S-3692

AN ACT Relating to transit funding; amending RCW 82.44.180; reenacting and amending RCW 82.44.150; and adding a new chapter to Title 47 RCW.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 82.44.150 and 1991 c 309 s 5 and 1991 c 199 s 222 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

(1) The director of licensing shall, on the twenty-fifth day of February, May, August, and November of each year, advise the state treasurer of the total amount of motor vehicle excise taxes imposed by RCW 82.44.020 (1) and (2) remitted to the department during the preceding calendar quarter ending on the last day of March, June, September, and December, respectively, except for those payable under RCW 82.44.030, from motor vehicle owners residing within each municipality which has levied a tax under RCW 35.58.273, which amount of excise taxes shall be determined by the director as follows:

The total amount of motor vehicle excise taxes remitted to the department, except those payable under RCW 82.44.020(3) and 82.44.030, from each county shall be multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of which is the population of the municipality residing in such county, and the denominator of which is the total population of the county in which such municipality or portion thereof is located. The product of this computation shall be the amount of excise taxes from motor vehicle owners residing within such municipality or portion thereof. Where the municipality levying a tax under RCW 35.58.273 is located in more than one county, the above computation shall be made by county, and the combined products shall provide the total amount of motor vehicle excise taxes from motor vehicle owners residing in the municipality as a whole. Population figures required for these computations shall be supplied to the director by the office of financial management, who shall adjust the fraction annually.

(2) On the first day of the months of January, April, July, and October of each year, the state treasurer based upon information provided by the department shall, from motor vehicle excise taxes deposited in the general fund, under RCW 82.44.110((~~(7)~~))(1)(g), make the following deposits:

(a) To the high capacity transportation account created in RCW 47.78.010, a sum equal to four and five-tenths percent of the special excise tax levied under RCW 35.58.273 by those municipalities authorized to levy a special excise tax within (i) each county with a population of two hundred ten thousand or more and (ii) each county with a population of from one hundred twenty-five thousand to less than two hundred ten thousand except for those counties that do not border a county with a population as described in subsection (i) of this subsection;

(b) To the central Puget Sound public transportation account created in RCW 82.44.180, for revenues distributed after December 31, 1992, within a county with a population of one million or more and a county with a population of from two hundred thousand to less than one million bordering a county with a population of one million or more, a sum equal to the difference between (i) the special excise tax levied and collected under RCW 35.58.273 by those municipalities authorized to levy and collect a special excise tax subject to the requirements of subsections (3) and (4) of this section and (ii) the special excise tax that the municipality would otherwise have been eligible to levy and collect at a tax rate of .815 percent ((~~and been able to match with locally generated tax revenues, other than the excise tax imposed under RCW 35.58.273, budgeted for any public transportation purpose~~)) notwithstanding the requirements of subsections (3) through (6) of this section. Before this deposit, the sum shall be reduced by an amount equal to the amount distributed under (a) of this subsection for each of the municipalities within the counties to which this subsection (2)(b) applies; ((~~however, any transfer under this subsection (2)(b) must be greater than zero;~~))

(c) To the public transportation systems account created in RCW 82.44.180, for revenues distributed after December 31, 1992, within counties not described in (b) of this subsection, a sum equal to the difference between (i) the special excise tax levied and collected under RCW 35.58.273 by those municipalities authorized to levy and collect a special excise tax subject to the requirements of subsections (3) and (4) of this section and (ii) the special excise tax that the municipality would otherwise have been eligible to levy and collect at a tax rate of .815 percent ((~~and been able to match with locally generated tax revenues, other than the excise tax imposed under RCW 35.58.273, budgeted for any public transportation purpose~~)) notwithstanding the requirements of subsections (3) through (6) of this section. Before this deposit, the sum shall be reduced by an amount equal to the amount distributed under (a) of this subsection for each of the municipalities within the counties to which this subsection (2)(c) applies; ((~~however, any transfer under this subsection (2)(c) must be greater than zero;~~)) and

(d) To the transportation fund created in RCW 82.44.180, for revenues distributed after June 30, 1991, and through December 31, 1992, a sum equal to the difference between (i) the special excise tax levied and collected under RCW 35.58.273 by those municipalities authorized to levy and collect a special excise tax subject to the requirements of subsections (3) and (4) of this section and (ii) the special excise tax that the municipality would otherwise have been eligible to levy and collect at a tax rate of .815 percent notwithstanding the requirements set forth in subsections (3) through (6) of this section, reduced by an amount equal to distributions made under (a)((~~, (b), and (c)~~)) of this subsection.

(3) On the first day of the months of January, April, July, and October of each year, the state treasurer, based upon information provided by the department, shall remit motor vehicle excise tax revenues imposed and collected under RCW 35.58.273 as follows:

(a) The amount required to be remitted by the state treasurer to the treasurer of any municipality levying the tax shall not exceed in any calendar year the amount of locally-generated tax revenues, excluding the excise tax imposed under RCW 35.58.273 for the purposes of this section, which shall have been budgeted by the municipality to be collected in such calendar year for any public transportation purposes including but not limited to operating costs, capital costs, and debt service on general obligation or revenue bonds issued for these purposes; and

(b) In no event may the amount remitted in a single calendar quarter exceed the amount collected on behalf of the municipality under RCW 35.58.273 during the calendar quarter next preceding the immediately preceding quarter.

