5735-S2.E AMH SHOR FORD 238

E2SSB 5735 - H AMD TO H AMD (H-3143.4/09) 656

By Representative Ericksen

FAILED 4/14/2009

On page 1, line 3 of the striking amendment, after "FINDINGS." Strike all material through "title." on page 11, line 17 and insert "Washington is already a leader in promoting the development of alternative energy resources and new technology that improves the health of our environment. The legislature further finds that Washington represents only three-tenths of one percent of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions.

The legislature further finds that climate change policies should address climate change adaptation strategies and ensure that greenhouse gas reduction policies do not conflict with the need to increase water storage, increase reliable electrical capacity, improve flood control mechanisms, and adopt forest management practices that proactively reduce forest fires and bark beetle infestation.
To help move Washington forward with positive solutions, Washington commits to the following:

(1) A bold new energy future that will protect our quality of life, provide future generations with expanded opportunities, and lay the foundation for expanded economic growth;

(2) Reducing dependence on foreign energy supplies through increased domestic production and technological advancement;

(3) Mobility freedom and the American dream of home ownership;

(4) Allowing citizens real options for moving between cities by construction of a high speed rail network connecting Seattle to Spokane and Bellingham to Vancouver.

(5) Maximizing private sector funding and private sector innovation while building a energy and transportation infrastructure for the future;

(6) Creating a business climate that promotes innovation and maximizes research and development into new technologies;

(7) Protecting citizens from excessive government regulations and high taxes; and

(8) The wise use of regulations to protect citizens from exploitation by corporate interests or governmental manipulation.

Washington can let individual and employer innovation drive the state to new technologies that reduce emissions and improve our quality of life. This is a climate action strategy built on real promises without hurting Washington's economy and raising costs for consumers.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. CARBONLESS ENERGY PARKS. (1) Washington shall commit to the formation of one carbonless energy park and the construction of four next generation nuclear generation facilities by 2050. The legislature finds that advances in technology have created opportunities for establishing additional nuclear-generated power in Washington. Nuclear-generated power has the potential to increase utilization of alternative energy, including providing additional power for converting Washington's motor vehicle fleet to electric cars and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The legislature intends to expedite the licensing, permitting, and regulatory processes for establishing additional nuclear-generated power in Washington through the creation of carbonless energy parks.
(2) A joint legislative task force on carbonless energy parks is established, with nine members as provided in this subsection:

(A) The majority leader of the senate shall appoint one member from each of the two largest caucuses of the senate;

(B) The speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint one member from each of the two largest caucuses of the house of representatives; and

(C) The governor shall appoint five members, including representatives from the executive branch and the nuclear industry.

(b) The majority leader of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives jointly shall appoint the co-chairs of the task force from among the legislative members of the task force. The co-chairs shall convene the initial meeting of the task force. A steering committee consisting of the legislative members of the task force shall advise the co-chairs on the meetings and other activities of the task force.

(3) The task force shall study establishment of one carbonless energy park in Washington for additional nuclear-generated power in Washington including, but not limited to, the following:

(a) An examination of advanced nuclear power reactors including, but not limited to, generations III and IV nuclear technologies;

(b) A review of the advanced nuclear technologies that are in operation in other countries;

(d) A review of the safety issues associated with operating and maintaining advanced nuclear power reactors;

(e) The estimated cost per kilowatt hour of nuclear energy generated by an advanced nuclear power reactor as compared to other energy resources, such as wind, solar, and hydroelectric;

(f) An examination of the licensing, permitting, or other regulatory costs associated with constructing an advanced nuclear power reactor in the state and methods to expedite the licensing, permitting, and regulatory compliance processes;

(g) A review of potential federal tax incentives that may be available to support advanced nuclear power reactor projects in Washington;

(h) A review of integrating additional nuclear generation into the electric grid;

(i) Maximizing private investment in additional nuclear generation; and

(j) Quantification of greenhouse gas reductions resulting from additional nuclear generation.

(4) Staff support for the task force will be provided by senate committee services and the house of representatives office of program research. The task force may hire additional staff with specific technical expertise if such expertise is necessary to carry out the mandates of this study, and only if an appropriation is specifically provided for this purpose.

(5) Legislative members of the task force shall be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 44.04.120. Nonlegislative members, except those representing an employer or organization, are entitled to be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.

