BILL REQ. #:  S-2220.1 



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SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5941
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State of Washington58th Legislature2003 Regular Session

By Senate Committee on Highways & Transportation (originally sponsored by Senators Swecker, Haugen, Horn, Oke and Shin)

READ FIRST TIME 03/10/03.   



     AN ACT Relating to the Washington commerce corridor; creating new sections; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   LEGISLATIVE INTENT. The legislature finds that:
     (1) The existing I-5 corridor in Western Washington regularly experiences traffic congestion such that the efficient movement of freight, goods, services, and people is impeded;
     (2) The cost to improve the I-5 corridor in the urban areas is very high and in some cases not possible due to a built-up environment surrounding the existing freeway system;
     (3) The state needs a long-range vision for improving, and providing for, the north-south movement of freight, goods, services, and people in and through the state in order to achieve economic competitiveness;
     (4) A new commerce corridor may provide an alternative to the existing I-5 corridor;
     (5) A new commerce corridor may be built to minimize environmental impacts and provide benefits to communities affected by the corridor;
     (6) A new commerce corridor might be efficiently funded and built by private companies working in cooperation with the state and local communities; and
     (7) Funds for the project might be raised using an innovative approach that can aid by leveraging tolls and raising revenues from nontraditional transportation revenue sources.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   DEFINITIONS. As used in this act:
     (1) "Corridor" refers to the Washington commerce corridor described in section 3 of this act;
     (2) "Department" refers to the Washington state department of transportation;
     (3) "Facility" means infrastructure and capital-related additions to the state's transportation system, including but not limited to highways, roads, bridges, park and ride lots, rail tracks, rail stations, and other transportation-related investments;
     (4) "Public utility facility" means a track, pipe, main, conduit, cable, wire, tower, pole, or other item of equipment or an appliance of a public utility.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   WASHINGTON COMMERCE CORRIDOR DEFINED. (1) The Washington commerce corridor may be an alternative route to Interstate 5 that facilitates the movement of freight, goods, people, and utilities.
     (2) The Washington commerce corridor must be a north-south corridor starting in the vicinity of Lewis county and extending northerly to the vicinity of the Canadian border. The corridor must be situated east of state route number 405 and west of the Cascades. The corridor may include any of the following features:
     (a) Ability to carry long-haul freight;
     (b) Ability to provide for passenger auto travel;
     (c) Freight rail;
     (d) Passenger rail;
     (e) Public utilities; and
     (f) Other ancillary facilities as may be desired to maximize use of the corridor.
     (3) The Washington commerce corridor must be developed, financed, designed, constructed, and operated by private sector consortiums. The department may solicit proposals from private companies and enter into agreements with selected companies, if authorized by the legislative transportation committee.
     (4) The Washington commerce corridor, if further pursued by the legislature, must be subject to a joint permitting process involving federal, state, and local agencies with jurisdiction.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   CONCEPTUAL PROPOSAL. To aid the legislature in its determination of whether a commerce corridor should be advanced for further study and consideration, the department shall retain outside experts to conduct an initial study to assess the key issues. This study information is intended to be used by the legislature to consider whether further investments for corridor development should be pursued by either the public or private sectors. The department shall submit to the 2005 legislature a study that identifies the key issues involved with the corridor proposal. Issues that must be addressed in the study include, but are not limited to:
     (1) Definition of project features, including:
     (a) Potential alignments;
     (b) Estimate of the right of way requirements;
     (c) Estimate of operating standards. In order to arrive at an estimate of operating standards, private companies and other stakeholders must be consulted to recommend level of service standards and other requirements for the construction and operation of the facility;
     (d) Potential traffic projections;
     (e) Potential environmental impacts; and
     (f) Potential economic benefits and impacts;
     (2) Preliminary financial information, including:
     (a) Estimated cost ranges to develop, construct, and operate the corridor;
     (b) Estimate of revenues that could be derived from tolls on the corridor;
     (c) Estimate of revenues that could be derived from other sources including, but not limited to:
     (i) Air space leases for commercial developments;
     (ii) Facilities leases;
     (iii) Development rights;
     (iv) Leases of right of way for commercial purposes;
     (v) Other revenue-generating ideas; and
     (vi) Eligibility of the corridor for federal and state sources of funding; and
     (d) Potential sources of revenues that could be leveraged to provide funds for developing, constructing, and operating the corridor;
     (3) Examination of the legal issues and necessary statutory provisions to enter into an agreement with a private consortium to carry out the corridor project. These issues include but are not limited to:
     (a) A discussion of the terms and conditions of agreements necessary to implement the proposal with a private company; and
     (b) Agreement provisions that may be required in order for the private companies to finance, construct, and operate the corridor.
     Legal experts must be consulted to develop preliminary terms and conditions of agreements that would be required to have private companies develop, finance, construct, and operate the corridor. Potential private partners must be consulted to examine the legal structure and desirable agreement provisions for a successful partnership to develop the project;
     (4) Identification of potential environmental issues, including:
     (a) Initial assessment of known environmental impacts; and
     (b) Assessment and recommendations for an efficient approach to environmental permitting; and
     (5) Identification of the potential community issues that might be raised and strategies for addressing any potential concerns.
     The department shall contract with expert consultant teams to conduct the initial study and identification of issues. The department shall assist with the study to the extent resources are appropriated for this purpose.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   LEGISLATIVE APPROVAL. By December 1, 2004, the department shall submit the study findings on the conceptual corridor proposal to the legislative transportation committee. The legislative transportation committee shall recommend to the legislature whether the department shall seek proposals from private companies to develop the corridor. The recommendation must include proposed legislation that sets forth the framework for the agreements that the department may enter into for the project. If the legislature does not enact legislation authorizing a solicitation of proposals, the department shall not pursue further investigation of the commerce corridor.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   EXPIRATION. This act expires January 31, 2005.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   CAPTIONS. Captions used in this act are not part of the law.

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