If you’re going to fill your tank in Washington, do it tonight. The gas tax rises six cents per gallon tomorrow morning, and will continue to rise by 2% every year from now on. Washington auto registration costs are also going up and they will also rise every year by 2%.
Washington’s gas tax is 49.4 cents per gallon. Tomorrow morning it will be 55.4 cents. That does not include the 18.4 cent federal gas tax or the other government fees that go into the price of a gallon.
The increase, approved in Senate Bill 5801 in April, by state Democrats and 4 senate Republicans, will pay for transportation projects over the next several years. It’s part of the $3.2 billion transportation package from the last session in Olympia.
According to AAA, Washington pays the third most for gas in the nation. If you add six cents, drivers in the evergreen state will overtake Hawaii to become the second most-expensive, and about 10-cents behind California.
As part of the bill, lawmakers don’t have to vote to raise the gas tax or registration tax any more. They will continue to rise 2% annually.