(6) The expenses of the task force must be paid jointly by the senate and house of representatives. Task force expenditures are subject to approval by the senate facilities and operations committee and the house of representatives executive rules committee, or their successor committees.

(7) The task force shall report its findings and recommendations to the legislature by December 1, 2010.

(8) This section expires July 1, 2011.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. HIGH-SPEED RAIL. (1) Washington shall commit to the construction of a high-speed rail network. A joint select committee on high-speed rail is established. The committee shall consider, but is not limited to, developing a plan to build and finance a high-speed rail network running from Bellingham to Vancouver, Washington and from Seattle to Spokane.

(2) The speaker of the house of representatives and the majority leader of the senate shall select two members from each of the two largest caucuses in the house of representatives and each of the two largest caucuses in the senate to serve on the committee.

(3) The committee may seek assistance from other members of the senate and the house of representatives and other interested parties to provide advice and technical assistance.

(4) Staff support for the committee must be provided by the house of representatives office of program research and the senate committee services.

(5) Legislative members of the committee may be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 44.04.120.

(6) The expenses of the committee must be paid jointly by the senate and the house of representatives within existing funds. Committee expenditures are subject to approval by the senate facilities and operations committee and the house of representatives executive rules committee, or their successor committees.

(7) The committee shall examine and analyze the following items:

(a) The best available technology for a high-speed rail network based on the following criteria:

(i) Cost per mile for operation and construction;

(ii) Long-term costs;

(iii) Best top speed;

(iv) Flexibility;

(v) Ability to handle freight cargo;

(vi) Energy consumption; and

(vii) Reliability;

(b) Identification of potential rights-of-way and routes for new construction;

(i) Design/build/operate;

(ii) Sale of development rights;

(iii) The potential for private ownership of all or portions of a new rail system, the operations of a rail system, and operations of ancillary services associated with the rail line; and

(iv) Potential operating costs and public subsidies;

(d) Examination of opportunities to co-locate high-speed rail network tracks with a new power grid infrastructure;

(e) Quantification of economic development potential of constructing new rail lines; and

(f) Quantification of greenhouse gas reductions resulting from the establishment of high-speed rail in Washington.

(8) The committee shall report its findings and recommendations to the transportation committees of the house of representatives and the senate by December 1, 2010.

(9) This section expires July 1, 2011.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The legislature shall commit to recognizing hydropower as a renewable resource and investments in other renewable resources and conservation as contributions to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Sec. 5. RCW 19.285.030 and 2007 c 1 s 3 (Initiative Measure No. 937, approved November 7, 2006) are each amended to read as follows:

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) "Attorney general" means the Washington state office of the attorney general.

(2) "Auditor" means: (a) The Washington state auditor's office or its designee for qualifying utilities under its jurisdiction that are not investor‑owned utilities; or (b) an independent auditor selected by a qualifying utility that is not under the jurisdiction of the state auditor and is not an investor‑owned utility.

(3) "Commission" means the Washington state utilities and transportation commission.

(4) "Conservation" means any reduction in electric power consumption resulting from increases in the efficiency of energy use, production, or distribution and includes investment by a qualifying utility in smart grid technology.

(5) "Cost-effective" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 80.52.030.

(6) "Council" means the Washington state apprenticeship and training council within the department of labor and industries.

(7) "Customer" means a person or entity that purchases electricity for ultimate consumption and not for resale.

(8) "Department" means the department of community, trade, and economic development or its successor.

(9) "Distributed generation" means an eligible renewable resource where the generation facility or any integrated cluster of such facilities has a generating capacity of not more than five megawatts.

(10) "Eligible renewable resource" means:

(a) Electricity from a generation facility powered by a renewable resource ((~~other than fresh water that commences operation after March 31, 1999,~~))where: (i) The facility is located in the Pacific Northwest; or (ii) the electricity from the facility is delivered into Washington state ((~~on a real‑time basis without shaping, storage, or integration services; or~~

(b) Incremental electricity produced as a result of efficiency improvements completed after March 31, 1999, to hydroelectric generation projects owned by a qualifying utility and located in the Pacific Northwest or to hydroelectric generation in irrigation pipes and canals located in the Pacific Northwest, where the additional generation in either case does not result in new water diversions or impoundments)).

