S-1353               _______________________________________________

 

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 4125

                        _______________________________________________

 

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1985 Regular Session

 

By Senators Peterson and Hansen

 

 

Read first time 2/8/85 and referred to Committee on Transportation.

 

 


AN ACT Relating to general obligation bonds for the state patrol; amending RCW 46.68.130; reenacting and amending RCW 46.68.030; and adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1.     For the purpose of providing funds for the planning, acquisition, construction, improvement, and repair of facilities and the acquisition, installation, and improvement of equipment for the Washington state patrol, the state finance committee is authorized to issue general obligation bonds of the state of Washington in the sum of fifty million  dollars, or so much thereof as may be required, to finance these projects and all costs incidental thereto.  Bonds authorized in this section may be sold at such price as the state finance committee shall determine.  No bonds authorized in this section may be offered for sale without prior legislative appropriation of the net proceeds of the sale of the bonds.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2.     The proceeds from the sale of the bonds authorized in section 1 of this act shall be deposited in the Washington state patrol capital account hereby created in the motor vehicle fund and shall be used exclusively for the purposes specified in section 1 of this act and for the payment of expenses incurred in the issuance and sale of the bonds.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3.     The proceeds from the sale of the bonds deposited under section 2 of this act in the Washington state patrol capital account of the motor vehicle fund shall be administered by the Washington state patrol, subject to legislative appropriation.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4.     Bonds issued under section 1 of this act shall state that they are a general obligation of the state of Washington, shall pledge the full faith and credit of the state to the payment of the principal thereof and the interest thereon, and shall contain an unconditional promise to pay the principal and interest as the same shall become due.  The principal of and interest on such bonds shall be first payable in the manner provided in sections 5 through 8 of this act from the proceeds of the state excise taxes on motor vehicle and special fuels imposed by chapters 82.36, 82.37, and 82.38 RCW.  Proceeds of such excise taxes are hereby pledged to the payment of any bonds and the interest thereon issued under section 1 of this act and the legislature hereby agrees to continue to impose the same excise taxes on motor vehicle and special fuels in amounts sufficient to pay, when due, the principal and interest on all bonds issued under section 1 of this act.  Bonds issued under section 1 of this act shall be an equal charge against the revenues of these taxes with other bonds, as provided in RCW 47.60.640.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5.     Any funds required to repay the bonds authorized by section 1 of this act or the interest thereon when due shall be taken from that portion of the motor vehicle fund which results from the imposition of excise taxes on motor vehicle and special fuels and which is distributed to the state for expenditure pursuant to RCW 46.68.130 and shall never constitute a charge against any allocations of such funds to counties, cities, and towns unless the amount of the motor vehicle fund arising from the excise taxes on motor vehicle and special fuels and available for state highway purposes proves insufficient to meet the requirements for bond retirement or interest on any such bonds.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6.     At least one year prior to the date any interest is due and payable on such bonds or before the maturity date of such bonds, the state finance committee shall estimate, subject to section 5 of this act, the percentage of the receipts in money of the motor vehicle fund resulting from collection of excise taxes on motor vehicle and special fuels, for each month of the year which shall be required to meet interest or bond payments when due and shall notify the treasurer of such estimated requirement.  The state treasurer shall thereafter from time to time each month as such funds are paid into the motor vehicle fund, transfer such percentage of the monthly receipts from excise taxes on motor vehicle and special fuels of the motor vehicle fund to the state patrol bond retirement fund hereby created in the state treasury, which funds shall be available solely for payment of the principal of and interest on the bonds when due.  If in any month it shall appear that the estimated percentage of moneys so made is insufficient to meet the requirements for payment of the principal thereof or interest thereon, the treasurer shall notify the state finance committee immediately and such committee shall adjust its estimates so that all requirements for the interest on and principal of all bonds issued shall be fully met at all times.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7.     Whenever the percentage of the motor vehicle fund arising from excise taxes on motor vehicle and special fuels payable into the bond retirement fund proves more than is required for the payment of interest on bonds when due, or current retirement of bonds, any excess may, in the discretion of the state finance committee and with the concurrence of the state highway patrol, be available for the prior redemption of any bonds or remain available in the fund to reduce requirements upon the fuel excise tax portion of the motor vehicle fund at the next interest or bond payment period.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8.     Whenever the state treasurer shall transfer funds from the motor vehicle fund to the state patrol bond retirement fund under section 6 of this act, the state treasurer shall at the same time reimburse the motor vehicle fund in an identical amount from the state patrol highway account.  After each transfer by the treasurer of funds from the motor vehicle fund to the bond retirement fund, the obligation to reimburse the motor vehicle fund as required in this section shall constitute a first and prior charge against the funds within and accruing to the state patrol highway account.  All funds reimbursed to the motor vehicle fund as provided in this section shall be distributed to the state for expenditure pursuant to RCW 46.68.130.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9.     The bonds authorized  in section 1 of this act shall be a legal investment for all state funds or funds under state control and for all funds of any other public body.

 

        Sec. 10.  Section 46.68.030, chapter 12, Laws of 1961 as last amended by section 122, chapter 3, Laws of 1983 and by section 23, chapter 15, Laws of 1983 and RCW 46.68.030 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

          All fees received by the director for vehicle licenses under the provisions of chapter 46.16 RCW shall be forwarded to the state treasurer, accompanied by a proper identifying detailed report, and be by him deposited to the credit of the motor vehicle fund, except that the proceeds from the vehicle license fee and renewal license fee shall be deposited by the state treasurer as hereinafter provided.  After July 1, 1981, that portion of each vehicle license fee in excess of $7.40 and that portion of each renewal license fee in excess of $3.40 shall be deposited in the state patrol highway account in the motor vehicle fund, hereby created.  Vehicle license fees, renewal license fees, and all other funds in the state patrol highway account shall be for the sole use of the Washington state patrol for highway activities of the Washington state patrol, subject to proper appropriations and reappropriations therefor, for any fiscal biennium after June 30, 1981, and for the purpose of section 8 of this 1985 act and twenty-seven and three-tenths percent of the proceeds from $7.40 of each vehicle license fee and $3.40 of each renewal license fee shall be deposited each biennium in the Puget Sound ferry operations account to partially finance, together with other funds in the account, any budgeted state ferry system maintenance and operating deficit for that biennium.  The deficit shall be calculated by subtracting from total costs the sum of all unappropriated funds available to the state ferry system, including revenues from tolls that are adjusted by the transportation commission.  Any remaining amounts of vehicle license fees and renewal license fees that are not deposited in the Puget Sound ferry operations account shall be deposited in the motor vehicle fund.

 

        Sec. 11.  Section 46.68.130, chapter 12, Laws of 1961 as last amended by section 11, chapter 342, Laws of 1981 and RCW 46.68.130 are each amended to read as follows:

          The net tax amount distributed to the state in the manner provided by RCW 46.68.100, and all moneys accruing to the motor vehicle fund from any other source, less such sums as are properly appropriated and reappropriated for expenditure for costs of collection and administration thereof, shall be expended, subject to proper appropriation and reappropriation, solely for highway purposes of the state, including the purposes of RCW 47.30.030.  For the purposes of this section, the term "highway purposes of the state" does not include those expenditures of the Washington state patrol heretofore appropriated or reappropriated from the motor vehicle fund but it does include debt service on bonds issued under section 1 of this 1985 act.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 12.    If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 13.    Sections 1 through 9 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.