In Oregon, lawmakers have become downright bashful about proposing new, dedicated funding sources for bike projects.
The Washington Legislature, on the other hand, appears to be closer to passing a bicycle fee to raise additional cash as part of the Democratic House's $10 billion transportation package.
According to The Seattle Times:
The proposal would increase the state gas tax by 10 cents over five years, eventually reaching a total of 47.5 cents per gallon. Currently, Washington state has the nation's ninth-highest gas tax.
In addition, it would create a car tab equal to 0.7 percent of a vehicle's value. A state tax on hazardous chemicals would increase by 0.3 percent, to 1 percent.
There's even a $25 sales fee on bicycles worth $500 or more that raises a total $1 million over 10 years, included for largely symbolic reasons.
In other words, the bike tax, inserted to placate those who insist that bicyclists don't pay their way on roads, is more for show than serious funding.
If there are plans to introduce a similar bicycle fee in Salem, even for "largely symbolic reasons," ODOT and legislators have kept quiet about it.
It certainly isn't on the list of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance's 2013 legislative priorities, which include tamping down speeds on more residential streets and changing the law to allow remote enforcement for unmanned photo radar cameras.
As for those who think licensing and registering bikes is a good way to fund bike projects, experience says it's not. In fact, as Hard Drive has reported, such systems tend to create money-bleeding bureaucratic and enforcements nightmares.
-- Joseph RoseSource: http://blog.oregonlive.com/commuting/2013/02/washington_considers_25_bicycl.html
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