(11) "Investor-owned utility" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 19.29A.010.

(12) "Load" means the amount of kilowatt-hours of electricity delivered in the most recently completed year by a qualifying utility to its Washington retail customers.

(13) "Nonpower attributes" means all environmentally related characteristics, exclusive of energy, capacity reliability, and other electrical power service attributes, that are associated with the generation of electricity from a renewable resource, including but not limited to the facility's fuel type, geographic location, vintage, qualification as an eligible renewable resource, and avoided emissions of pollutants to the air, soil, or water, and avoided emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. For an anaerobic digester, its nonpower attributes may be separated into avoided emissions of carbon dioxide, and other greenhouse gases, and into renewable energy credits.

(14) "Pacific Northwest" has the same meaning as defined for the Bonneville power administration in section 3 of the Pacific Northwest electric power planning and conservation act (94 Stat. 2698; 16 U.S.C. Sec. 839a).

(15) "Public facility" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 39.35C.010.

(16) "Qualifying utility" means an electric utility, as the term "electric utility" is defined in RCW 19.29A.010, that serves more than twenty‑five thousand customers in the state of Washington. The number of customers served may be based on data reported by a utility in form 861, "annual electric utility report," filed with the energy information administration, United States department of energy.

(17) "Renewable energy credit" means a tradable certificate of proof of at least one megawatt-hour of an eligible renewable resource where the generation facility is not powered by fresh water, the certificate includes all of the nonpower attributes associated with that one megawatt-hour of electricity, and the certificate is verified by a renewable energy credit tracking system selected by the department.

(18) "Renewable resource" means: (a) Water; (b) wind; (c) solar energy; (d) geothermal energy; (e) landfill gas; (f) wave, ocean, or tidal power; (g) gas from sewage treatment facilities; (h) biodiesel fuel as defined in RCW 82.29A.135 that is not derived from crops raised on land cleared from old growth ((~~or first-growth~~)) forests where the clearing occurred after December 7, 2006; ((~~and~~)) (i) byproducts of pulping or wood manufacturing processes that are not derived from old growth forests, including but not limited to bark, wood chips, sawdust, and lignin in spent pulping liquors; (j) wooden demolition or construction debris; (k) black liquors derived from algae and other sources; and (l) biomass energy based on animal waste, food waste, yard waste, or solid organic fuels from wood, forest, or field residues, or dedicated energy crops that do not include (i) wood pieces that have been treated with chemical preservatives such as creosote, pentachlorophenol, or copper-chrome-arsenic; (ii) ((~~black liquor byproduct from paper production; (iii)~~)) wood from old growth forests; or ((~~(iv)~~)) (iii) municipal solid waste.

(19) "Rule" means rules adopted by an agency or other entity of Washington state government to carry out the intent and purposes of this chapter.

(20) "Year" means the twelve-month period commencing January 1st and ending December 31st.

Sec. 6. RCW 19.285.040 and 2007 c 1 s 4 (Initiative Measure No. 937, approved November 7, 2006) are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Each qualifying utility shall pursue all available conservation that is cost-effective, reliable, and feasible.

(a) By January 1, 2010, using methodologies consistent with those used by the Pacific Northwest electric power and conservation planning council in its most recently published regional power plan, each qualifying utility shall identify its achievable cost-effective conservation potential through 2019. At least every two years thereafter, the qualifying utility shall review and update this assessment for the subsequent ten-year period.

(b) Beginning January 2010, each qualifying utility shall establish and make publicly available a biennial acquisition target for cost-effective conservation consistent with its identification of achievable opportunities in (a) of this subsection, and meet that target during the subsequent two-year period. At a minimum, each biennial acquisition target must be no lower than the qualifying utility's pro rata share for that two-year period of its cost-effective conservation potential for the subsequent ten-year period.

(c) In meeting its conservation targets, a qualifying utility may count high-efficiency cogeneration owned and used by a retail electric customer to meet its own needs. High-efficiency cogeneration is the sequential production of electricity and useful thermal energy from a common fuel source, where, under normal operating conditions, the facility has a useful thermal energy output of no less than thirty-three percent of the total energy output. The reduction in load due to high-efficiency cogeneration shall be: (i) Calculated as the ratio of the fuel chargeable to power heat rate of the cogeneration facility compared to the heat rate on a new and clean basis of a best‑commercially available technology combined‑cycle natural gas‑fired combustion turbine; and (ii) counted towards meeting the biennial conservation target in the same manner as other conservation savings.

