I-976 Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Washington Initiative Promoter Tim Eyman Fined $2.6M, Barred From Political Committees In Lawsuit

By NWPB News February 10, 2021

Initiative sponsor Tim Eyman spoke outside the Washington State Supreme Court on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2019. CREDIT: Tom Banse/N3

Tim Eyman, the watch salesman-turned-antitax folk hero whose initiative campaigns have bedeviled state and local governments across Washington for decades, will no longer be allowed to have any financial control over political committees, under a judge’s ruling Wednesday that blasted him for using donor’s contributions to line his own pocket.Read More

Washington Supreme Court Unanimously Strikes Down I-976, Tim Eyman’s $30 Car Tab Initiative

By NWPB News October 15, 2020

Professional initiative sponsor Tim Eyman, right, holds a photo from his first successful $30 car tabs initiative in 1999. Eyman says he has collected almost enough signatures to qualify a 2019 car tabs rollback initiative to the 2019 Legislature. CREDIT: AUSTIN JENKINS/N3

On Thursday, the state Supreme Court struck down Initiative 976, a measure Washington voters approved last November to reduce the cost of annual vehicle licensing fees. The measure has been on hold for nearly a year as legal challenges worked their way through the court system.Read More

Judge: Tim Eyman Concealed More Than $750K In Campaign Contributions For Ballot Measures

By Austin Jenkins February 21, 2020

In November, anti-tax activist Tim Eyman announced he's running for governor. On Friday, Feb. 21, a Thurston County Judge found that Eyman has repeatedly concealed contributions related to his initiative campaigns. CREDIT: Austin Jenkins/N3

A judge has found that anti-tax activist and Republican candidate for governor Tim Eyman concealed more than $700,000 in campaign contributions related to his initiative work over a six-year period. The finding comes as Eyman mounts a first-ever run for public office and faces trial this summer over an alleged campaign finance kick-back scheme.Read More

Washington’s $30 Car Tabs Initiative On Hold, And Tim Eyman Calls For People Not To Pay Anything

By Tom Banse December 5, 2019

Thursday was supposed to be the day that a Washington state ballot measure to lower car registration fees took effect. But the state Supreme Court has let an injunction stand against what is known as the $30 car tabs initiative. That means hundreds of thousands of drivers will get full price bills in the coming months that they thought they had voted to reduce.Read More

Washington’s $30 Car Tabs On Hold As Judge Puts Injunction On I-976 As Legal Challenge Unfolds

By NWPB News November 27, 2019

A King County Superior Court judge ruled Wednesday that opponents had adequately argued that the measure's ballot title was misleading, and he issued an injunction. The challenge could eventually make its way to the state Supreme Court.Read More

Garfield County Is Washington’s Least Populous. It’s Joining A Suit To Stop I-976’s $30 Car Tabs

By NWPB News November 25, 2019

Garfield County Transportation Authority driver Gene Smith helps 96-year-old resident Louise Munday board a commuter bus on Nov. 15, 2019. Munday uses local transit five days a week and, with her limited mobility, the service to her door is necessary. CREDIT: Emily McCarty/Crosscut

As expected, the initiative’s passage prompted legal action, led by Seattle-area governments and public transit supporters protesting a projected $4.2 billion cut in revenue for transportation and transit projects over the next six years. But there has been an unexpected addition to that Puget Sound-centric group: the Garfield County Transportation Authority.Read More

Anti-Tax Ballot Initiative Sponsor Tim Eyman Says He Is Running For Governor Of Washington

By Austin Jenkins November 21, 2019

Eyman says his decision to run is motivated in part by legal efforts to overturn Initiative 976, his car tabs measure that voters just approved.Read More

Seattle And King County Will Sue To Block Initiative 976, The $30 Car Tab Measure

By NWPB News November 8, 2019

Sound Transit light rail train and tunnel in Seattle

If fully implemented, Initiative 976 would force the city to cut more than 100,000 bus hours and would hamper her program to provide free bus access for high school students and low-income residents, Seattle's mayor said in a news conference. She also emphasized that voters in King County, which is home to Seattle, firmly voted against the measure sponsored by Tim Eyman.Read More