SENATE BILL REPORT

                  ESSB 6502

              As Passed Senate, February 13, 1998

Title:  An act relating to obsolete transportation accounts and funds.

Brief Description:  Deleting reference to obsolete transportation accounts.

Sponsors:  Senate Committee on Transportation (originally sponsored by Senators Horn, Haugen, Benton, Goings and Wood).

Brief History:

Committee Activity:  Transportation:  1/28/98, 1/29/98 [DPS].

Passed Senate, 2/13/98, 48-0.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION

Majority Report:  That Substitute Senate Bill No. 6502 be substituted therefor, and the substitute bill do pass.

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

Staff:  Gary Lebow (786-7304)

Background:  The Transportation Budget Development Working Group of the Legislative Transportation Committee conducted, during the 1997 interim, an analysis of the 43 different accounts that are appropriated within the transportation budget.  The Working Group recommended eliminating six accounts that are no longer needed and consolidating two accounts that are used for similar activities into one account.

Summary of Bill:  The transfer relief account, the gasohol exemption holding account, and the highway construction stabilization account are each repealed or eliminated.  The marine operating account is repealed and the activities within the account are moved to the Puget Sound operating account.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Not requested.

Effective Date:  The bill takes effect July 1, 1999.

Testimony For:  WSDOT agrees with the substitute bill.  There were some legal restrictions involving the Puyallup Tribe settlement account, and the department agrees with removing that account from the original bill.

Testimony Against:  None.

Testified:  PRO:  Senator Horn, prime sponsor; Helga Morgenstern, WSDOT.