Brief Description: Modifying transportation accounts and revenue distributions.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on Transportation (originally sponsored by Senator Haugen).

Senate Committee on Transportation
House Committee on Transportation

Background: The sixteen-year transportation financial plan enacted by the Legislature in 2005 relies on numerous, ongoing budgetary transfers to support planned expenditures.

The 2005 transportation revenue bill (ESSB 6103) authorized the State Auditor to conduct performance audits for transportation-related agencies and appropriated $4 million for this purpose. However, on November 8, 2005, voters approved Initiative 900 (I-900) requiring the State Auditor to conduct performance audits of state and local governments, including "state and local transportation governmental entities and each of their agencies, accounts and programs...." I-900 dedicates a percentage of the state sales and use tax for this purpose.

ESSB 6103 also included language stating that if a regional transportation funding plan has not been adopted by 2007, the Legislature intends to reprioritize allocation of funding for projects identified in the 2005 financial plan.

Summary: Planned, future transfers in support of the 2005 financial plan are codified as statutory distributions. Two funds are also created in support of the financial plan including the Freight Mobility Multimodal Account and the Regional Mobility Grant Program Account. Both accounts are subject to appropriation and retain their own interest.

In response to the passage of I-900 and subsequent elimination of the Transportation Performance Audit Board (TPAB), all references to TPAB are removed from ESSB 6103. Language concerning legislative intent to reprioritize the state transportation financial plan if a regional transportation funding plan is not adopted by 2007 is also repealed.

Lastly, Capron Act fuel tax refunds are capped at the twenty-three cents per gallon fuel excise tax rate. Fuel tax receipts above the twenty-three cents per gallon excise tax rate from the affected counties are deposited to the Puget Sound Ferry Operations Account as a means to limit future ferry-fare increases to two-and-one-half percent per biennium.

Votes on Final Passage:

Senate      26   15
House      92   6   (House amended)
Senate            (Senate refused to concur)

Conference Committee
House      92   6
Senate      44   2

Effective:   March 24, 2006 (Section 7)
         July 1, 2006 (Section 1 and 11)
         June 7, 2006