Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

Transportation Committee

HB 1321

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Brief Summary of Bill

Requires the Washington State Department of Transportation to provide a report regarding a project's expected use of consultants to the transportation committees of the Legislature or the Joint Transportation Committee as soon as is practicable and prior to the letting of contracts, for any project with a value of more than $500 million.

Background:

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) utilizes the services of consultants in a variety of aspects of transportation project delivery when those services are not available from public resources. The areas where the WSDOT contracts with consultants include the following:

architectural services;
engineering services;
environmental review; and
permitting.

There are currently 14 projects in the Governor's proposed budget for 2019-21 that have a value of more than $500 million, and there were 13 projects with a value of more than $500 million in the enacted 2017-19 biennial budget.

Summary of Bill:

The WSDOT is required to provide a report regarding a project's expected use of consultants to the transportation committees of the Legislature or the Joint Transportation Committee, for any project with a value of more than $500 million. The report must be provided as soon as is practicable and prior to the letting of any contracts.

The report must describe:

each of the activities that consultants will be used for;
the state and federal law requirements, if any, necessitating the use of consultants;
the expected outcomes of studies, analyses, and mitigation efforts related to the project; and
the expected consultant costs for each activity listed in the report.