still waiting to start. Lawmakers dedicated $2 billion in gasoline taxes to replace the double-decker Alaskan Way Viaduct in downtown Seattle, but a final design for the replacement has yet to be decided.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Adam Wilson covers state workers and politics for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-753-1688 or awilson@theolympian.com.