BILL REQ. #:  H-3919.1 

Read first time 01/17/2006.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to the use of high-occupancy vehicle lanes by alternative fuel vehicles; and amending RCW 46.61.165 and 47.52.025.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 46.61.165 and 1999 c 206 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     The state department of transportation and the local authorities are authorized to reserve all or any portion of any highway under their respective jurisdictions, including any designated lane or ramp, for the exclusive or preferential use of public transportation vehicles or private motor vehicles carrying no fewer than a specified number of passengers when such limitation will increase the efficient utilization of the highway or will aid in the conservation of energy resources. The department shall open any such lanes to use by single-occupant alternative fuel vehicles. As used in this section, "alternative fuel vehicle" means passenger cars, light duty trucks, and medium duty passenger vehicles that use as motor vehicle fuel: Natural gas, propane, hydrogen, electricity, or a combination of electricity and gasoline, and the vehicle has a United States environmental protection agency highway gasoline mileage rating of at least forty miles per gallon. Regulations authorizing such exclusive or preferential use of a highway facility may be declared to be effective at all times or at specified times of day or on specified days. Violation of a restriction of highway usage prescribed by the appropriate authority under this section is a traffic infraction.

Sec. 2   RCW 47.52.025 and 1974 ex.s. c 133 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     Highway authorities of the state, counties, and incorporated cities and towns, in addition to the specific powers granted in this chapter, shall also have, and may exercise, relative to limited access facilities, any and all additional authority, now or hereafter vested in them relative to highways or streets within their respective jurisdictions, and may regulate, restrict, or prohibit the use of such limited access facilities by various classes of vehicles or traffic. Such highway authorities may reserve any limited access facility or portions thereof, including designated lanes or ramps for the exclusive or preferential use of public transportation vehicles, privately owned buses, or private motor vehicles carrying not less than a specified number of passengers when such limitation will increase the efficient utilization of the highway facility or will aid in the conservation of energy resources. The department shall open any such lanes to use by single-occupant alternative fuel vehicles. As used in this section, "alternative fuel vehicle" means passenger cars, light duty trucks, and medium duty passenger vehicles that use as motor vehicle fuel: Natural gas, propane, hydrogen, electricity, or a combination of electricity and gasoline, and the vehicle has a United States environmental protection agency highway gasoline mileage rating of at least forty miles per gallon. Regulations authorizing such exclusive or preferential use of a highway facility may be declared to be effective at all time or at specified times of day or on specified days.