Up Front AM: One thing that expires, one thing that doesn’t
First take on the day’s political news from the Up Front team.
First, the thing that expires: Haven’t used your Good-to-Go pass yet? You may want to watch out for the state’s “inactivity fee.”
If you don’t incur any tolls after 24 months, the state will close your account. You’re entitled to a refund, but not before the state deducts $5 for “inactivity.” Watch the KING 5 story on the “inactivity fee.”
“There’s still costs associated to managing those accounts, we really want people who have accounts to be users of the facility,” says Patty Rubstello, Toll Development Director for the state Transportation Department.
But some state lawmakers were not pleased to learn of the fee. “The five dollar administrative fee is too large, it’s not legal, at least in my opinion,” says Rep. Ross Hunter. Seven years ago, Hunter sponsored the bill making it illegal for gift cards to expire. At the time, people were upset that retailers were charging inactivity fees that automatically reduced the value of gift cards.
“What’s good for the goose is good for the gander, in this case, and if we’re not going to let private vendors do it, I’m not sure why we would do the same thing,” Hunter says.
Now, what doesn’t expire? Tax exemptions.
From livestock semen to janitorial services, our state has hundreds of tax exemptions that have come under fire in the budget crunch. Now, one state lawmaker is introducing a bill that would put an expiration date on virutally all these exemptions.
It’s not that Rep. Reuven Carlyle wants to end all exemptions, but he says, the legislature should reconsider them on a regular basis.
Instead of allowing exemptions to continue indefinitely, Carlyle has introduced a bill that would force the legislature to re-authorize tax exemptions on a regular schedule.
Carlyle’s bill would not take effect until 2017. “The intent is not to raise short-term revenues, but to make structural changes,” Carlyle says.
The Seattle Democrat is co-sponsoring the bill (HB2762) with Republican Glenn Anderson. It would require a two-thirds vote of the legislature to pass.
