Vashon Island news-record. [volume] (Vashon, Wash.) 1919-1954, 1931-01-29
WASHINGTON SESSION
BUSY THIRD week
House and senste Committee,
Face BATTLE in Determining
Revenues.
Senate Gets Many Road Bills - Loop
Highway Bill Appears - income
Tax Msaure Up - Walt for License
Revenues = Senate Gets Many Bills
TO Tax Butter Substitutes.

Olympia, Wash. - When the legis.
lature reconyened for the beginning OF
Its third week, roads and taxes were In
the spotlight. With $21,974,03O estImat.
ed as available for new road construc.
tion work-building, paving and i'm.
provements-during the coming two
years. the wild scramble for little Of
the pot promised to hold the center
OF the stage during the next few
weeks.
The house committee on highway
and automotiye transportation will
consider the Moran bill, which would
fix flat SO year automobile license
fee with 2.centper.gallon gasoline
tax increase. The house committee,
the chairman declares, will handle this
measure first as upon It depends to a
large extent the revenues which will
be available for the current biennium.
Senator Hall, at the request of the
Automobile Club Of Washington, has
INTRODUCED a similar bill in the senate
and this is now before the senate com.
mittee on roads and bridges, of which
he is chairman, the only difference be.
ing in the gasoline tax, the Hall meas.
ure asking for 1.cent increase as
against tho in the Moran bill.
Senate Gets Many Road Bills.
The house chairman hopes to clear
away the flat license fee bill early and
then get down to the various road
measures before taking up the alldca.
ton of the road moneys. The demand
for additional roads to the primary sys-
tenn Of the state is unusually heavy
this year, the majority Of such bills,
however, apparently falling into the
senate hopper rather than in that Of
the house.
Another bill in the senats creates
new motor vehicle state board to
handle traffic and regulate rules Of the
road, appointive and elective state Of.
ficers to constitute such board. A
third measure abolishes speed laws. A
fourth fixes the limit Of liability for
injury to automobiles Communicated
In emergencies on the highway.
A compulsory automobile insurance
act also is before the senate. This
would make 1t mandatory upon all
owners Of automobiles to pay when
they purchase their licenses, flat $40
fee to go into an accident insurance
fund. This fund would be administer
ed by the Stata Department Of Labor
and Industries. The bill provides for
the payment of $4,000 in case of
death, and then damages for injuries,
the rates based upon those Of the in
dustrial insurance department in in.
dustry accidents.
Loop Highway Bill Appears.
The long-looked-for highway loop
bill sponsored by Senator Jacob Miller
of Chelan and twenty-eight others
made its appearance last week and re.
named the loop as 1.-THE Washington
Loop Highway"
The bill provides that the highway
director concentrate paving upon this
route in order to give virtually all Of
the larger centers Of population in the
state main primary highway connec.
ton between the east and west sides.
While the two committees handling
the highway matters we're preparing
for their real work this week, the
senate and house committees on
revenue and taxation began digging
into the personal income tax bill and
corporation tax proposal.
The comparative advantages and
disadvantages of the major items in
the advisory commissions plans for
new taxes are to be discussed at length
this week, at two public hearings, to
be held jointly by the senate and house
committees on revenue and taxation
In the house chamber.
income Tax Measure Up.
The personal and corporate income
tax bills will be up early in the week
and the per cent gross profits tax
on municipality owned utilities is
scheduled for discussion Thursday
evening,
The Showalter bill is recommended
by the advisory commission, only IL
new sources of revenue are provided,
and commission bills now before the
legislature call for personal income
tax with rates from l to per cent,
corporate income, with rates Of s per
cent on net income. and q gross earn.
ings tax on municipality owned util-
tiles at the rate of per cent.
The commission estimates that the
personal income tax will raise s5,0O0,.
900 and the corporate income tax 49,.
100000.
No estimate was made as to the
gross earnings tax on municipal utili.