Rep. Marko Liias moved to reconsider yesterday's vote on the transportation package in the House of Representatives. The bill was brought back to the floor for a revote. This time, the measure passed successfully.

Once again, every Democrat representing Pierce County (or part of the county) voted for the bill except for Rep. Chris Hurst. Every Republican voted no, except for Rep. Hans Zeiger.

Rep. Marko Liias, in speaking for reconsideration, noted that he had received calls from throughout the state overnight in support for the package. "What I didn't get, however, were telephone calls from the Port of Prince Rupert to reconsider," he said. "They're doing just fine. I also didn't calls from the Port of Savannah, or the Panama Canal Authority. They're doing just fine with this package losing too."

Rep. Jake Fey also threw his support behind the package. He described the straddle carriers moving containers through the Port of Tacoma as a "sweet sound because that means there are people at work. But those jobs are threatened by competition elsewhere." He went on to note that Canada is investing billions of dollars into the transportation networks that support their ports, and urged his fellow lawmakers to do the same.

The bill now heads to the Senate. Transportation stakeholders are calling on the Senate to act. While the Senate likely will want to see changes, the alternative of no action at all would be viewed by constituents throughout the state as a major failure.