Joint Lawsuit Filed, Injunction Sought Over Initiative 976

SEATTLE, WA — A joint lawsuit filed Wednesday claims Initiative 976, a ballot measure approved by voters in the 2019 General Election, violates the state constitution. The parties involved will also seek an immediate injunction to block the law from taking effect in December. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit include King County, Seattle, Intercity Transit, Garfield County Transportation Authority, and the Washington State Transit Association.

The court filing calls I-976 a "poorly drafted hodge-podge" that violates the Single Subject Rule, hiding unpopular provisions among more popular ones and misleading voters. The ballot measure slashes car tabs for most vehicles to $30, cutting billions in transportation funding, and barring local governments from imposing separate fees.

"I had an obligation to file this lawsuit after flagging several glaring constitutional problems, like a ballot title that falsely claims residents can vote locally to raise their car tab fees when the initiative language prohibits exactly that," Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes said in a statement.

King County officials estimate the cuts would amount to a $36 million loss for critical transportation funding and threatens $52 million in RapidRide expansion money. Seattle would lose a projected $35 million, which currently funds 8,000 weekly trips and thousands of ORCA passes for students, seniors, and low-income residents.

Garfield County Transportation Authority said transit service in the county could be reduced by 50 percent under the law. The lost funding is also expected to remove hundreds of millions from the Washington State Department of Transportation budget and slow Sound Transit light rail expansion.

As of Wednesday's ballot update, the measure was approved by voters statewide by nearly six percent. Just five Washington counties had a majority of voters against the measure: King, Thurston, Whatcom, Jefferson, and San Juan. Proponents of the measure argue the lawsuit an effort to overturn the will of voters living outside Seattle.

Related Coverage

Initiative 976 Passes, Washington Transit Agencies Brace For Cuts
Seattle, King County To Sue Over Initiative 976

Read the complete lawsuit below: