SPOKANE, Wash. — The Spokane County Auditor said December and January tab renewals will continue as normal while I-976 waits for a court ruling.
On Wednesday, the Washington Supreme Court upheld a King County Superior Court judge’s decision to temporarily block I-976 from taking effect. The voter-approved initiative would cap car-tab fees at $30.
According to Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton, the Department of Licensing stopped printing and mailing paper renewal notices to customers with registration expiration dates in December and January to make sure they didn’t get incorrect fee amounts. She said that has since restarted.
DOL will mail the January notices first, in mid-December and the December renewals will go out towards the end of December.
Dalton said customers who already renewed their registrations before Dec. 3, will not receive a new renewal notice. If a customer renews their registration after Dec. 3, they will receive a renewal notice, but can disregard it.
On Monday, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed an “emergency motion for stay” to reverse the injunction. Essentially, Ferguson was trying to stop the ruling that allowed the state to keep collecting money from car tabs.
Soon after the initiative passed, Washington Governor Jay Inslee instructed the Washington State Department of Transportation to postpone projects that were not yet underway in anticipation of a budget shortfall.
The state Office of Financial Management estimates the initiative will cut more than $4 billion in tax revenue by 2025.