Drafter
Clerk 03/13/2026
Title
A RESOLUTION of the King County transportation district, fixing and imposing a one-tenth of one percent sales and use tax within the boundaries of the district to finance transportation improvements, as authorized by RCW 36.73.040, 36.73.065, and 82.14.0455.
Body
WHEREAS, chapter 36.73 RCW authorizes counties to establish transportation benefit districts for the purpose of acquiring, constructing, improving, providing, and funding transportation improvements, as defined in RCW 36.73.015, within the district, and
WHEREAS, Ordinance 17746 established the King County transportation district with the authority to fund, acquire, construct, operate, improve, provide, maintain, and preserve certain transportation improvements, defined in the ordinance to include specified categories of projects or programs contained in the transportation plan of the Puget Sound Regional Council, King County, or a city within King County, and
WHEREAS, the King County council is the governing board of the transportation district, acting in an ex officio and independent capacity, with the authority to exercise the statutory power in chapter 36.73 RCW, and
WHEREAS, the geographical boundaries of the King County transportation district are coterminous with the boundaries of King County, and
WHEREAS, RCW 36.73.065 authorizes the district to fix and impose up to a one-tenth of one percent sales and use tax for up to ten years within the district in accordance with RCW 82.14.0455 upon a majority vote of the governing body of the district for the purpose of financing transportation improvements of the district, and
WHEREAS, the King County transportation district may be assumed by King County in accordance with chapter 36.74 RCW, and
WHEREAS, the King County road services division of the department of local services manages approximately one thousand five hundred miles of roads, one hundred ninety-three bridges, more than three million linear feet of drainage pipe, more than twenty-eight thousand culverts, more than seven hundred crosswalks, and two hundred seventy-five miles of sidewalk in the county's unincorporated areas outside of cities, and WHEREAS, roads in unincorporated King County support more than one million trips every day, including people traveling to work, school, and recreation, businesses, farmers delivering goods and services, and emergency responders reaching people who need assistance, and
WHEREAS, the 2014 Strategic Plan for Road Services indicated that a structural funding crisis caused by a combination of municipal annexations, state limitations on available revenue options, and aging infrastructure, meant that the King County road services division was able to collect less than half the revenue it needed each year to maintain the existing road system in unincorporated King County, and
WHEREAS, the 2023-2024 business plan developed by the King County road services division indicates that the structural funding crisis, which has not been addressed during the last decade, means that dedicated funding for capital projects will be exhausted in 2029, significantly constraining King County's capacity to maintain, improve, and replace aging and failed components of the road system, and
WHEREAS, aging infrastructure and inadequately maintained facilities have resulted in a road network that is in decline and at risk of failure, and without sufficient funding King County will be unable to maintain the existing road system, respond to emergency situations, and provide for safe and efficient travel for road users, and
WHEREAS, among the priorities for the King County road services division are roadway preservation projects to maintain pavement conditions, recovery from flooding and severe weather such as the event that occurred during December 2025, drainage preservation projects to protect road users and existing roadway structures by eliminating failed or failing drainage systems, culvert replacement projects to promote fish passage and complement King County's collaboration with Tribal governments' salmon recovery efforts, improving county roadways sharing connection points with municipalities which are integral to regional mobility, short span timber bridge replacement projects to replace the forty-four aging timber bridges that are less than twenty feet long and are therefore not eligible for federal funding, intersection improvement projects to improve roadway safety for road users, snow and ice removal during inclement weather, and ongoing maintenance of roads, bridges, drainage pipe, culverts, crosswalks, and sidewalks, and
WHEREAS, the transportation improvements provided and maintained by the King County road services division are eligible, under chapter 36.73 RCW and Ordinance 17746, to be paid for with revenues imposed by the King County transportation district within the boundaries of the district for transportation improvements, and
WHEREAS, given the need for additional revenues to acquire, construct, operate, improve, provide, maintain, and preserve the road network in unincorporated King County, it is appropriate for and in the best interests of the district to authorize funding for transportation improvements to support the unincorporated area road network, and
WHEREAS, King County's Metro transit department, which is the largest public transportation agency in the Puget Sound region, providing public transit services throughout King County, faces financial challenges due both to increasing costs and the goal to expand transit service to meet the needs of King County's growing population, and
WHEREAS, although the Metro transit department is also eligible to use revenues imposed by the King County transportation district it is not the subject of this resolution due to the emergent needs facing the unincorporated area road network, and
WHEREAS, it is the intention of the board of supervisors of the King County transportation district to address transit funding needs in the future, including by deliberating a proposal and drafting legislation during 2026 for consideration for future transit funding;
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF THE KING COUNTY TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT:
SECTION 1. Imposition of sales and use tax.
