12th District Rep. Keith Goehner had his first bill pass off the floor of the state House of Representatives today.
House Bill 1633 would make the posting of state and federal fuel tax rate information by fuel pump inspectors permanent.
“Transparency must come with taxation. Consumers already know what taxes they are paying on most services and goods. It should not be any different with fuel,” said Goehner, R-Dryden. “This bill makes permanent a practice that is currently in place based on legislation passed in the last biennium. It is essential we continue to provide constituents transparency and the full disclosure of taxes paid per gallon at the fuel pump.”
The posting of fuel tax rates on pumps was passed as part of the 2017-19 transportation budget when former Rep. Cary Condotta was able to get the fuel tax sticker legislation amended into the transportation budget.
The Washington State Department of Agriculture Weights and Measures Division affixes the tax stickers during inspections. However, since the previous legislation was included in the transportation budget, it is set to expire at the end of the budget biennium, on June 30, 2019.
“We are at a time when everyone wants to know how much they are paying in taxes and where that money is going. It is no different with fuel,” said Goehner.
Washington state's current gas tax is 49.4 cents per gallon. It is the third-highest gas tax in the country behind Pennsylvania and California. The federal gas tax rate is 18.4 cents per gallon, 22.4 cents per gallon for diesel fuel.
House Bill 1633 passed by a vote of 92-2. It now heads to the Senate for consideration.