BILL REQ. #:  H-2528.1 

READ FIRST TIME 03/07/05.   

     AN ACT Relating to modifying goals for the planning, operation, and performance of and investment in the state transportation system; and amending RCW 47.01.012.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 47.01.012 and 2002 c 5 s 101 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) It is the intent of the legislature to establish policy goals for the planning, operation, performance of, and investment in, the state's transportation system. The policy goals shall ((consist of, but not be limited to, the following benchmark categories,)) be consistent with the benchmark categories adopted by the state's Blue Ribbon Commission on Transportation on November 30, 2000. In addition to improving safety, public investments in transportation shall support achievement of these and other priority goals:
     ((No interstate highways, state routes, and local arterials shall be in poor condition; no bridges shall be structurally deficient, and safety retrofits shall be performed on those state bridges at the highest seismic risk levels; traffic congestion on urban state highways shall be significantly reduced and be no worse than the national mean; delay per driver shall be significantly reduced and no worse than the national mean; per capita vehicle miles traveled shall be maintained at 2000 levels; the nonauto share of commuter trips shall be increased in urban areas; administrative costs as a percentage of transportation spending shall achieve the most efficient quartile nationally; and the state's public transit agencies shall achieve the median cost per vehicle revenue hour of peer transit agencies, adjusting for the regional cost-of-living.))
     (a) Maintaining the existing system. The state's transportation system, including interstate highways, state routes, bridges, and local arterials, shall be maintained and preserved at an optimal percentage life-cycle rating;
     (b) Managing the existing system. The performance of the state's transportation system shall be measured, and transportation agencies will manage to achieve levels of service that improve system performance over time for all transportation users; and
     (c) Investing in the system. Capacity investment decisions relating to the state's transportation system shall optimize performance for multiple modes of use and be based on differential performance standards for off-peak and peak hours.
     (2) These policy goals shall be the basis for establishment of detailed and measurable performance benchmarks.
     (3) It is the intent of the legislature that the transportation commission, its successor entity, or any other citizen oversight panel created by the legislature, shall establish performance measures to ensure transportation system performance meets the goals established in subsection (1) of this section at local, regional, and state government levels, and the transportation commission should work with appropriate government entities to accomplish this.
     (4) It is further the intent of the legislature that the transportation commission, or its successor entity, will include in its biennial budget submission to the legislature the percentage life-cycle ratings, transportation service levels, and performance standards funded by the proposed budget. In adopting the final budget, the legislature will make such changes to those standards as it feels necessary to balance the transportation needs and economic capabilities of the state and document the resulting changes to the budget findings.