State Sen. Scott White (D-46, N. Seattle) has reintroduced a bill to extend the taxes to pay off the stadiums—the Kingdom included—and expand Seattle's convention center (a priority bill for King County Executive Dow Constantine).

Chris Grygiel at the PI.com has the news:

Senate Bill 5958 was introduced Friday by Sen. Scott White, D-Seattle. The measure would raise hundreds of millions of dollars in the coming decades and allow King County to extend car rental taxes, a restaurant and bar tax and a hotel/motel tax. Monies collected would be used to expand the Washington State Convention Center, fund arts and culture programs and build housing for service and hotel workers.

The new bill is similar to H.B. 1997, which was slipped into the two-year operating budget proposed by the lower chamber. It died when lawmakers couldn’t agree on a spending plan during their regular session.

Unlike H.B. 1997, which would extend the tourism tax indefinitely, White’s legislatio would sunset the taxes in 2015.

The high-profile bill is supported by King County Executive Dow Constantine and the Puget Sound business and labor communities. Supporters say the taxes would help kick-start the Puget Sound economy by expanding Seattle’s convention center and support arts and culture programs that help attract people to the region.