[atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to regional transportation governance; adding a new chapter to Title 81 RCW; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. INTENT. The legislature recognizes that a multimodal approach to the state's transportation system is the best means of addressing transportation needs. For the past decade, little money has been spent on adding capacity to our state's urban area transportation systems. This lack of investment includes major new highway projects to add capacity and lane miles to major state routes, interstates or other freeway systems, and local principal arterials, and other means to reduce traffic congestion including capacity improvements for public transportation and high-capacity transportation systems.

To further encourage a comprehensive multimodal transportation system that provides efficient mobility choices for persons and freight requires a partnership between the state, local, and regional governments and the private sector. To this end, the legislature desires to empower local regions to accomplish transportation projects by enabling them to raise revenue and choose projects locally and to provide state resources to help fund certain of these projects.

The legislature further finds that many transportation decisions are best made at the regional level, where transportation problems are best understood. To achieve improved regional mobility, promote individual and economic well-being, and to implement recommendation number six of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation final report, relating to regional transportation solutions, congestion relief boards are created. The legislature declares that it is the public policy of this state to encourage and facilitate transportation improvements, including making optimum use of existing facilities. It is the purpose of congestion relief boards to select projects, oversee their implementation, generate revenues for a limited period of time, assist in the financing of transportation improvements, and improve transportation mobility in congested areas.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. DEFINITIONS. The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) "Board" means the governing body of a regional congestion relief district.

(2) "Congestion relief plan" or "plan" means a document that sets forth projects that meet funding qualification requirements and that provides for financing the projects, including proposed taxes.

(3) "Funding qualifications" means designation as congestion relief projects by the board and inclusion in the transportation plan of the state, a regional transportation planning organization, or a metropolitan planning organization.

(4) "Project sponsor" means a public agency that by law can plan, design, and build a project and may include the state department of transportation, a county, a city, a transit agency, a regional transit authority, or a port district.

(5) "Regional congestion relief district" or "district" means a quasi-municipal corporation created under this chapter.

(6) "Transportation improvement project" or "project" means an improvement that adds a lane or lanes to a principal local arterial or state route including the interstate system, creates a new state route or federal interstate route, optimizes the use or productivity of an existing principal arterial or state highway, or adds capacity to public transportation or high-capacity transportation services along transportation corridors, including ferry services.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. DISTRICT FORMATION. The legislative authority of a county, except for those counties identified in section 4 of this act, may form a congestion relief district. The mayor of the largest city in the county, the secretary of transportation, and the county legislative authority, acting ex officio and independently, are the governing board for the district. Major actions of the board, as defined in section 4 of this act, require a majority plus one vote of the board members voting in the affirmative. For a project that involves state participation in funding, the secretary of transportation must vote in the affirmative. If the board approves formation of the district, the board has the following duties and powers:

(1) To set the boundaries of the proposed district that reasonably incorporate areas benefited by the projects proposed in the plan;

(2) To appoint advisors and conduct public meetings that are needed to assure active public participation in the development of the plan;

(3) To adopt a plan that includes projects that meet funding qualifications and provides for the financing for those projects. The plan must provide that at least one-third of the expenditures on all projects address transportation demand management, public transportation, high-capacity transit, and other alternatives to the single-occupant vehicle;

(4) To forward the proposed plan to the cities within the district. The plan will be placed on the ballot unless fifty percent of the cities within the district representing a minimum of fifty percent of the cities' and towns' population, by action of the cities' and towns' legislative authorities, disapprove the plan within thirty calendar days;

(5) To submit a plan to a general election ballot for approval or rejection of the voters. If the board submits a plan to a general election, it shall draft a ballot title, give notices as required by law for ballot measures, and perform such other duties as may be required to put the plan before the voters of the proposed district.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. DISTRICT FORMATION‑-CENTRAL PUGET SOUND. (1) Counties that have areas included in a regional transportation authority, together with a county having a population in excess of two hundred thousand persons and that does not have within its borders an interstate highway, may jointly form a congestion relief district by resolution of each county's legislative authority. At least two adjoining counties must agree for this district to be formed. The county executive of each county is the governing board for this district, and if a member county does not have an elected county executive, the chair of the county's legislative authority, plus the secretary of the state department of transportation shall serve as the board. The vote of each elected member of the board must be weighted in proportion to the population of the member's county. Major actions of the board require a two-thirds majority of the weighted votes on the board, and if the district includes four counties, a majority plus one vote of the board members voting in the affirmative are required. For a project that involves state participation in funding, the secretary of transportation must vote in the affirmative.

