Brief Description: Modifying city and town use of state fuel tax distributions.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on Transportation (originally sponsored by Senators Swecker, Haugen, Esser and Spanel).

Senate Committee on Transportation
House Committee on Transportation

Background: RCW 46.68.110 governs the allocation of the 10.9691 percent of statewide fuel tax revenues distributed to cities and towns.

The statute mandates that 31.86 percent of the funds distributed to cities and towns be used for certain purposes depending on the size of the city or town. For cities and towns with a population of fifteen thousand or more, these funds can only be used for the construction, improvement, chip sealing, seal coating and repair of arterial highways and city streets. For cities and towns with a population of less than fifteen thousand, the funds can only be used for the maintenance of arterial highways and city streets.

Summary: The bill removes the restrictions on the uses of funds for cities and towns regardless of size as measured by population. However, as fuel tax revenue, the funds remain restricted to highway purposes as set forth in the 18th amendment to the Washington State Constitution.

Votes on Final Passage:

Senate      48   1
House      94   0

Effective: July 24, 2005