Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

Transportation Committee

HB 2285

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

Reorders the state's six transportation system policy goals, and adds resilience to the definition of stewardship.
Requires state transportation agencies to perform their powers, duties, and functions with preservation and safety as the preeminent priority among the state's transportation system policy goals.
Encourages the executive branch to establish objectives and plan to reduce the preservation and replacement backlog in the transportation system, for the 2022 legislative session.

Background:

There are currently six statewide transportation system policy goals for the planning, operation, performance of, and investment in, the state's transportation system. The powers, duties, and functions of state transportation agencies are required to be performed in a manner consistent with the goals. These policy goals are identified as follows:

economic vitality: to promote and develop transportation systems that stimulate, support, and enhance the movement of people and goods to ensure a prosperous economy;
preservation: to maintain, preserve, and extend the life and utility of prior investments in transportation systems and services;
safety: to provide for and improve the safety and security of transportation customers and the transportation system;
mobility: to improve the predictable movement of goods and people throughout Washington, including congestion relief and improved freight mobility;
environment: to enhance Washington's quality of life through transportation investments that promote energy conservation, enhance healthy communities, and protect the environment; and
stewardship: to continuously improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of the transportation system.

The Office of Financial Management (OFM), in consultation with the Washington State Transportation Commission (WSTC), is directed to establish objectives and performance measures for all state transportation agencies in order to assure that transportation system performance attains the six policy goals established in statute. The OFM is required to submit these objectives and performance measures to the Legislature and the WSTC in each even-numbered year.

The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is also required to perform certain duties to support attainment of the statewide transportation system policy goals. These duties include: (1) maintaining an inventory of the condition of structures and corridors, as well as a list of structures and corridors in most urgent need of retrofit or rehabilitation; (2) developing long-term financing plans that sustainably support ongoing maintenance and preservation of the transportation infrastructure; (3) balancing system safety and convenience to accommodate all users of the system to safely, reliably, and efficiently provide mobility to people and goods; (4) developing strategies to reduce vehicle miles traveled; (5) considering efficiency tools to manage system demand, including high occupancy vehicle and toll lanes, corridor-specific and systemwide pricing strategies, active traffic management, and commute trip reduction; (6) promoting integrated multimodal planning; and (7) considering engineers and architects to design environmentally sustainable, context-sensitive transportation systems.

Summary of Bill:

The state's six transportation system policy goals are reordered, and resilience is added to the definition of stewardship.

The state's transportation agencies are required to perform their powers, duties, and functions with preservation and safety as the preeminent priority among the state's transportation system policy goals.

For the 2022 legislative session, the executive branch is encouraged to establish objectives and plan to reduce the preservation and replacement backlog in the transportation system.