Brief Description: Modifying regional transportation governance provisions.

Sponsors: By House Committee on Transportation (originally sponsored by Representatives Murray, Dickerson, Appleton and Simpson).

House Committee on Transportation
Senate Committee on Transportation

Background:

Overview - Regional Transportation Governance and Planning

Within the Central Puget Sound Region, transportation planning, funding, development, and services are provided by numerous public agencies. These include: the Department of Transportation (DOT), responsible for state highways within the region; four county governments; 87 cities; six public transportation agencies including the Seattle Monorail Authority; the three-county Regional Transit Authority (RTA, or Sound Transit); Washington State Ferries, a division of the DOT, operating both auto and passenger-only ferry service; and several port districts. In addition, in 2002, a Regional Transportation Investment District (RTID) was authorized for the purpose of planning, funding, and building projects to address highway corridor needs in King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties.

Regional Transportation Investment District

Implementation of the RTID requires at least two contiguous counties forming the district and requires the establishment of a planning committee to develop a plan for transportation investments in the three-county district and identification of revenue options to fund them. The planning committee comprises the council members of King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties. County council members' votes are weighted proportionally to population. The Secretary of Transportation is a non-voting member. The planning committee elects a seven-member executive board to carry out its duties, subject to full committee approval.

The RTID boundaries are coextensive with the boundaries of the contiguous counties that established the district. There is no opportunity for a portion of the district to be exempt from the district, once it is created.

Projects eligible for the RTID funding, and which may be included in a regional transportation investment plan, are capital improvements to: (1) highways of statewide significance including new lanes and earthquake repairs; (2) highways of statewide significance, which may include High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes and associated multimodal capital improvements that support public transportation, vans, and buses; and (3) under specified conditions, certain city streets, county roads, or highways that intersect with highways of statewide significance; however, not more than 10 percent of district funds nor more than $1 billion may be expended on local projects, and one-third local matching funds for the projects are required. The use of funds for operations, preservation, and maintenance of the RTID projects is prohibited.

The county legislative authorities within the district may certify the plan to the ballot, as a single ballot measure to approve or disapprove the regional transportation investment plan. County legislative authorities are not required to adopt or not adopt, by ordinance, the plan prior to submitting a measure to the voters.

The RTID was initially granted various tax options including, up to: 0.5 percent sales tax; $100 annual vehicle license fee; 0.3 percent Motor Vehicle Exise Tax (MVET); employer tax; parking fee; and limited tolling authority. In 2003, the RTID was authorized to sell bonds, and the RTID, or counties for RTID purposes, were authorized a local option fuel tax at 10 percent of the state fuel tax rate. A RTID and counties, for city and county road purposes, may not impose the tax at the same time. The RTID is authorized to collect tolls on facilities where lanes are added or the lanes are reconstructed by the RTID. Such tolls need not be approved by the state Transportation Commission. The Department of Transportation (DOT) may construct toll facilities that are sponsored by a RTID. A RTID is not authorized to impose a network value pricing charge based on vehicle miles traveled for users in the district.

The RTID executive board began developing a plan for improvements and adopted a revenue plan in March 2004. This plan identified a $13.2 billion revenue package, which included a joint ballot proposition with Sound Transit. A draft investment plan was adopted by the executive board in April 2004. After the business community advised the RTID executive board that it would not support a fall 2004 ballot measure, and Sound Transit did not vote to join the ballot issue, the 2004 plan did not go to the ballot. As of January 2006, the executive board is developing a new plan. No date has been set for the new plan to go to the ballot.

Regional Transit Authority

Two or more contiguous counties each having a population of 400,000 persons or more may establish a RTA to develop and operate a high capacity transportation system. A high capacity transportation system is an urban public transportation system that operates principally on exclusive rights-of-way and provides a substantially higher level of passenger capacity, speed, and service frequency than traditional public transportation systems operating mainly on general purpose roadways. Sound Transit is the RTA established by King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties.

In the 1990s, Sound Transit developed and adopted a system and financing plan which, among other things, identified revenues expected to be generated by corridor and county, phasing of construction and operation of high capacity system facilities, and the degree to which revenues generated within each county would benefit the residents of that county including when such benefits would accrue. Sound Transit is preparing the second phase of its development and finance plan.
   
