SENATE BILL REPORT

                  SHB 1786

              As Reported By Senate Committee On:

                 Transportation, March 2, 1998

Title:  An act relating to transportation improvement board reporting requirements.

Brief Description:  Requiring the transportation improvement board to report to the legislative transportation committees.

Sponsors:  House Committee on Transportation Policy & Budget (originally sponsored by Representatives K. Schmidt, Fisher, Murray, Cooper, Mitchell, Hatfield, Sterk, Skinner, Blalock, Ogden, Robertson, DeBolt, Gardner, Johnson, Wood, Backlund, O'Brien, Scott, Zellinsky, Hankins, Chandler and Dyer).

Brief History:

Committee Activity:  Transportation:  3/26/97, 3/31/97 [DP]; 2/18/98, 3/2/98 [DPA].

SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION

Majority Report:  Do pass as amended.

  Signed by Senators Prince, Chair; Benton, Vice Chair; Wood, Vice Chair; Haugen, Goings, Heavey, Horn, Morton, Oke, Patterson, Prentice and Rasmussen.

Minority Report:  Do not pass.

  Signed by Senator Sellar.

Staff:  Gary Lebow (786-7304)

Background:  New projects to be funded by the Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) are not available for legislative review prior to enacting an appropriation.  TIB currently selects a prioritized list of projects to be funded in mid to late May.  The agency=s budget request is under legislative review from January to March or April, depending on the length of the session.

Summary of Bill:  Starting February 1, 2000, the Transportation Improvement Board is required to submit lists of proposed projects to be funded in the agency=s budget request for legislative review prior to enactment of an appropriation.  Projects that are of an emergent nature or coincide with the federal funding cycle that are outside of the regular grant process are reported to the House Transportation Policy and Budget Committee and the Senate Transportation Committee when they are selected.

Amended Bill Compared to Substitute Bill:  The starting date is changed from February 1, 1999 to February 1, 2000.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Not requested.

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

Testimony For:  This bill impacts our application process, moving it up approximately six months, which we can live with.  Since the bill was introduced last year, it would help to move the starting date out one year to give us some time to transition to this new schedule.

Testimony Against:  None.

Testified:  Jerry Fay, Transportation Improvement Board (pro w/amendment).