(d) The commission may determine if a conservation program implemented by an investor-owned utility is cost‑effective based on the commission's policies and practice.

(e) The commission may rely on its standard practice for review and approval of investor‑owned utility conservation targets.

(2)(a) Each qualifying utility shall use eligible renewable resources ((or)), acquire equivalent renewable energy credits, or use conservation under subsection (1) of this section, or a combination of ((~~both~~)) these options, to meet the following annual targets:

(i) At least three percent of its load by January 1, 2012, and each year thereafter through December 31, 2015;

(ii) At least nine percent of its load by January 1, 2016, and each year thereafter through December 31, 2019; and

(iii) At least fifteen percent of its load by January 1, 2020, and each year thereafter.

(b) A qualifying utility may count distributed generation at double the facility's electrical output if the utility: (i) Owns or has contracted for the distributed generation and the associated renewable energy credits; or (ii) has contracted to purchase the associated renewable energy credits.

(c) In meeting the annual targets in (a) of this subsection, a qualifying utility shall calculate its annual load based on the average of the utility's load for the previous two years.

(d) A qualifying utility shall be considered in compliance with an annual target in (a) of this subsection if: (i) The utility's weather-adjusted load for the previous three years on average did not increase over that time period; (ii) after December 7, 2006, the utility did not commence or renew ownership or incremental purchases of electricity from resources other than renewable resources other than on a daily spot price basis and the electricity is not offset by equivalent renewable energy credits; and (iii) the utility invested at least one percent of its total annual retail revenue requirement that year on eligible renewable resources, renewable energy credits, or a combination of both.

(e) The requirements of this section may be met for any given year with renewable energy credits produced during that year, the preceding year, or the subsequent year. Each renewable energy credit may be used only once to meet the requirements of this section.

(f) In complying with the targets established in (a) of this subsection, a qualifying utility may not count:

(i) Eligible renewable resources or distributed generation where the associated renewable energy credits are owned by a separate entity; or

(ii) Eligible renewable resources or renewable energy credits obtained for and used in an optional pricing program such as the program established in RCW 19.29A.090.

(g) Where fossil and combustible renewable resources are cofired in one generating unit located in the Pacific Northwest where the cofiring commenced after March 31, 1999, the unit shall be considered to produce eligible renewable resources in direct proportion to the percentage of the total heat value represented by the heat value of the renewable resources.

(h)(i) A qualifying utility that acquires an eligible renewable resource or renewable energy credit may count that acquisition at one and two-tenths times its base value:

(A) Where the eligible renewable resource comes from a facility that commenced operation after December 31, 2005; and

(B) Where the developer of the facility used apprenticeship programs approved by the council during facility construction.

(ii) The council shall establish minimum levels of labor hours to be met through apprenticeship programs to qualify for this extra credit.

(i) A qualifying utility shall be considered in compliance with an annual target in (a) of this subsection if events beyond the reasonable control of the utility that could not have been reasonably anticipated or ameliorated prevented it from meeting the renewable energy target. Such events include weather‑related damage, mechanical failure, strikes, lockouts, and actions of a governmental authority that adversely affect the generation, transmission, or distribution of an eligible renewable resource under contract to a qualifying utility.

(j) A qualifying utility that invests in smart grid technology may count that investment at three times its base value.

(3) Utilities that become qualifying utilities after December 31, 2006, shall meet the requirements in this section on a time frame comparable in length to that provided for qualifying utilities as of December 7, 2006.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. The legislature shall commit the life sciences discovery fund created in RCW 43.350.070 to new technologies and efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Sec. 8. RCW 43.350.030 and 2005 c 424 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

In addition to other powers and duties prescribed in this chapter, the authority is empowered to:

(1) Use public moneys in the life sciences discovery fund, leveraging those moneys with amounts received from other public and private sources in accordance with contribution agreements, to promote life sciences research;

(2) Solicit and receive gifts, grants, and bequests, and enter into contribution agreements with private entities and public entities other than the state to receive moneys in consideration of the authority's promise to leverage those moneys with amounts received through appropriations from the legislature and contributions from other public entities and private entities, in order to use those moneys to promote life sciences research. Nonstate moneys received by the authority for this purpose shall be deposited in the life sciences discovery fund created in RCW 43.350.070;