Local Transit Agency Governance

Local transit agencies such as King County Metro, Community Transit, Everett Transit, and Pierce County Transit are established by and subject to separate statutory provisions. They are not subject to any centralized governance.

Coordination of Regional Transportation Governance and Planning

The number of agencies involved in transportation planning and delivery of services has significantly added to the complexity of transportation programs. Public polling and focus group results indicate public confusion regarding transportation decision making, planning, and funding, and public concern over ensuring efficiency, accountability, and coordinated action among transportation planning entities.

Agencies involved in transportation planning, funding, and operation are separately governed and not required to coordinate their development of regional transportation investment plans or submission of ballot measures to the people.

Summary:

The Regional Transportation Commission (Commission) is created with several powers and duties related to evaluating regional transportation issues and developing a regional transportation governance proposal. The Commission is comprised of nine members, all private citizens appointed by the Governor, plus the Secretary of the DOT as a nonvoting member.

The Commission must:

• evaluate a broad range of regional transportation governance issues, including transit agency boundary adjustments, consolidation options, and coordination of all agencies (including the DOT) that have a role in regional transportation planning, funding, and operations;
• develop a proposal that includes an option for forming a permanent, directly elected regional transportation governing entity, as well as the governing entity's finance strategy, authorized revenue sources, and planning authority; and
• submit its governance proposal to the 2007 Legislature.

The RTID statutes are modified in several respects.

• The RTID is allowed to change its boundaries to be contiguous with regional transit authority boundaries. The peninsula portion of Pierce County is prohibited from inclusion in the RTID.
• The RTID must submit its finance plan as a common ballot measure along with a Sound Transit Phase 2 plan at the 2007 general election, and is permitted to have a ballot title exceeding 75 words.
• The local match contribution required of local jurisdictions toward certain RTID projects is reduced from one-third to 15 percent.
• The authorized sales and use tax that the RTID may impose is capped at 0.1 percent.
• The RTID's authority to impose a motor vehicle excise tax is increased to 0.8 percent, and the RTID may spend MVET revenue on any project contained in its plan.
• The RTID's tolling authority is broadened and specifically includes either or both Lake Washington bridges.
• The RTID keeps the interest on its state treasury accounts.
• The list of eligible projects which the RTID may fund is expanded to permit operations, preservation, and maintenance of tolled facilities backed by bond contracts, and is required to include operational expenses for traffic mitigation relating to construction mitigation arising from specific projects in the RTID plan.

Neither the RTID nor Sound Transit may submit a new ballot measure to the voters prior to the 2007 general election. Each entity must submit a finance plan to voters in 2007, and neither plan may be approved unless the other plan is also approved. For a county to participate in a RTID plan, the county legislative authorities must adopt an ordinance indicating that county's participation in the plan.

After December 1, 2007, King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties may establish single-county Regional Transportation Investment Districts and transportation benefit districts for broadly defined local transportation projects.

The RTID plan must contain an SR 520 proposal that provides full project funding for seismic safety and corridor connectivity on the SR 520 project between Interstate 5 and Interstate 405. Prior to commencing construction on the 520 bridge project, the DOT must also have a record of decision providing reasonable assurances to affected cities and towns that the project impacts of the SR 520 bridge replacement and HOV project will be addressed in some manner.

An expert review panel is established for the Alaskan Way viaduct and Seattle seawall replacement project and the State Route 520 bridge replacement and HOV project to review project finance plans and implementation plans on each project and report its findings by September 1, 2006, to the Governor. Seattle voters or the Seattle City Council must indicate the choice of preferred alternative on the Alaskan Way project by early November 2006. The Governor must make a finding of whether the finance and project implementation plans on the Alaskan Way and SR 520 projects are feasible and sufficient.

Environmental and financial planning work must be completed on both the Alaskan Way viaduct and Seattle seawall replacement project and the State Route 520 bridge replacement and HOV project before the Department of Transportation may commence construction on either project.

Votes on Final Passage:

House   71   26
Senate   36   10   (Senate amended)
House Refuses to Concur
Senate   38   7   (Senate amended)
House   70   28   (House concurred)

Effective: June 7, 2006
         July 1, 2006 (Section 23)