BP BHEAD INT H [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to the privatization of safety rest areas; amending RCW 74.18.220 and 47.50.090; and adding new sections to chapter 47.38 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 47.38 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The secretary of the department of transportation or a designee shall solicit proposals from, and negotiate and enter into agreements with, private entities to undertake the maintenance and operation of restaurants at safety rest areas on state highways.

(2) Each proposal for the operation and maintenance of a restaurant at a safety rest area must be weighed on its own merits, and each agreement must be negotiated individually, and as a stand-alone project. The department shall reject any proposal that proposes a single agreement for the operation and maintenance of more than one restaurant.

Private entities may submit proposals for more than one restaurant at safety rest areas, as long as each restaurant safety rest area proposal is evaluated separately and on its own merits.

(3) If the department of transportation deems it to be for the public interest, the franchise may be granted in whole or in part, with or without hearing, under any regulations and conditions the department prescribes. At a minimum, the department shall require:

(a) Fair market value consideration for the right to exclusive operation of a restaurant franchise at a safety rest area on state-owned rights-of-way;

(b) A minimum of two percent of the gross receipts derived from operation of the restaurant franchise; and

(c) Continued maintenance and operation of the restaurant at the safety rest area and associated property by the franchisee through the full term of the franchise agreement.

(4) The department may require that the franchisee's facilities, utilities, and appurtenances be placed on the safety rest area property in a manner that, in the department's opinion, will least interfere with safe uses of the safety rest area and highway.

(5) If a hearing is held, it shall be conducted by the department, and may be adjourned from time to time until completed. The applicant may be required to produce all facts pertaining to the franchise, and evidence may be taken for and against granting it.

(6) The facility, utilities, and appurtenances shall be made subject to removal when necessary for the construction, alteration, repair, or improvement of the highway and at the expense of the state, except that the state is not required to pay costs or alleged damages resulting from lost business and/or profits.

(7) Renewal upon expiration of a franchise shall be by application.

(8) A person constructing or operating a restaurant franchise at a safety rest area is liable to persons injured for damages incident to the construction or resulting from the reasonable and intended use of the restaurant franchise. Except as provided in this section, the franchisee is liable to the state for all necessary expenses incurred in restoring the highway to a permanent, suitable condition for travel.

(9) No franchise may be granted for a period longer than fifty years.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 47.38 RCW to read as follows:

All revenues derived from section 1(3) (a) and (b) of this act shall be placed in the state patrol highway account and used exclusively for state patrol vehicles and associated equipment.

Sec. 3. RCW 74.18.220 and 1983 c 194 s 22 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The department is authorized to license blind persons to operate vending facilities and vending machines on federal property and in public buildings.

(2) The state, political subdivisions thereof, and agencies of the state, or political subdivisions thereof shall give priority to licensees in the operation of vending facilities and vending machines in public buildings. This subsection does not apply to the operation of franchises authorized by section 1 of this act.

Sec. 4. RCW 47.50.090 and 1995 c 399 s 124 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The department shall develop, adopt, and maintain an access control classification system for all routes on the state highway system, the purpose of which shall be to provide for the implementation and continuing applications of the provision of this chapter.

(2) The principal component of the access control classification system shall be access management standards, the purpose of which shall be to provide specific minimum standards to be adhered to in the planning for and approval of access to state highways.

(3) The control classification system shall be developed consistent with the following:

(a) The department shall, no later than January 1, 1993, adopt rules setting forth procedures governing the implementation of the access control classification system required by this chapter. The rule shall provide for input from the entities described in (b) of this subsection as well as for public meetings to discuss the access control classification system. Nothing in this chapter shall affect the validity of the department's existing or subsequently adopted rules concerning access to the state highway system. Such rules shall remain in effect until repealed or replaced by the rules required by this chapter.

(b) The access control classification system shall be developed in cooperation with counties, cities and towns, the department of community, trade, and economic development, regional transportation planning organizations, and other local governmental entities, and for city streets designated as state highways pursuant to chapter 47.24 RCW, adopted with the concurrence of the city design standards committee.

(c) The rule required by this section shall provide that assignment of a road segment to a specific access category be made in consideration of the following criteria:

(i) Local land use plans and zoning, as set forth in comprehensive plans;

(ii) The current functional classification as well as potential future functional classification of each road on the state highway system;

(iii) Existing and projected traffic volumes;

(iv) Existing and projected state, local, and metropolitan planning organization transportation plans and needs;

(v) Drainage requirements;

(vi) The character of lands adjoining the highway;

(vii) The type and volume of traffic requiring access;

(viii) Other operational aspects of access;

(ix) The availability of reasonable access by way of county roads and city streets to a state highway; and

(x) The cumulative effect of existing and projected connections on the state highway system's ability to provide for the safe and efficient movement of people and goods within the state.

(d) Access management standards shall include, but not be limited to, connection location standards, safety factors, design and construction standards, desired levels of service, traffic control devices, and effective maintenance of the roads. The standards shall also contain minimum requirements for the spacing of connections, intersecting streets, roads, and highways.

(e) An access control category shall be assigned to each segment of the state highway system by July 1, 1993.

(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit, hinder, or prohibit the operation of franchises granted under section 1 of this act.