PIERCE COUNTY v. STATE

No. 76534-1.

148 P.3d 1002 (2006)

PIERCE COUNTY, a local government in the State of Washington; Gloria Irene Thein, a Pierce County resident, voter, taxpayer, vehicle owner, vehicle driver, and public transportation user; City of Tacoma, a local government in the State of Washington; William LaBorde, a Tacoma resident, voter, taxpayer, vehicle owner, vehicle driver, and public transportation user; King County, a local government in the State of Washington; Karen Uffellman, a King County resident, voter, taxpayer, vehicle owner, vehicle driver, and public transportation user, Respondents, and Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, commonly known as "Sound Transit," a Washington regional transit authority; The Sierra Club, a nonprofit public benefit corporation; 1000 Friends of Washington, a Washington nonprofit corporation; King County Labor Council, a Washington nonprofit corporation; Washington State Labor Council, a Washington nonprofit organization; City of Kenmore, a Washington municipal corporation; Transportation Choices Coalition, a Washington nonprofit benefit corporation; Amalgamated Transit Union Local 587, a labor organization; and Aerospace Machinist Union, a labor organization, Intervenor-Respondents. v. STATE of Washington, in its general capacity as defender of I-776, and through its agency the Washington Department of Licensing, Appellant, and Salish Village Home Owners Association, a Washington nonprofit association; and G. Dennis Vaughn, a citizen and taxpayer resident of King County, Intervenors-Appellants.

Supreme Court of Washington, En Banc.

Decided December 7, 2006.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

Robert Clayton Rowley, James J. Klauser, Rowley & Klauser LLP, Seattle, WA, for Appellant.

Thomas Fitzgerald Ahearne, Hugh Davidson Spitzer, Ramsey E. Ramerman, Foster Pepper PLLC, Jeffery Allen Richard, Noel Reynolds Treat, Attorney at Law, Thomas William Kuffel, Office of the Prosecuting Attorney, Linda Marie Moran, Attorney General's Tacoma Office, Tacoma, WA, James Kendrick Pharris, Jerald R. Anderson, Attorney at Law, Ofc. Of Atty. General, Olympia, WA, for Respondents.

Desmond Leoron Brown, Sound Transit Union Station, Paul J. Lawrence, Matthew J. Segal, Preston Gates & Ellis LLP, Clifford Freed, Michael Craig Subit, Frank Freed Subit & Thomas LLP, Seattle, WA, for Intervenor-Respondents.

Hugh Davidson Spitzer, William Howard Patton, Foster Pepper & Shefelman PLLC, Seattle, for Amicus Curiae Association of Washington Cities and Washington State Association of Counties.

Roy Jerome Koegen, Rodney G. Wendt, Koegen Edwards LLP, Seattle, Mary J. Edwards, Spokane, for Amicus Curiae Bond Market Association.


MADSEN, J.

¶ 1 The issue in this case is whether Initiative Measure No. 776 (I-776) impairs bonds issued by Sound Transit. Sound Transit was created to address traffic congestion in the central Puget Sound region. Pursuant to statute, Sound Transit was authorized to collect a motor vehicle excise tax (MVET) to finance a transportation system. In the years prior to passage of I-776, Sound Transit issued and sold the bonds in the public debt market in order to...

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