Gas tax revenue coming up short in new transportation revenue forecast
Legislators are expected to be challenged in the upcoming session in figuring out how to fund ongoing projects
Carleen Johnson
The Center Square Washington
The Economic and Revenue Forecast Council has approved Washington state’s updated transportation revenue forecast.
There was some challenging news in the forecast, but at least there was transparency, according to Washington Research Council Senior Research Analyst Emily Makings.
“It confirms what we’ve known for some time, and that is transportation revenues and the transportation budget are really facing a lot of challenges,” she told The Center Square on Thursday. “Revenues are now expected to be much lower than they had been when the current budget was enacted, so that will not help legislators as they start to write the next transportation budget.”
The transportation revenue forecast includes money from motor vehicle fuel taxes – that’s the biggest chunk – vehicle and driver fees, revenue from ferry fares and road tolls, among other sources.
“When you adjust revenues for inflation over a 10-year period, it’s expected to be down 13.8%, whereas last year about this time revenues were going to be down by about 6.7% adjusted for inflation,” said Makings, who noted gas tax revenues are