BILL REQ. #:  S-2166.1 

Read first time 03/01/2005.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to commute trip reduction grants; and amending RCW 70.94.996.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 70.94.996 and 2004 c 229 s 501 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) To the extent that funds are appropriated, the department of transportation shall administer a performance-based grant program for private employers, public agencies, nonprofit organizations, developers, and property managers who provide financial incentives for ride sharing in vehicles carrying two or more persons, for using public transportation, for using car sharing, or for using nonmotorized commuting, including telework, before July 1, 2013, to their own or other employees.
     (2) The amount of the grant will be determined based on the value to the transportation system of the vehicle trips reduced. The commute trip reduction task force shall develop an award rate giving priority to applications achieving the greatest reduction in trips and commute miles per public dollar requested and considering the following criteria: The local cost of providing new highway capacity, congestion levels, sustainability of trips reduced, and geographic distribution.
     (3) No private employer, public agency, nonprofit organization, developer, or property manager is eligible for grants under this section in excess of one hundred thousand dollars in any fiscal year.
     (4) The commute trip reduction task force shall develop an application process that may award grants for cost-effective projects of up to five years in length.
     (5) The total of grants provided under this section may not exceed seven hundred fifty thousand dollars in any fiscal year. However, this subsection does not apply during the 2003-2005 fiscal biennium.
     (((5))) (6) The department of transportation shall report to the department of revenue by the 15th day of each month the aggregate monetary amount of grants provided under this section in the prior month and the identity of the recipients of those grants.
     (((6))) (7) The source of funds for this grant program is the multimodal transportation account.
     (((7))) (8) This section expires January 1, 2014.