Initiative Measure No. 976 (I-976) is a ballot initiative in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

that appeared on the ballot on November 5, 2019. The initiative was brought to the state legislature by a petition sponsored by

Tim Eyman Timothy Donald Eyman (born December 22, 1965) is an American anti-tax activist and businessman. Since 1997, Eyman has become the most prolific sponsor of Washington ballot measures in its history, having qualified seventeen statewide initiatives ...

. The initiative would cap taxes on certain cars at $30 and put an end to transportation benefit districts and other local vehicle taxes. The campaign in favor of the initiative was led by

Permanent Offense Timothy Donald Eyman (born December 22, 1965) is an American anti-tax activist and businessman. Since 1997, Eyman has become the most prolific sponsor of Washington ballot measures in its history, having qualified seventeen statewide initiatives ...

, and

Voters Want More Choices Voting is the process of choosing officials or policies by casting a ballot, a document used by people to formally express their preferences. Republics and representative democracies are governments where the population chooses representatives ...

, while the campaign against the initiative was led by the

Northwest Progressive Institute The Northwest Progressive Institute (NPI) is a left wing think tank based in Redmond, Washington, founded in 2003 and incorporated in 2005. It uses technology, public policy research, and political advocacy to advance progressive causes in the ...

. Opponents of the initiative fear that its passage would take away money from ongoing transportation projects, including voter-approved measures, such as

Sound Transit 3 Sound Transit 3, abbreviated as ST3, was a referendum, ballot measure during the November 2016 elections in Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, proposing an expansion of the regional public transit system. The measure was proposed by Sound ...

, while supporters claim that the initiative would end assessing practices that they claim are dishonest. The practices include using out-dated fee schedules for assessing vehicles. Unsuccessful attempts were made to require the use of more recent fee schedules in the state legislature. The ballot measure was passed, with 53 percent of voters in favor at the time of certification. The governments of Seattle and King County, along with other groups from across the state, announced plans to halt the initiative through legal action, disputing the ballot language as "misleading to voters". A judge in the

King County Superior Court The Superior Court of Washington for King County (more commonly, the King County Superior Court) is the largest trial court in Washington state. It is based at the King County Courthouse, 516 Third Avenue, in downtown Seattle, Washington. It ...

issued a temporary injunction in November 2019. In February 2020, the King County Superior Court largely upheld I-976, but kept the measure on hold pending a ruling from the Washington State Supreme Court. In October, Washington State Supreme Court struck down the initiative on constitutional grounds because it "contain dmore than one subject and its subject is not accurately expressed in its title".

References

{{reflist 2019 Washington (state) ballot measures 2019 in Washington (state) Transportation ballot measures in the United States