King County Council Member Larry Phillips called the House transportation budget "unacceptable."

Phillips, a Sound Transit Board Member (and candidate for King County Executive), has been on fire for the last few days about the Senate transportation budget because it did not include about $30 million to prep I-90 for light rail.

The House transportation budget has him even more upset.

In another one of this week's "I Hate the budget in Olympia" press releases (most of them coming from social service non-profits), Phillips leveled the House version of the transportation budget on three counts today.

1) Just like the Senate version, it doesn't provide promised-funding for I-90

But additionally:

2) It snuffs out Sound Transit grants totaling $21 million for hybrid buses, commuter rail, and HOV lanes.

3) (And this is the infuriating one for Phillips): It puts off the light rail project until legislators do an "asset assessment study"—a new prerequisite that prevents the governor and Sound Transit from signing off on the project until legislators determine how much I-90 is worth.

Says Phillips:

“It is unacceptable that the House budget includes a proviso that prevents the state from signing the East Link light rail environmental impact statement or negotiating with Sound Transit over use of the I-90 center roadway for light rail. This proviso must be removed, and light rail must be allowed to move forward without delays that drive up costs and keep commuters stuck in traffic.

“It’s time for state legislators to wake up to the will of the people and make a real commitment to transit funding.”

This last line about "the will of the people" is surely directed at House Transportation Chair Rep. Judy Clibborn (D-41, Mercer Island) whose district voted overwhelmingly for Sound Transit last November.

And more: It's a dig at Sen. Fred Jarrett (D-41, Mercer Island, Bellevue) a member of the Senate transportation committee who's also running for King County Executive.

Jarrett has defended the Senate transportation budget by arguing that the state and Sound Transit still need to negotiate the right of way on I-90. Phillips adamantly maintains that those negotiations have already taken place.

Clibborn was not available for a comment today.