Pierce County Council wades into car-tab fray, will help defend I-976 in court
Pierce County has decided to help defend Initiative 976, the measure to lower car tabs passed by voters statewide last month, in a lawsuit challenging its constitutionality.
The Pierce County Council voted 4-3 along party lines Tuesday to intervene in the lawsuit brought against the so-called $30 car tab initiative, which was sponsored by Tim Eyman.
“Rest assured, your voices were heard in this process,” chairman Doug Richardson said in the council meeting.
The Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office will now help the state Attorney General’s Office defend the measure. King County, Seattle and a handful of other jurisdictions have sued to overturn the initiative, which would lower many vehicle registration fees and roll back car-tab taxes that fund Sound Transit’s expansion projects.
Council members Richardson, Jim McCune, Dave Morell and Pam Roach supported the action, while Democratic council members Marty Campbell, Connie Ladenburg and Derek Young voted against Pierce County’s involvement.
“I would urge that we not engage in this,” Young said. He said Pierce County should not intervene because it doesn’t seem to make sense to use resources and funds on a state lawsuit.
Roach took issue with the fact that many in Seattle who rely on public transit and the infrastructure build on car tab fees do not own cars.
“It’s an issue of fairness,” Roach said.
No public comment was allowed on the action.
Arguments against car-tab initiative
Public agencies who object to I-976 argue the ballot measure was misleading and violated the rule that local matters should be decided locally. The Washington State Attorney General’s Office is defending the initiative, was approved by 53 percent of voters statewide and 66 percent in Pierce County.
Prosecuting Attorney Mary Robnett said she will file Pierce County as an “intervener” in the case, allowing Pierce County a seat at the defense table. A county intervening as a defendant in a lawsuit is likely unprecedented, she said.
The civil division will spend “a significant amount of time” providing the state with supportive documents defending the measure. Asked if her office has the capacity to take on the case, Robnett said just as in law enforcement and the courts system, the prosecutor’s office has limited bandwidth.
County Executive Bruce Dammeier told The News Tribune he met with Robnett and Richardson to discuss Pierce County’s involvement in the suit after the King County Superior Court Judge Marshall Ferguson temporarily blocked I-976 from taking effect on Dec. 5 as scheduled.
Dammeier said last week his decision to intervene had nothing to do with the state’s defense nor the fact that Attorney General Bob Ferguson has previously sued Eyman and fought on the opposite side of the car-tab case.
“It’s all about representing the voters of Pierce County,” Dammeier said. “I have heard a great deal of concern that their voice will be lost in the legal process.”
Three of Eyman’s previous tax initiatives have been approved by voters but declared unconstitutional in the courts.
Sound Transit opponents
In 2016, Sound Transit asked voters to increase sales, property and car-tab taxes to pay for 62 additional miles of light rail, 37 new stations and the expansion of regional rail service.
Voters in Snohomish and King counties passed Sound Transit 3, while Pierce County rejected the measure. The expansion package passed overall with 54 percent.
If the Washington Supreme Court sides with Eyman, the state and Pierce County, many of Sound Transit’s projects, like expanding the light rail from Everett to Tacoma and adding more Sounder stations, would be delayed or cut.
“Significantly reducing revenues would leave no alternative to cutting and delaying critical projects and services that provide our citizens with a path out of ever-worsening congestion,” said Sound Transit’s Board Chair and Redmond Mayor John Marchione.
Pierce County has until Friday to file as an “intervener” in the case. The Superior Court will decide whether Pierce County can join the suit.
This story was originally published December 10, 2019 at 3:41 PM with the headline "Pierce County Council wades into car-tab fray, will help defend I-976 in court."
