Click here to watch “The Impact” – March 15, 2017
This week on “The Impact”:
A sharp increase in RTA car tab taxes connected to the Sound Transit 3 project sparks a heated debate over how the fees are calculated. Some lawmakers propose action to bring the rates down for car owners in King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties.
“People are clearly upset. They’re opening up their mail and finding a very high rate for the ST3 car tabs and it’s based upon a formula that has no basis in reality when it comes to what the car’s worth,” said Sen. Dino Rossi, R-Sammamish.
Other legislators say the focus should be to keep the $54 billion mass transit expansion plan on track.
“When it comes to the taxes we have to pay I think everyone when they voted last fall knew there was going to be a big tax implication to this. It’s going to cost us a bunch to build this light rail,” said Sen. Marco Liias, D-Lynnwood.
Later we look at the divide over a bill to ban questions about criminal history on job applications and prohibit potential employers from asking about that topic until after they determine whether an applicant is otherwise qualified.
“People are going back to prison very often after they’ve been released. Having an opportunity for employment will help people stop going back to prison,” said Tarra Simmons, law student, formerly incarcerated person & Statewide Re-Entry Council member.
“I don’t think shifting the burden on to small businesses to have to go through interviews giving candidates perhaps false hope that they may qualify for a job that they are not qualified for is the best approach to solve this particular problem,” said Patrick Connor, Washington state director, National Federation of Independent Business.
To round it all out we sit down with members of the House Business and Financial Services Committee to go over topics ranging from theatrical wrestling regulations to the suspension of professional certifications stemming from unpaid student debt.