A. The board of supervisors of the King County transportation district imposes a sales and use tax of one-tenth of one percent under RCW 36.73.040(3)(a), 36.73.065(4)(a)(v), and 82.14.0455, to raise revenue to pay for transportation improvements.
B. The sales and use tax shall be imposed for ten years.
C. The sales and use tax shall be in addition to any other taxes authorized by other jurisdictions and shall be collected from those persons who are taxable by the state under chapters 82.08 and 82.12 RCW, as amended, upon the occurrence of any taxable event within the King County transportation district's boundaries, which are the geographic boundaries of King County.
D. The sales and use tax shall not apply to sales of lodging to the extent that the total sales tax rate imposed on such sales of lodging would exceed the greater of:
1. Twelve percent; or
2. The total sales tax rate that would have applied to the sale of lodging if the sale were made on December 1, 2000, to the extent required by RCW 82.14.410.
SECTION 2. Distribution of revenues.
A. The sales and use tax imposed in section 1 of this resolution shall first pay any administrative costs incurred by the King County transportation district, including for any administrative costs to the state Department of Revenue not to exceed two percent of the taxes collected as required by RCW 82.14.050.
B. The remaining revenues shall be distributed to the King County road services division to implement the transportation improvements described in Section 3 of this resolution.
SECTION 3. Use of revenues and description of transportation improvements.
A. The sales and use tax revenues, less the administrative costs identified in Section 2 of this resolution, shall be used by the district consistent with chapter 36.73 RCW, Ordinance 17746, and this resolution to pay for transportation improvements permitted under that authority, including but not limited to, the acquisition, construction, operation, improvement, provision, maintenance, and preservation of public transportation facilities, services, programs, and roads.
B. Revenues distributed to the King County road services division shall be used to acquire, invest in, construct, improve, provide, operate, preserve, maintain, or pay for transportation improvements focused on the following high priority road and bridge needs:
1. Addressing maintenance, repairs, improvements, and replacements as necessary to keep roads and bridges open and functional to meet increasing needs;
2. Preserving essential county safety and preservation programs, including pedestrian and bicyclist access and safety; and
3. Reducing barriers to accessibility and implementing improvement projects such as sidewalks, curb ramps, and street crossings in alignment with the 2021 King County Road Services Division Americans with Disabilities Act Transition Plan.
C. Revenues distributed to the King County road services division may also be used to acquire, invest in, construct, improve, provide, operate, preserve, maintain, or pay for transportation improvements focused on the following road and bridge needs:
1. Repairing and restoring road network assets damaged by flooding, severe weather, or natural disasters such as the historic flooding experienced in December 2025;
2. Preserving necessary levels of operations and maintenance, including health and safety of employees;
3. Implementing pavement preservation projects to extend the life of existing roadways and reduce long-term costs;
4. Collaborating with municipalities to address orphan roads and improve county roadways within designated Potential Annexation Areas, as well as those county roadways integral to regional mobility;
5. Restoring cuts made to the road services division approved in the 2026-2027 biennial budget;
6. Implementing intersection safety projects;
7. Developing a coordinated safety action plan using the Safe System approach and implementing projects identified in the plan to reduce traffic deaths and serious injuries on county roadways;
8. Implementing bridge load upgrade program projects; and
9. Providing local matching moneys to leverage grant opportunities.
SECTION 4. Ability to apply sales and use tax revenues to pay bonds. To carry out the purposes of this resolution, the district may pledge or apply the sales and use tax revenues to the payment of and interest on general obligation indebtedness issued by King County within the limitations as now existing or hereafter prescribed by the laws of this state.
SECTION 5. Accountability. At the end of the sixth year of collections, the board of supervisors of the King County transportation district, or its successor entity, shall review the projects and programs carried out with these sales and use tax revenues for consistency with this resolution. To inform the review, the road services division shall identify and evaluate projects implemented with these sales and use tax revenues and electronically file a letter to provide that information by October 31 of each year, to the clerk of the council, who shall retain an electronic copy and provide an electronic copy to the King County transportation district, or its successor entity, all councilmembers, and the council chief of staff.
SECTION 6. Severability. If any provision of this resolution or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the resolution or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.
SECTION 7. Effective date. This resolution takes effect immediately after passage of this resolution, but the additional sales and use tax imposed by section 1 of
this resolution applies only to taxable events occurring from the earliest practicable date consistent with RCW 82.14.055.