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I-745 Resource Page
WashARP has officially oppposed I-745 at this time.
Here are some links to educate yourself on this issue:
Permanent Offense - Pro I-745 web site.Official Anti I-745 web site.
A RESOLUTION declaring Washington Association of Rail Passengers (WashARP) opposition to Initiative 745.
WHEREAS, Initiative 745 mandates that 90% of public transportation dollars in Washington State be spent on "road construction and road maintenance" and widely defines "transportation funds" as "government funds spent on transportation purposes, including, but not necessarily limited to, the transportation fund, the highway fund, public transit and ferry operating accounts and reserves, local government transportation accounts, public transportation authorities, (and) transportation benefit districts," thereby usurping the budget authority of local governments and undermining the ability of cities to accommodate growth in a manner consistent with maintaining a high quality of life for its citizens; and
WHEREAS, Initiative 745 would divert 90% of the sales tax revenue now dedicated to local transit systems, to non-transit purposes, which would likely cripple local transit agencies to provide any significant transit service, leave little option for replacing lost transit services, and severely limit the ability of local governments and transportation systems to leverage federal matching dollars for public transit purposes; and
WHEREAS, with dramatic losses in local tax revenue and matching federal dollars, many local transit system routes will be substantially reduced and eliminated, resulting in dramatic losses in fare box revenue, leading to accompanying financing problems of adequate funding to service bonds, with the potential of bankruptcy for some public transit agencies and the elimination of bus service in some areas of the State; and
WHEREAS, by having to divert 90% of its revenue to road building and maintenance, Initiative 745 would cause the termination of Sound Transit operations, undermining the will of the voters who approved the system in 1996, just as the Sound Transit Regional Express bus service which started in September of 1999 has started carrying up to 14,000 people per day, and shortly after the start of the Sounder commuter rail service in September of this year, and just a few months shy of groundbreaking for the Link Light Rail System in Spring of 2001; and
WHEREAS, Initiative 745 has the potential to cripple the Pacific Northwest High Speed Rail Corridor, and derail the progress and growth that has occurred since 1994.
WHEREAS, Initiative 745 provides sales and use tax credits to road-builders at the expense of general fund programs such as education, human services, or affordable housing; and
WHEREAS, Initiative 745 undermines the Growth Management Act (GMA) by requiring all local comprehensive plans developed under the GMA and all six-year transportation plans required of state agencies to "reflect the provisions and priorities" of the initiative; and
WHEREAS, by eliminating the availability of environmentally-sound public transportation choices, Initiative 745 greatly increases the possibility that the Puget Sound region will be held in non-compliance of the federal Clean Air Act, which would ironically result in the loss of all federal funding for new road projects; and
WHEREAS, Initiative 745 cripples transportation mobility for the most needy of our citizens, affecting those without the income or ability to own and operate private vehicles, such as: seniors, people with disabilities, those not old enough to drive, and people on low-incomes who rely solely on public transportation; and
WHEREAS, Initiative 745 proponents inaccurately label I-745 as a populist initiative when its effects would be the opposite by diverting 90% of all of Washington's public transit funds which were supported by local, voter-approved ballot measures; and
WHEREAS, the "No on I- 745" Campaign is endorsed by the League of Women Voters, Washington Conservation Voters, Action: Better City, Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO, Washington State Audubon Society, Transportation Choices Coalition, Washington Environmental Council, Alliance for Voter Approved Education, Lighthawk, Amalgamated Transit Union Workers, WashPIRG, Livable Communities Coalition, and 1000 Friends of Washington.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE WASHARP BOARD OF DIRECTORS, THE PRESIDENT CONCURRING, THAT WASHARP opposes Initiative 745 and urges WashARP members that are registered voters to vote against the initiative.
Adopted and signed by the WashARP Board of Directors the 9th day of September, 2000________________________________________
Chuck Mott, Chairman of the Board
THE PRESIDENT CONCURRING:
________________________________________
Tony Trifiletti, President
Filed by me this 9th day of September, 2000.
________________________________________
Noel Hancock, WashARP Secretary
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Last Update: 09/26/00
Web Author: Warren Y. Yee
