Fact check: No on I-2117 ads argue it would put road, bridge projects ‘at risk’

(The Center Square) – The opposition campaign to Initiative 2117 repealing Washington state’s Climate Commitment Act is continuing to argue that repealing it would undermine transportation project funding in the state. In a series of new ads, I-2117 opponents are claiming the measure, if approved by voters this November, would undermine maintenance and preservation work on roads and bridges.

In one advertisement, a farmer says that I-2117 “cuts the transportation funding [that] will make it harder to move products.” In another ad, a Teamster says that “we have roads and bridges in desperate need of repair. But initiative 2117 would make things even worse – slashing funding for infrastructure, putting all of us at risk.”

In an email sent out regarding the ads, the No on 2117 campaign wrote of how I-2117’s “cuts to transportation funding put major road and bridge projects at risk of delay or cancellation.”

CCA revenue is restricted in how it can be spent only on climate or decarbonization related projects such as electrifying the state’s ferry fleet or public transit. Maintenance and preservation roadwork and bridge repair is funded through other revenue sources, such as the gas tax.

A year ago, Gov. Jay Inslee’s Communications Manager Mike Faulk wrote to The Center Square that “state law is very clear about allowable uses of CCA funding, and maintenance and preservation are not an appropriate use. It does allow for other significant transportation investments that we are already making that have direct climate and decarbonization benefits.”

Washington State Department of Transportation officials, as well as Inslee, have noted that maintenance and preservation work is underfunded despite record levels of spending on transportation, which they cite on legislative prioritization of new projects.