1.24.18 

Suggested lead:  Lawmakers in Olympia took a big step toward providing relief for vehicle owners who were shocked by new car tab price tags to help pay for Sound Transit projects .  Dan Frizzell has more.

Wrap (:69 total): It took an extra day, but Wednesday morning House members said yes to a bill designed to give taxpayers in the Sound Transit 3 area a break on their car tabs. The bill’s sponsor, Federal Way Democratic Representative Mike Pellicciotti, said most constituents he’s heard from don’t dispute that higher taxes are called for, and they’re looking forward to the improvements that ST3 should bring.  What they do reject, he said, are the grossly inflated vehicle values being used by ST3 to determine who owes what.  Here’s Pellicciotti.

PELLICCIOTTI: “In 2015 when this legislative body passed the transportation package, it did not use the most current and accurate valuation system on the books. It is past time to fix this issue and replace it with the most current and accurate valuations system, and in the process return $780 million back to taxpayers.” [:19]   

Enough lawmakers agreed to give Pellicciotti’s bill a bipartisan victory for the second year in a row.  The bill passed in the House last year as well, but was denied a Senate hearing.  With new Senate leadership in place this year that problem seems unlikely to repeat itself.  In Olympia, I’m Dan Frizzell.