(4) At the close of each calendar year accounting period, but not later than April 1, each municipality that has received motor vehicle excise taxes under subsection (3) of this section shall transmit to the director of licensing and the state auditor a written report showing by source the previous year's budgeted tax revenues for public transportation purposes as compared to actual collections. Any municipality that has not submitted the report by April 1 shall cease to be eligible to receive motor vehicle excise taxes under subsection (3) of this section until the report is received by the director of licensing. If a municipality has received more or less money under subsection (3) of this section for the period covered by the report than it is entitled to receive by reason of its locally-generated collected tax revenues, the director of licensing shall, during the next ensuing quarter that the municipality is eligible to receive motor vehicle excise tax funds, increase or decrease the amount to be remitted in an amount equal to the difference between the locally-generated budgeted tax revenues and the locally-generated collected tax revenues. In no event may the amount remitted for a calendar year exceed the amount collected on behalf of the municipality under RCW 35.58.273 during that same calendar year. At the time of the next fiscal audit of each municipality, the state auditor shall verify the accuracy of the report submitted and notify the director of licensing of any discrepancies.

(5) The motor vehicle excise taxes imposed under RCW 35.58.273 and required to be remitted under this section shall be remitted without legislative appropriation.

(6) Any municipality levying and collecting a tax under RCW 35.58.273 which does not have an operating, public transit system or a contract for public transportation services in effect within one year from the initial effective date of the tax shall return to the state treasurer all motor vehicle excise taxes received under subsection (3) of this section.

Sec. 2. RCW 82.44.180 and 1991 c 199 s 224 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The transportation fund is created in the state treasury. Revenues under RCW 82.44.020 (1) and (2), 82.44.110, 82.44.150, and the surcharge under RCW 82.50.510 shall be deposited into the fund as provided in those sections.

Moneys in the fund may be spent only after appropriation. Expenditures from the fund may be used only for transportation purposes.

(2) There is hereby created the central Puget Sound public transportation account within the transportation fund. Moneys deposited into the account under RCW 82.44.150(2)(b) shall be ((~~expended~~)) appropriated to the department of transportation and allocated under section 3 of this act to public transportation projects within the three-county region from which the funds are derived, solely for:

(a) Planning;

(b) Development of capital projects;

((~~(b)~~)) (d) Development of high occupancy vehicle lanes and related facilities as defined in RCW 81.100.020; and

((~~(c)~~)) (e) Public transportation system contributions required to fund projects under federal programs and those approved by the transportation improvement board.

(3) There is hereby created the public transportation systems account within the transportation fund. Moneys deposited into the account under RCW 82.44.150(2)(c) shall be ((~~available to~~)) appropriated to the department of transportation and allocated under section 3 of this act to public transportation projects submitted by the public transportation systems from which the funds are derived, solely for:

(a) Planning;

(b) Development of capital projects;

((~~(b)~~)) (d) Development of high occupancy vehicle lanes and related facilities as defined in RCW 81.100.020;

((~~(c)~~)) (e) Other public transportation system-related roadway projects on state highways, county roads, or city streets; and

((~~(d)~~)) (f) Public transportation system contributions required to fund projects under federal programs and those approved by the transportation improvement board.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new chapter is added to Title 47 RCW to read as follows:

To help achieve the goals identified in the public transportation policy plan required by RCW 47.--.--- (section 1, chapter ---, Laws of 1992 (HB--)), the department shall allocate to transit agencies amounts appropriated from the central Puget Sound public transportation account created by RCW 82.44.180(2), and from the public transportation systems account created by RCW 82.44.180(3). The department shall make the allocations in accordance with the following procedures:

(1) By July 1, 1992, the department shall submit to the legislative transportation committee the management plan by which the allocation process will be governed, including identification of any local match requirements.

(2) By August 1, 1992, and by July 1st of each even-numbered year thereafter, transit agencies shall apply to the department for funding in the ensuing biennium from the appropriate account, for the types of projects identified in RCW 82.44.180(2) or (3).

(3) The department shall establish an advisory council of policy and technical experts to assist in the review and prioritization of requests from transit agencies. Council representation shall include transit agencies of varying size and from various geographic regions of the state.

(4) The department shall include in its biennial budget request submitted to the office of financial management and the legislative transportation committee the prioritized list of projects proposed to be funded from each account in the ensuing biennium.

To the extent possible, the department shall allocate the amount appropriated by the legislature from each account to transit agency projects in the order of priority for each account.

For the purposes of this chapter, "transit agency" means an agency that imposes a motor vehicle excise tax under RCW 35.58.273, and, if authorized by the legislature, regional transit authorities.