Predictably, the opposition campaign is focusing on the diversion of money from education, health care and other general government programs to transportation.

Among other things, I-985 would require that a portion of the sales tax on vehicle be spent on congestion relief.

(Yes, Tim, this truly is a "diversion" because right now the sales tax on vehicles is not spent on transportation, although there are some weight fees that are.)

UPDATE: And here's a brief rebuttle from Tim Eyman.

Opponents' threats, lies, and scare tactics approach hasn't worked for 10 years, it ain't gonna work in 2009. I-985 is a common sense, no-new-taxes, transportation reform proposal based on State Auditor Brian Sonntag's performance audit recommendations. We're excited the voters will have the chance to approve I-985 in November.

Read on:

NO! on I-985
TO ALL MEDIA CONTACT:
For immediate release Bill LaBorde, 206.484.8662
July 18, 2008
Coalition Emerging to Oppose Initiative 985: Proposed Initiative Would Cut Funding for Education and Health
Care while Increasing Traffic Congestion
SEATTLE – As the Secretary of State’s Office qualified I-985 for the November ballot, a diverse array of interests from across the state are emerging to oppose this latest measure
from Tim Eyman.
Opponents cited a long list of problems that would be caused or exacerbated by I-985.
"Initiative 985 is an initiative that promises everything for nothing," said Bill LaBorde, State Director for Environment Washington and a spokesperson for the No! on I-985 campaign. It
would divert more than $127 million per year that now goes to the general operating budget into a dedicated account that would do little address the state’s transportation problems.

[More:]

Added LaBorde, “with most of the general fund dedicated to education (52%), and health care and social services (30.5%), $127 million a year is a hit that the people of our state can
ill afford to take at this moment of economic uncertainty.”
Mike Town, a Lake Washington School District teacher, raised concerns about the impacts of I-985 on his high school students: "We would lose funding that now helps pay for text books
and reductions in class size," he said.
"Even if you buy the argument that we can build our way out of congestion, $127 million a year doesn't do much building but it sure takes lots of valuable funding away from kids and
sick people, said LaBorde. “With that $127 million you could either educate more than 16,000 kids in our public schools, or you could add maybe a mile of new freeway in the Puget Sound area. You could provide health insurance coverage for 40,000 children, or you could build a ramp on a new interchange.”
“Because of the constraints this measure places on tolling and transportation spending, I’m worried that if it passes, we will simply not have the funding necessary to replace the SR 520
floating bridge, said Rob Johnson, Regional Policy Director for Transportation Choices Coalition.
I-985 would also require opening High Occupancy Vehicle lanes to solo drivers for all but three hours each weekday morning and evening, creating havoc with an HOV system that has
taken decades to build. “This would undermine the advantages that express buses, vanpools and carpools now have during certain peak hours, making it more difficult for commuters to get to work quickly and reliably at a time when rising gas prices are creating huge increases in transit ridership." “The ironic thing about the so-called Congestion Relief Initiative is that
there’s not a single provision in it that will actually provide any congestion relief. In fact, it
probably makes congestion worse,” noted Johnson.
The initiative would also require cities to spend scarce dollars on traffic light synchronization
projects which, in many cases, offer no improvement in traffic congestion. By diverting
revenue from the operation of red light cameras, the measure would decrease safety in school
zones and other areas with heavy pedestrian activity. Under the I-985, the State would be
specifically prohibited from using any money from the Congestion Account for some of the
most practical and effective methods for reducing congestion – “…park and ride lots, ferries,
trolleys, buses, monorail, light rail, or heavy rail.”
Even worse, I-985 creates greater inequities between rural and urban communities by
diverting sales tax dollars collected from around the state to fix congestion problems that
mostly affect the Puget Sound area. Urban communities lose control; rural communities lose
money.
FUSE Washington, Transportation Choices Coalition, the Sierra Club, Environment
Washington, Futurewise, WashPIRG and Washington Environmental Council have already
joined the coalition against I-985. Over the next few weeks, several more business and labor
organizations are expected to join the campaign against the initiative.