[atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to the Northwest Maritime Safety Act of 2001; adding new sections to chapter 88.16 RCW; creating a new section; making appropriations; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. To facilitate national and international trade in Washington, the legislature is committed to a coordinated maritime safety program that preserves Washington's marine environment as an essential and integral part of a healthy economy and meets the transportation safety needs of the maritime industry. The legislature finds that improving maritime management protocols in Washington's waters through providing timely decisions on vessel assistance and rescue, enhancing the tracking of vessels, and providing advanced communication technology are important steps to providing protected waters and a sound economy.

The need for these maritime measures is particularly urgent in protecting Washington waters. The failure to act now will only increase the potential negative effects on the environment and the economy. Therefore, the Northwest Maritime Safety Act of 2001 is enacted as a partnership with the maritime industry and the United States Coast Guard.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The board of pilotage commissioners shall develop a process for the expeditious response to requests from the captain of the ports of district 13 of Puget Sound for a tug boat or tug boats from operators who participate in the international tug of opportunity system in Puget Sound. The process will enable tug boats to be called to prevent or mitigate accidents occurring due to adverse weather or when a vessel or vessels otherwise poses a substantial risk to the Puget Sound environment as determined by the captain of the port.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) The board of pilotage commissioners shall provide automated information system transponders to pilots transiting navigable Washington waters in order to assist in tracking the movement of the vessel while in Puget Sound. If the vessel does not have a transponder on board when a pilot boards a vessel, the pilot shall temporarily install a transponder on the vessel. When the vessel leaves Puget Sound, a pilot shall remove the temporary transponder. A transponder that is not operating properly will not prevent the pilot from beginning or continuing a voyage.

(2) In order to provide enhanced maritime navigation safety, the board of pilotage commissioners shall provide a credit of two thousand five hundred dollars to vessel operators who are frequent users of navigable Washington waters of Puget Sound for the purposes of permanently installing automated information system transponders on those vessels. This equipment will remain the property or partial property of the board. If a vessel leaves the Pacific Ocean on a permanent basis, the vessel owner must return the automated information system transponder or refund a portion of the value due and as determined by the board. Vessel owners or their agents may apply for the credit for only one vessel at a time.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The board of pilotage commissioners may contract with one or more nonprofit maritime organizations for the administration and management of sections 1 through 6 of this act under rules adopted by the board. The board may adopt rules with appropriate procedures, monitoring, and evaluation measures to implement sections 1 through 6 of this act. The board shall not spend more than seven percent of funds appropriated for purposes of sections 1 through 6 of this act for administration, training, and other management costs.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The board of pilotage commissioners shall oversee the establishment of the physical oceanographic real-time system to provide coverage of the navigable waters of Washington state. The program shall track vessel movements in order to provide ship masters and pilots with accurate real-time information required to avoid groundings and collisions. The board shall take recommendations from maritime and public interests as to the best location for physical oceanographic real-time system equipment in Puget Sound waters.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The maritime safety subaccount is created in the pilotage account. All receipts from private contributions, foreign funds, federal funds, and legislative appropriations made to fund the purposes of sections 1 through 5 of this act must be deposited into the account. Moneys in the subaccount may be spent only after appropriation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. (1) The sum of one million six hundred thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal biennium ending June 30, 2003, from the multimodal transportation account to the maritime safety subaccount. One million six hundred thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal biennium ending June 30, 2003, from the maritime safety subaccount to the board of pilotage commissioners solely for the purposes of section 2 of this act.

(2) The sum of two million five hundred thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 2003, from the multimodal transportation account to the maritime safety subaccount. Two million five hundred thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 2003, from the maritime safety subaccount to the board of pilotage commissioners solely for the purposes set forth in section 3 of this act and for the following purposes:

(a) As a pilot program, the board of pilotage commissioners shall provide at least ten laptop computers to pilots for work in conjunction with the automated information system transponders. The purpose of the computer is to give to the pilot and the bridge crew electronic navigational aides, powered grounding and collision avoidance information, and the ability to better communicate with and see other vessels.

(b) The board of pilotage commissioners shall require and pay for training of pilots on the use of transponder technology and the use of the laptop computers in conjunction with the automated information system transponders. Money appropriated under this section must be used for training pilots on the shipboard transponder technology.

(c) The board of pilotage commissioners shall report to the transportation committees of the legislature by January 14, 2002, as to the effectiveness of the laptop computers in a safety program. If the house and senate transportation committees affirm that the pilot project was of value in improving maritime safety sufficient to justify further investment, the board shall purchase laptop computers for the remaining pilots transiting navigable Washington waters of Puget Sound, Grays Harbor, and the Columbia River and provide corresponding training, subject to appropriation. The board shall submit a final report for biennial review of this entire act by January 13, 2003.

(3) The sum of two million five hundred thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 2003, from the multimodal transportation account to the maritime safety subaccount. Two million five hundred thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 2003, to the board of pilotage commissioners for the purposes of purchasing, maintaining, and administering the navigational systems authorized in section 5 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. The governor of Washington state shall solicit the states of Oregon and Alaska to determine the interest of these states in participating in the Northwest Maritime Safety Act of 2001 on a regional basis.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. Sections 1 through 6 of this act are each added to chapter 88.16 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect July 1, 2001.