S-3510

AN ACT Relating to transportation; adding a new section to chapter 47.68 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 53.08 RCW; creating new sections; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that:

(1) The Seattle-Tacoma international airport has insufficient capacity to meet the needs of Washington state through the end of this decade;

(2) Significant expansion of the Seattle-Tacoma international airport would be politically difficult and environmentally unsound;

(3) Significant expansion or creation of an airport along the interstate 5 corridor would increase existing congestion and growth in the Puget Sound region;

(4) Significant expansion of the existing airport at Moses Lake, along the interstate 90 corridor, will reduce growth pressure in the Puget Sound region and will provide an incentive for growth in Central and Eastern Washington;

(5) Modern technology and high-speed transportation systems will make it possible to move people and freight from eastern to western Washington more safely and more quickly than they can now move on the interstate 5 corridor; and

(6) The establishment of a high-speed transit link between western and eastern Washington will do more to improve the standard of living and quality of life of Washington's citizens than any project since the construction of the Grand Coulee dam.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. It is the intent of the legislature to:

(1) Place an immediate moratorium on physical expansion of capacity at the Seattle-Tacoma international airport until the studies of the state air transportation commission and the state high-speed rail steering committee have been completed, submitted to the legislature, and acted upon by the state legislature; and

(2) Support the port of Moses Lake in its application to the federal government for recognition as an international port of entry.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 47.68 RCW to read as follows:

The secretary shall provide assistance and support to the port of Moses Lake as requested by the port to help facilitate federal approval of the port of Moses Lake as an international port of entry.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 53.08 RCW to read as follows:

A port district operating an airport in a class AA county may not enlarge a runway or construct a new runway until the studies of the state air transportation commission and the state high-speed rail steering committee have been completed, submitted to the legislature, and acted upon by the state legislature. The legislature must also approve the enlargement or new construction.

Enlargements or new construction of runway space begun by a port district operating in a class AA county prior to the effective date of this section, but not completed on the effective date of this section, shall not be completed without the approval of the legislature. The legislature shall not approve the enlargements or new construction until after the studies of the state air transportation commission and the high-speed rail steering committee are completed, submitted to the legislature, and acted upon by the legislature.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.