HOUSE BILL REPORT

                  HB 1193

                    As Amended by Senate

Title:  An act relating to the transportation capital facilities account.

Brief Description:  Giving the department of transportation discretion in setting capital facility rental rates.

Sponsors:  Representatives Benton, Mitchell, K. Schmidt and R. Fisher; by request of Department of Transportation.

Brief History:

  Committee Activity:

Transportation:  1/24/95, 1/25/95 [DP].

Floor Activity:

Passed House:  2/3/95, 94-1.

Senate Amended.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION

Majority Report:  Do pass.  Signed by 25 members:  Representatives K. Schmidt, Chairman; Mitchell, Vice Chairman; Skinner, Vice Chairman; R. Fisher, Ranking Minority Member; Hatfield, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Backlund; Blanton; Brown; Buck; Cairnes; Chandler; Chopp; Elliot; Hankins; Horn; Johnson; Koster; McMahan; Patterson; Quall; Robertson; Romero; D. Schmidt; Scott and Tokuda.

Staff:  Gene Baxstrom (786-7303).

Background:  Beginning in July 1991, the Department of Transportation was required to set and charge rental rates to department programs for the use of its real property, buildings or structures.  Receipts from rental charges are to be placed in the transportation capital facilities account.  Monies in that account are to be used to purchase, construct, repair, maintain and operate such real property or structures to carry out the duties of the department for the state transportation system.

The 1993-95 transportation budget did not include the appropriation authority for each program to pay the rental charges to the account.  Rather, monies were appropriated directly from the motor vehicle fund to the capital facilities account.

Summary of Bill:  It is optional, rather than mandatory, for the Department of Transportation to charge rental rates to department programs for the use of department-owned real property, buildings or structures.

EFFECT OF SENATE AMENDMENT(S):

Rather than making the obligatory language for such rental charges optional, the requirement language is repealed.  The requirement that those charges be deposited into the transportation capital facilities account is also repealed.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Available.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For:  The Department of Transportation is required to charge rental rates to department programs, and the Legislature did not appropriate funds for this purpose.  A state audit finding took exception to the department's failure to charge these rates.  The department could still go back to charging rental rates should funds be appropriated.

Testimony Against:  None.

Testified:  Fred DeBolt, Department of Transportation.

Votes on Final Passage:

Yeas 94; Nays 1; Excused 2; Absent 1

Nays:  Delvin

Excused:  Ogden, Silver

Absent:  Ebersole