(3) Hold funds received by the authority in trust for their use pursuant to this chapter to promote life sciences research;

(4) Manage its funds, obligations, and investments as necessary and as consistent with its purpose including the segregation of revenues into separate funds and accounts;

(5) Make grants to entities pursuant to contract for the promotion of life sciences research to be conducted in the state. Grant agreements shall specify deliverables to be provided by the recipient pursuant to the grant. The authority shall solicit requests for funding and evaluate the requests by reference to factors such as: (a) The quality of the proposed research; (b) its potential to improve health and climate outcomes, with particular attention to the likelihood that it will also lower health care costs, substitute for a more costly diagnostic or treatment modality, create new technologies to reduce anthropologic impact on our living environment, or offer a breakthrough treatment for a particular disease or condition; (c) its potential for leveraging additional funding; (d) its potential to provide health care benefits or benefit human learning and development; (e) its potential to stimulate the health care delivery, biomedical manufacturing, and private sector life sciences related employment in the state; (f) the geographic diversity of the grantees within Washington; (g) evidence of potential royalty income and contractual means to recapture such income for purposes of this chapter; and (h) evidence of public and private collaboration;

(6) Create one or more advisory boards composed of scientists, industrialists, and others familiar with life sciences research; and

(7) Adopt policies and procedures to facilitate the orderly process of grant application, review, and reward.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. TAX INCENTIVES FOR CARBON REDUCTION EQUIPMENT. A new section is added to chapter 82.16 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The legislature shall commit to providing tax incentives for employers to reduce carbon emissions through new technology and innovation. These incentives will help create jobs and improve the environment.

(2) A light and power business is allowed a credit against taxes due under this chapter in an amount equal to fifty percent of the cost of purchasing: (a) Carbon reduction equipment; (b) repair and replacement parts for carbon reduction equipment; and (c) labor and services rendered in respect to carbon reduction equipment.

(3) The credit under this section is only available to light and power businesses subject to the annual reporting requirements under RCW 70.94.151(5).

(4) Unused tax credit may be carried forward to subsequent tax reporting periods. No refunds shall be granted for credits under this section.

(5) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section:

(a) "Carbon reduction equipment" means control devices, disposal systems, machinery, equipment, and other tangible personal property acquired for the primary purpose of reducing or controlling emissions of greenhouse gases.

(b) "Power plant" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 80.80.010.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. TAX INCENTIVES FOR CARBON REDUCTION EQUIPMENT. A new section is added to chapter 82.04 RCW to read as follows:

(1) A person is allowed a credit against taxes due under this chapter in an amount equal to fifty percent of the cost of purchasing: (a) Carbon reduction equipment; (b) repair and replacement parts for carbon reduction equipment; and (c) labor and services rendered in respect to carbon reduction equipment.

(2) The credit under this section is only available to a person subject to the annual reporting requirements under RCW 70.94.151(5).

(3) Unused tax credit may be carried forward to subsequent tax reporting periods. No refunds may be granted for credits under this section.

(4) For the purposes of this section, "carbon reduction equipment" has the same meaning as provided in section 9 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. IMPROVING VEHICLE FUEL EFFICIENCY. A new section is added to chapter 82.08 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The legislature shall commit to incentives for individuals to purchase fuel efficient vehicles that will help reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

(2) The tax levied by RCW 82.08.020 does not apply to sales of passenger vehicles, if the purchaser trades in a passenger vehicle that is more than fifteen years old and the vehicle to be traded in is not compliant with United States environmental protection agency tier II emission standards. The exemption is only for the first two thousand dollars of tax paid on the purchase price.

(3) For the purposes of this section, "passenger vehicle" has the same meaning as "passenger car" provided in RCW 46.04.382.

(4) The exemption is available only if:

(a) The passenger vehicle to be traded in has been licensed and registered for the twenty-four month period immediately preceding the sale and is in satisfactory operating condition; and

(b) The new vehicle purchased has a United States environmental protection agency highway gasoline mileage rating of at least thirty miles per gallon.

