FINAL BILL REPORT
E2SSB 6140
PARTIAL VETO
C 56 L 02
Synopsis as Enacted
Brief Description: Authorizing creation of regional transportation investment districts.
Sponsors: Senate Committee on Transportation (originally sponsored by Senators McDonald, Prentice, Horn, Eide, Johnson, Finkbeiner, Patterson, Shin, Benton, Kastama, Costa, McAuliffe, Rossi, Long, Roach, Zarelli and Oke).
Senate Committee on Transportation
Background: The Governor and the Legislature created the Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation (BRCT) in 1998 to do the following: assess the local, regional and state transportation systems; ensure that current and future money is spent wisely; make the system more accountable and predictable; and prepare a 20 year plan for funding and investing in the transportation system. In its final report, the BRCT issued 18 recommendations. Recommendation 6 states that regions be provided with the ability to plan, select, fund, and implement (or contract for the implementation of) projects identified to meet the region's transportation and land use goals.
Summary: A county with a population over 1.5 million and adjoining counties with a population over 500,000 may create Regional Transportation Investment Districts (RTID). The regional projects to be funded with the regionally raised revenues must be a capital improvement or improvements to a highway of statewide significance that adds a lane or new lanes to an existing state or federal highway including associated approaches, HOV lanes, bus pullouts, flyover ramps, park and ride lots, vans for van pools, buses, and signalization, ramp metering and other transportation system management improvements. Local arterials, new highways and other highways are eligible for revenue if certain conditions are met.
Creation of RTID. To create an RTID, the members of the legislative authorities participating in planning the RTID must form a planning committee. The Secretary of Transportation or the appropriate Washington State Department of Transportation regional administrator serves on the committee as a nonvoting member.
The planning committee selects the projects, recommends which revenue choices it will use and sends the plan to the county legislative authorities for their approval. The planning committee is governed by a 60 percent weighted majority vote. The planning committee may dissolve itself at any time by a two-thirds weighted majority vote of the total membership of the committee.
The county legislative authority can either approve or disapprove the plan; it cannot alter the plan. If it approves the plan, it must put it on the ballot. If it disapproves the plan, the planning committee may revamp the plan for resubmission to the legislative authority. If approved by a majority of voters in the affected counties, the district is created and the members of the planning committee automatically become members of the governing board of the district. No ballot measure may be presented to the voters more than three times.
Revenue Options. The planning committee may select from the following list of revenue options to fund the projects: a vehicle license fee of up to $100 per year; a commercial parking tax on gross proceeds or vehicle stalls; sales and use tax of up to 0.5 percent; and tolls on new improvements. The RTID may vary the amount of the vehicle license fee based on the age of the vehicle. In addition, the following local government funding sources may be used for these projects: a local option motor vehicle excise tax; and an employer excise tax of up to $2 per employee per month. The local option taxes may only be imposed to the extent those taxes are not already imposed by the county.
Regional Transportation Model Grants. Areas of the state outside of King, Snohomish and Pierce counties are eligible for grants from the state of no more than $200,000 to study and develop regional transportation models.
Joint Ballot with RTA. The participating counties may choose to impose any remaining high capacity transportation taxes that have not otherwise been used by a regional transit authority. The participating counties may submit a common ballot measure to the voters that creates the district, approves the regional transportation investment plan, implements the taxes, and implements any remaining high capacity transportation taxes within the boundaries of the RTID.
Highways of Statewide Significance. The Transportation Commission or the Legislature designates state highways of statewide significance. State Route 509 is designated as a state highway of statewide significance.
Highways of Regional Significance. State Route 9, State Route 524, and the Cross-Base Highway are made highways of regional significance and are eligible for up to 10 percent of the regional revenue.
This act is null and void if a transportation revenue act containing new or additional revenue does not become law by December 31, 2002.
Votes on Final Passage:
Senate3114
House6433(House amended)
Senate3414(Senate concurred)
Effective: June 13, 2002
Partial Veto Summary: The section that prevents the regional transportation bill from becoming law unless a statewide transportation revenue act becomes law is vetoed.