House passes Kilmer bills to offset bridge tolls, fund hospital road work

OLYMPIA — Narrows Bridge commuters inched a step closer to paying less in tolls when the House of Representatives passed a bill today sponsored by Sen. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, that would allow the use of traffic fines to help pay off bridge debt.

Senate Bill 5391 adds a $9 penalty — or triple the cost of the bridge toll — to the $40 fine assessed to drivers who cross the bridge without paying the toll. While the base $40 fine goes into other state accounts, the $9 penalty will go into the bridge account to reduce the bridge debt and, correspondingly, the tolls that need to be paid.

“It’s only fair that those who cheat on tolls should help subsidize the tolls for the vast majority of honest commuters who pay their fair share,” Kilmer said. “Nobody likes paying tolls, but at least we can somewhat ease the pain.”

Also today, the House passed Kilmer’s SB 5512, which ensures funding for area road projects to accommodate traffic expected for a new hospital being built in Gig Harbor. This bill addresses technical glitches in a related bill by Kilmer that passed the Legislature last year, when he was a state representative.

“A new hospital won’t do any good if people can’t get to it,” Kilmer said. “This will make sure traffic continues to flow smoothly, not just for hospital patients but for residents of the surrounding neighborhoods.”

Both bills earlier passed the Senate. They now await the governor’s signature.

In other action today, Kilmer cast a pair of related votes in an attempt to freeze ferry fares at their current levels. With the Senate considering a House bill that would freeze the fares, Kilmer voted against an amendment to raise fares by 2.5 percent and bring the legislation in line with the budget the Senate approved Saturday. When the amendment passed anyway, raising the percentage to 2.5 percent, Kilmer then voted against the bill, which ultimately passed.

Return to Sen. Kilmer's home page