(2) Major actions of the board include at least the following: Adoption of the boundaries of the district; adoption of a plan identifying transportation improvement projects that meet funding qualifications and the financing plan for those projects; placing the plan and tax proposal on the ballot; and after voter approval, an increase in a total project cost of more than twenty percent.

(3) The board for this district has the same duties and powers as prescribed in section 3 of this act. The plan will be placed on the ballot unless fifty percent of the cities within the district representing a minimum of fifty percent of the cities' and towns' population, by action of the cities' and towns' legislative authorities, disapprove the plan within thirty calendar days. If the plan involves more than one county, the county legislative body of each county shall vote as to whether that county is to be included in the district, and the electorate will be the voters in the area of each of the counties voting to form a single district.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. CERTIFICATION OF FORMATION. If the voters approve the plan and taxes, the district will be declared formed. The county election official of a county, or if the district is composed of more than a single county, county election officials jointly, shall, within fifteen days of the final certification of the election results, publish a notice in a newspaper or newspapers of general circulation in the district declaring the district formed, and shall mail copies of the notice to the governor, secretary of transportation, and the treasurer of the county or, if the district is multicounty, the treasurer of the largest county, who shall thereafter serve as the treasurer of the district. A party challenging the formation of a voter-approved district must file his or her challenge in writing by serving the prosecuting attorneys of each county within the district and the attorney general within thirty days after the final certification of the election. Failure to challenge within that time forever bars further challenge of the district's valid formation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. GOVERNING BOARD‑-ORGANIZATION, POWERS, AND DUTIES. The governing board of the district is responsible for the execution of the voter-approved plan. The board shall:

(1) Adopt bylaws to govern its affairs, which may include:

(a) The time and place of its regular meetings;

(b) Rules for calling special meetings;

(d) Titles of district officers and terms and method of election;

(e) The requirements for hiring employees and consultants;

(f) Procedures for the safekeeping and disbursement of funds; and

(g) Any other provisions the board finds necessary to include in the district bylaws;

(2) Provide for the levying and collection of taxes authorized by the voters;

(3) Enter into agreements with state, local, and regional agencies and departments as necessary to accomplish district purposes and protect the district's investment in projects;

(4) Hire employees, professional service providers, or contractors that are required for district purposes. However, it is the intent of the legislature that projects be contracted with the project sponsors;

(5) Accept gifts, grants, or other contributions of funds that will support the purposes and programs of the district;

(6) Monitor and audit the progress and execution of projects to protect the investment of the public and annually make public its findings;

(7) Evaluate periodically whether it is desirable to place on a ballot for voter approval a new or revised plan with additional projects and taxes; and

(8) Exercise such other powers and duties as may be reasonably related to carrying out the mission of the district.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. PERFORMANCE CRITERIA FOR REGIONAL PROJECT SELECTION. The district shall consider the following criteria for selecting projects to improve corridor performance:

(1) Reduced level of congestion;

(2) Improved travel time;

(3) Improved air quality;

(4) Increases in daily and peak period person and vehicle trip capacity;

(5) Reductions in person and vehicle delay;

(6) Improved freight mobility; and

(7) Cost-effectiveness of the investment.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION. (1) The plan submitted to the voters must provide funding estimates for each priority project. The plan may also list additional projects that may be funded if the district has a surplus because a priority project is abandoned or curtailed by the project sponsor, or surplus revenues become available for any other reason. Plans submitted to the voters must provide that ninety-five percent of all funds raised will fund projects in the plan including environmental improvements and mitigation. Not more than five percent of funds authorized by the plan may be used for the administrative costs of the district.

(2) After voter approval of the plan, the district shall accomplish its purposes by entering into agreements with project sponsors as to who will acquire, construct, or develop projects approved by the voters. The district shall negotiate reasonable terms and conditions to assist project sponsors in funding projects. The overall plan of the district must leverage the district's financial contributions.

