Inslee bets ferry replacement on Initiative 2117 failing this November

At Gov. Jay Inslee's insistence on electrifying the fleet, a plan to replace aging Washington ferries could get scuttled in November if voters approve Initiative 2117.

Inslee announced two years ago his plans to have future ferries added to the fleet be powered by electricity rather than diesel, while retrofitting some existing ferries to be electric.

Washington State Ferries has estimated it will cost a total of $4.4 billion to electrify the entire ferry system, which would include installing charging ports at terminals.

Much of that funding comes from the Climate Commitment Act, which generates state revenue through carbon auctions and can only be spent on environmental-related projects, such as transportation electrification.

The decision by Inslee to build electric ferries has proved contentious to the point where the governor has publicly defended the decision even as both gubernatorial candidates have expressed support for building diesel ferries.

While new diesel ferries would not require adding electric charging ports, they will still require WSF to replace aging infrastructure such the 70-year-old Fauntleroy Terminal; WSF hopes to begin construction on the new terminal between 2027-2029.

Of $1.6 billion appropriated for five new electric ferries and the electrification of three terminals, $599 million comes from CCA revenue. WSF hopes to have the five electric ferries built by 2030 and eventually add 11 ferries to reach a total of 26 in the entire fleet.

The state agency earlier this year put out a request for proposal for a shipbuilder to construct a new electric vessel, and WSF says there are three interested shipbuilders, one of which is located in the state. The state agency has said it will need to have a new ferry built every year to reach their long-term goals.

However, CCA revenue source could be eliminated if voters approve Initiative 2117 in November, which would repeal the state law.

The loss of revenue was a source of discussion at the Washington State Transportation Commission’s Tuesday meeting, in which WSF officials addressed ways to improve the level of ferry service currently provided.

When asked by commissioners about the impacts of I-2117's potential passage, WSF External Relations Senior Director John Vezina told the commission that “after I-695 passed in 1999….the Legislature set a level of service. So, the Legislature could change that level of service” if CCA is repealed.

Initiative 695 received 56.16% of the vote in 1999; it required future voter approval for tax increases, repealed existing fees and excise taxes for motor vehicles, and capped the annual license tab fee to $30. At the time, the motor vehicle excise tax funded a quarter of WSF’s budget, and between 2000-2010 no new ferries were built. The State Supreme Court ruled the initiative unconstitutional, but the state Legislature ultimately enacted it via legislation.

However, Vezina also told the WSTC that “in my conversations with them [the Legislature] and certainly the Governor's Office, this is the level of service that I think the public and the elected officials expect us to provide. We have regulated that with what we're able to provide, but there's definitely still the expectation we get back there with the new programs and the new vessel.”

Critics of the initiative have been more direct in their warnings, with No on I-2117 sending out an email the day after the WSTC meeting that “if passed, I-2117 would devastate funding for the state’s ferry system.”

In the same email, Inlandboatmen’s Union of the Pacific Secretary-Treasurer Peter Hart noted “initiative 2117 is a direct threat to workers, commuters, and the wider community that relies on our ferry system to get to work, attend school, and keep medical appointments. I-2117 would slash millions for a ferry system that’s already in crisis.”

However, I-2117 backers dispute the connection between CCA and ferry service. In an email to The Center Square, Let’s Go Washington Director of Communications Hallie Balch wrote that “CCA funds are only intended to be used for electrification of existing ferries, the taxes taken from residents from the CCA don’t go into the operation side of the ferry system, so to say that services would be halted to delayed is a false connection. Ferry operation is funded through fares, Federal grants, and state gas taxes, not the CCA.”