I was able to testify today on House Bill 2132, which would authorize bonding of toll revenues to raise $1.5 billion for corridor improvements on I-405 and SR 167. In addition, in a similar fashion to House Bill 1899 and Senate Bill 5825, it is the third bill that removes the speed performance goals for the I-405 corridor.

As I shared with the committee, while we believe expansion of road capacity, particularly for freight and general-purpose transportation is important to the region, HB 2132 would continue the cycle of incurring additional debt rather than identifying a stable revenue source for transportation projects.

Bonding the toll revenue, while certainly expedient, sets up a conflict between lane performance promises made to the public and honoring bond repayments. Bond repayments require revenue from tolls, which can only be guaranteed by maintaining congestion in the toll and general purpose lanes. As traffic flow increases, less people use the toll lanes and the toll revenue decreases.

This obvious conflict, putting toll revenue in jeopardy, and subsequently bond repayment, requires the state to guarantee bond repayment from the general fund with its full faith and credit. This means voters from across the state from areas such as Seattle will be paying for any shortfalls in toll revenue on the I-405 and SR 167 corridor.

According to the Washington State Treasurer’s 2019 Debt Affordability Study,

“Washington is one of the most highly leveraged states in the country. According to Moody’s and Standard and Poors (S&P) the State ranks in the top ten nationally for ‘debt per capita’ (7th highest by Moody’s, 6th by S&P…”

Additionally, based on our analysis that will be released in our new study next week, the bill would effectively void the requirement that toll lanes maintain speeds of 45 mph at least 90% of the time, breaking the promise the legislature made to the voters that if they accepted tolls, they would have an efficient and less congested freeway system.

My testimony can be found here. We will continue to track this bill as well as others that would impose or expand tolls.