Brief Description: Modifying citizen oversight of toll charges.

Sponsors: By Representatives Kilmer, Woods, Lantz, Appleton, Green and Hasegawa.

House Committee on Transportation
Senate Committee on Transportation

Background:

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge toll project is authorized in statute. Toll projects developed under statute require an advisory vote if there is opposition to the project demonstrated by the submission of petitions bearing at least 5,000 signatures opposing the project and delivered to the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) within 90 days after project selection. The WSDOT is required to conduct a study of traffic patterns and economic impact to determine the boundaries of the affected project area. The registered voters in the affected project area are eligible to participate in the advisory vote. The affected project area for the Tacoma Narrows Bridge project includes all of Clallam, Jefferson, Kitsap, and Thurston counties, and portions of Mason, Pierce, and King counties.

A citizen advisory committee is required for each project developed under the Public, Private Initiative statute. The nine committee members are appointed by the Governor and must be permanent residents of the affected project area. The Citizen Advisory Committee advises the Transportation Commission, the toll setting authority, on all matters relating to the setting of tolls. No toll charge may be imposed or modified unless the Citizen Advisory Committee has been given at least 20 days to review and comment on the proposed toll schedule.

The Tacoma Narrows Bridge project is currently under construction and is scheduled to begin collecting tolls in April, 2007. As of April 2005, the members of the Citizen Advisory Committee have not been appointed.

Summary:

The members of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge Citizen Advisory Committee must be appointed proportionately from those areas which generate the most traffic as determined by a traffic analysis.

The Citizen Advisory Committee is given additional direction to examine the feasibility of toll discounts for frequent users, senior citizens, students, and electronic transponder users. In addition to the discounts, the Citizen Advisory Committee is to examine the trade-off of providing discounts versus the early retirement of the debt. The Citizen Advisory Committee is also directed to examine variable or time-of-day pricing.

Votes on Final Passage:

House   91   2
Senate   44   0   (Senate amended)
House   95   0   (House concurred)

Effective: July 24, 2005