(3) The board may periodically amend particular projects as warranted. However, increases in the cost of a project exceeding twenty percent are considered major actions of the board.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. TAXES AND FEES. (1) A district may impose and collect the following local option taxes and fees within its geographic boundaries:

(a) A local option regional surcharge on transactions involving motor vehicles and related parts and accessories, to be administered as follows:

(i) For transactions involving motor vehicles, a sales and use tax not to exceed five-tenths of one percent of the selling price shall be imposed on any person selling motor vehicles (in the case of a sales tax) or value of the article used (in the case of a use tax). The tax authorized under this section is in addition to the tax authorized by RCW 82.14.030 and must be collected from those persons who are taxable by the state under chapters 82.08 and 82.12 RCW upon the occurrence of a taxable event within the taxing district;

(ii) For transactions involving motor vehicle parts and accessories, an additional tax is imposed upon any person selling motor vehicle parts and accessories at wholesale; as to such persons, the amount of the additional tax with respect to such business is equal to the gross proceeds of sales of the business, multiplied by the rate of five-tenths of one percent.

(iii) "Motor vehicle" has the same meaning as in RCW 46.04.320. "Motor vehicle parts and accessories" means items of tangible personal property that become a component part affixed to motor vehicles.

(b) A local option vehicle license fee for each vehicle registered in the district, except commercial vehicles as defined in RCW 46.04.140, per year on motor vehicles and trailers or trailing units. The department of licensing shall administer and collect this fee on behalf of a district and remit this fee to the custody of the state treasurer, who shall distribute it as directed by a district;

(c) A local option motor vehicle fuel tax on each gallon of motor vehicle fuel as defined in RCW 82.36.010 sold in the district and on each gallon of special fuel as defined in RCW 82.38.020 sold in the district;

(d) A local option commercial vehicle fee for each commercial vehicle as defined in RCW 46.04.140 registered in the district. The department of licensing shall administer and collect this fee on behalf of a district and remit this fee to the custody of the state treasurer, who shall distribute it as directed by a district;

(e) User fees on projects improved under this chapter;

(f) An additional sales and use tax upon sales of motor vehicle fuel and special fuel. The rate of tax will be a percentage of the selling price in the case of a sales tax or value of fuel used in the case of a use tax. "Motor vehicle fuel" and "special fuel" have the same meaning as provided in RCW 82.36.010 and 82.38.020;

(g) A charge based upon the miles traveled by a vehicle registered in the district.

(2) Taxes may not be imposed without an affirmative vote of the voters within the boundaries of the district on a referendum as set forth in section 3 of this act. Money collected under this section must be used only to implement the district plan in accordance with section 8 of this act. A district may contract with the state department of revenue or other appropriate entities for administration and collection of any of the taxes or fees authorized in this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. SUPPORT OF PROJECT SPONSORS' DEBT. The district may not issue debt of its own for more than two years' duration. A district may, when authorized by the plan, enter into agreements with project sponsors to pledge taxes or other revenues of the district for the purpose of paying in part or whole principal and interest on bonds issued by the project sponsor. The contracts pledging revenues and taxes must be binding for the term of the agreement, but not to exceed twenty-five years, and no tax pledged by an agreement may be eliminated or modified if it would impair the pledge of the agreement.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. DISTRICT DISSOLUTION. A district once formed shall continue so long as projects or plans are being actively developed or taxes levied to meet continuing district obligations. When a district established under section 4 of this act is no longer engaged in a project's development or levying taxes to fund projects, the board shall submit to the county legislative bodies of the district a resolution of dissolution. For a district established under section 3 of this act, the county legislative authority may initiate a resolution of dissolution. The resolution must be published in newspapers of general circulation within the district at least three times in a period of thirty days. Creditors must file claims for payment of claims due within thirty days of the last published notice or the claim is extinguished. The district treasurer shall within ninety days of the last published notice forward remaining funds in the accounts of the district to the motor vehicle fund to be used to fund state transportation projects within the former district boundaries.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. ACCOUNTABILITY. To assure accountability to the public for the timely construction of the transportation project or projects within cost projections, the district shall issue an annual report to the public. In the report, the district shall indicate the status of project costs, project expenditures, revenues, construction schedules, and major changes by the board to the voter-approved plan. The district shall issue additional reports as warranted to communicate major changes in scope, cost, design, or other project issues.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. CAPTIONS. Section captions used in this chapter are not part of the law.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. EMERGENCY CLAUSE. 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 immediately.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. CODIFICATION. Sections 1 through 14 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 81 RCW.