BILL REQ. #:  H-4136.1 

Read first time 01/26/2004.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to transportation funding; adding a new section to chapter 46.16 RCW; creating a new section; and providing an effective date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 46.16 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) In addition to all other license fees, passenger cars, travel trailers, and motor homes shall pay an annual roadway improvement fee of one and one-half cents per vehicle pound based on the vehicle curb weight. In addition, vehicles licensed under RCW 46.16.070 weighing less than ten thousand pounds shall pay an annual roadway improvement fee of one and one-half cents per pound based on the vehicle curb weight.
     (2) The department shall collect the fee annually at the time of license renewal. The department shall rely on vehicle curb weights as provided by vehicle manufacturers to determine the weight of each vehicle type. The department shall adopt rules to handle vehicles without manufacturer curb weights, such as home-built vehicles.
     (3) The fee collected under this section must be deposited into the motor vehicle account. Two-thirds of the revenue will be used by the state exclusively for highway improvement projects. The remainder will be divided equally between counties and cities and distributed monthly to counties and cities by the state treasurer. A particular county's distribution will be based on the number of vehicles registered in that county as a percentage of the state's total registrations, and a particular city's distribution will be based on its population as a percentage of the state's total population living within incorporated areas.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   This act applies to license renewals occurring on or after January 1, 2005.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   This act takes effect January 1, 2005.