HOUSE BILL REPORT

                 SSB 5084

             As Reported By House Committee On:

                       Transportation

Title:  An act relating to state agency commute trip reduction programs.

Brief Description:  Reducing commute trips.

Sponsors:  Senate Committee on Transportation (originally sponsored by Senators Drew, Prince, Haugen, Wood, Fairley, Franklin, Deccio and Sheldon; by request of Department of General Administration).

Brief History:

  Committee Activity:

Transportation:  3/30/95, 4/3/95 [DPA].

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION

Majority Report:  Do pass as amended.  Signed by 18 members:  Representatives K. Schmidt, Chairman; Benton, Vice Chairman; Mitchell, Vice Chairman; R. Fisher, Ranking Minority Member; Hatfield, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Backlund; Blanton; Brown; Chandler; Chopp; Hankins; Horn; Ogden; Patterson; Robertson; Romero; Scott and Tokuda.

Minority Report:  Do not pass.  Signed by 3 members:  Representatives Buck; Cairnes and Johnson.

Staff:  Brian McMorrow (786-7304).

Background:  In 1991 the Legislature passed the commute trip reduction (CTR) law which was initially introduced as part of the Governor's Clean Air Act.  The CTR law attempts to reduce single-occupant vehicle (SOV) driving by requiring major employers (100 or more employees) in the state's eight largest counties to reduce the number of SOV trips to their work sites.  The goals are a 15 percent reduction by 1995, 25 percent by 1997, and 35 percent by 1999.

Since the CTR law affects private and public employers, state government must also implement a commute trip reduction program for its employees.  The Department of General Administration (GA) is the lead agency and has been working on a plan to help the state reduce SOV driving by state employees.

Currently, the director of GA must establish equitable and consistent parking fees after consulting with representatives of state agencies and state employees.  The fees are deposited into the capitol vehicle parking account and may be used to retire bonds on parking garages and to support parking and commute trip reduction programs.

Summary of Amended Bill:  The director of GA shall establish equitable and consistent parking fees for capitol campus parking, and may, if requested by agencies, establish parking fees for agencies off the capitol campus. 

The fees must be deposited into the state vehicle parking account, previously named the capitol vehicle parking account.  The Legislature will continue to appropriate these funds.

State agencies may impose parking fees where none exist, or increase parking fees where GA has already imposed them.  The agencies that impose parking fees must deposit the money into a new account called the state agency parking account.  State agencies may spend money on their CTR programs, parking programs, or lease costs for parking facilities without legislative appropriation.

The Office of Financial Management may authorize expenditures from the state agency parking account.  No agency may receive an allotment greater than the amount of revenue deposited into the account.

Each agency must establish a committee of public employees to advise the agency director on parking rental fees, taking into account the market rate of comparable, privately-owned rental parking in each region.

To reduce the state's subsidization of parking, state agencies may not enter leases after July 1, 1997, that provide parking over building code requirements.  The director of GA may make exceptions.

The director of GA must report to the House and Senate Transportation Committees no later than December 1, 1997, regarding the implementation of this act.

Washington State's colleges and universities collect their own parking fees, and this legislation does not affect them.

Amended Bill Compared to Substitute Bill:  The amended bill requires committees of state employees to advise agency directors on parking fees.  It requires the director of GA to report back to the House and Senate Transportation Committees regarding the implementation of this act.  It also requires all employees to be treated equitably in situations where there exist fewer parking spaces than employees.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Requested on January 13, 1995.

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

Testimony For:  The bill provides agencies with financial resources to provide commute trip reduction programs for their employees.

Testimony Against:  None.

Testified:  John Franklin, Department of General Administration; Tim Welch, Washington Federation of State Employees; and Eugene St. John, Washington Public Employees Association.