BILL REQ. #:  H-4265.1 

Read first time 01/22/2004.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to value pricing for limited access highway lanes; and adding new sections to chapter 47.56 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature recognizes the need to provide enhanced mobility within existing transportation corridors. For highways, this can be achieved with new and innovative programs that dynamically manage highway capacity through variable pricing. The legislature intends to create a program allowing construction of new highway toll lanes, or conversion of existing high-occupancy vehicle lanes when the adjacent lane will also be operated as a highway toll lane. Any revenues net of facility operations and maintenance derived from toll charges should be reinvested within the same corridor to increase transit and carpool service.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   "High-occupancy toll lanes" means one or more lanes of a highway that charge tolls as a means of regulating access to, or the use of the facility, to maintain travel speed and reliability. Supporting facilities include, but are not limited to, approaches, enforcement areas, improvements, buildings, and equipment.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   The department may provide for the establishment, construction, and operation of new high-occupancy toll lanes. The department has the same powers related to high-occupancy toll lane facilities as it has for other transportation facilities under chapters 47.01 and 47.28 RCW.
     The department may convert existing high-occupancy vehicle lanes into toll lanes only when an adjacent lane will also be operated as a high-occupancy toll lane.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   The department shall establish a desirable miles-per-hour operating standard for all lanes of the highway facility. In no event may the operating speed for transit buses, carpools, or single-occupant vehicles in a high-occupancy toll lane be permitted to drop below forty-five miles per hour during less than ninety percent of peak period. The toll charge for single-occupant vehicle users of high-occupancy toll lanes must vary by level of congestion within the highway facility to ensure that the miles per hour operating standard in any high-occupancy vehicle lane, or in any high-occupancy vehicle lane converted to high-occupancy toll lane operations, is not degraded.
     Tolls for high-occupancy toll lanes must be automatically adjusted dynamically to ensure that this standard is met. The toll charge may vary in amount by time of day, level of traffic congestion within the highway facility, vehicle occupancy, or other criteria as deemed appropriate by the department.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   The department shall report annually to the transportation commission and the legislature on the policies, operations, and effectiveness of high-occupancy toll lanes. The report must analyze and address the impacts on freeway efficiency, effectiveness for transit, ability to finance transportation services or improvements through tolls, and the impacts on all highway users.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   Revenues generated from toll charges on high-occupancy toll lanes may be used only for transportation services within, or directly connecting to, that transportation corridor that maximizes movement of people. All revenues derived from toll charges must be deposited into a special account within the multimodal transportation fund and used only for purposes authorized in this section.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   Sections 1 through 6 of this act are each added to chapter 47.56 RCW.