In a last-minute compromise, the Washington State Legislature decided to let voters decide in November on a transportation package that includes a hefty fuel tax hike.

The 9-cent-per-gallon fuel tax increase would help raise nearly $8 billion for statewide highway and transit improvements.
The plan, the largest traffic-relief package in state history, not only increases the fuel tax, it also raises the weight fee for trucks by 30 percent and adds a 1 percent sales tax on new and used vehicles.
Legislators who opposed sending the plan to voters noted that the November election means the state will miss out on this summer's construction season. The last-minute compromise moved the vote from June.
In addition, a Puget Sound regional plan allows area voters to decide on whether to raise taxes and levy tolls for highway improvement projects, including widening Interstate 405.