The Senate passed HB-1129 to fund construction of a third new 144-car “Olympic” class ferry with a 41-8 vote on March 7.

Sponsored by Representative Jeff Morris, the bill had already passed the House on a 62-36 vote.

“The strength of support for ferries, particularly in the Senate, was particularly encouraging,” said Jim Corenman, chair of San Juan County Ferry Advisory Committee. “The oldest boats in the fleet, the Evergreen State class, can finally be retired and replaced by newer and more reliable vessels.”

House Bill 1129 will fund the new 144-car ferry by charging a service fee on all vehicles registered in Washington. Revenue from the new fees is expected to be about $11 million in the first year (2015), and about $22.8 million per year for the four years after that.

David Moseley, ferries assistant secretary, said the new service fee would cover the full cost of building the new ferry because Ferries would finance a bond. The fee would have to be in place for the next several years to pay off that bond.

Senator Kevin Ranker wrote on his Facebook page, “We’ll soon have a third brand new ferry ensuring that the second new ferry is permanently stationed in the San Juan Islands/Anacortes route when it is completed in late 2015.”