Pierce County Council Votes To Join Initiative 976 Legal Defense

PIERCE COUNTY, WA —Pierce County will assist in the legal defense of Initiative 976 after county councilmembers approved a proposal to support to state's defense Tuesday. The voter-approved car tab measure is on hold while a lawsuit over its legality continues. An effort by the Attorney General's office to reverse a lower court injunction was rejected by the state Supreme Court last week.

In Pierce County, where voters approved the measure by nearly 66 percent, County Executive Bruce Dammeier directed the prosecutor's office to determine ways to intervene in the litigation and represent the will of the voters.

Seattle, King County, and a coalition of other cities filed a lawsuit after the measure passed in November, alleging some of the initiative's language misled voters and severely limits local governments from enacting new fees to pay for transportation and transit projects.

The News Tribune reports the council voted 4-3, along party lines, to intervene as a defendant in the lawsuit during a meeting Tuesday. Q13 News reports a King County judge will decide if the county can join as an intervener during a hearing scheduled in Seattle Friday.