(5) The total amount that may be taken by all purchasers as an exemption under this section and section 12 of this act is twenty-five million dollars per year. If the department determines that at least twenty-two million dollars has been taken as an exemption under this section and section 12 of this act, the department must notify motor vehicle dealers, in a writing sent by certified mail, that requires dealers not to provide the exemption to motor vehicle purchasers beginning two weeks from the date the letter is postmarked.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. IMPROVING VEHICLE FUEL EFFICIENCY. A new section is added to chapter 82.12 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The provisions of this chapter do not apply with respect to the use of passenger vehicles if the purchaser trades in a passenger vehicle to a motor vehicle dealer that is more than fifteen years old and the vehicle to be traded in is not compliant with United States environmental protection agency tier II emission standards. The exemption is only for the first two thousand dollars of tax paid on the purchase price.

(2) "Passenger vehicle" has the same meaning as provided in section 11 of this act.

(3) The exemption is available only if:

(a) The passenger vehicle to be traded in has been licensed and registered for the twenty-four month period immediately preceding the sale and is in satisfactory operating condition; and

(b) The new vehicle purchased has a United States environmental protection agency highway gasoline mileage rating of at least thirty miles per gallon.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. ALTERNATIVE FUELS AT REST AREAS. A new section is added to chapter 47.38 RCW to read as follows:

(1) To encourage public and private investment in electric vehicle infrastructure and alternative fuels distribution, the legislature finds that the department should allow private entities to operate state-owned safety rest areas that include alternative fuel distribution and the department shall implement this section by 2012.

(2) The department must adopt by rule, subject to legislative approval, a comprehensive program that allows private entities to competitively bid on the operation of state-owned safety rest areas that include alternative fuel distribution stations. The program to allow private entities to operate state-owned safety rest areas must meet the following criteria:

(a) The department must lease the rights to operate safety rest areas for a commercially reasonable period of time, but no longer than twenty years;

(b) The department may lease the right to operate either individual safety rest areas, or groups of safety rest areas, or both, to a private entity;

(c) To the extent practicable, the business bidding to operate a safety rest area must offer alternative fuel distribution infrastructure including, but not limited to, electric vehicle infrastructure, fuel cell charging areas, and dispensing of alternative fuels as defined in RCW 19.112.010;

(d) Before entering into a lease with an entity, the department must contact food or beverage retailers, restaurants, grocery and convenience stores, lodging, and service station businesses within one mile from the highway exits immediately before and after the rest stop location, in each direction of traffic, and allow these businesses an opportunity to bid or otherwise negotiate with the department to operate the facility. If no business responds with a reasonable bid or offer within sixty days, the department must open up the bid or negotiation process to all interested entities;

(e) The department must take all necessary action to ensure the most favorable lease rates for the state, whether by bid or other reasonable manner, and to require the lessee to enter into any other contract or agreement to protect the state and its citizens from commercial harm or other type of harm; and

(f) A lease must allow a nonprofit organization that had previously conducted fund-raising activities on the premises to continue such activities.

Sec. 14. RCW 47.04.280 and 2007 c 516 s 3 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 established under this section are deemed consistent with the benchmark categories adopted by the state's blue ribbon commission on transportation on November 30, 2000. Public investments in transportation should support achievement of these policy goals:

    ((~~(a) Preservation: To maintain, preserve, and extend the life and utility of prior investments in transportation systems and services;~~
    ~~(b) Safety: To provide for and improve the safety and security of transportation customers and the transportation system;~~
    ~~(c) Mobility: To improve the predictable movement of goods and people throughout Washington state;~~
    ~~(d) Environment: To enhance Washington's quality of life through transportation investments that promote energy conservation, enhance healthy communities, and protect the environment; and~~
    ~~(e) Stewardship: To continuously improve the quality, effectiveness, and efficiency of the transportation system.~~))

    (a) Safety: To provide for and improve the safety and security of transportation customers and the transportation system;
    (b) Congestion relief: To reduce traffic congestion and improve vehicle travel times for transportation customers using the following measures:
    (i) Traffic congestion on urban state highways must be significantly reduced and be no worse than the national mean;
    (ii) Hours of delay per driver must be significantly reduced and no worse than the national mean;
    (c) Preservation: To maintain, preserve, and extend the life and utility of prior investments in transportation systems using the following measures:
    (i) Interstate highways, state routes, or statewide principal arterials must not be in poor condition;
    (ii) Bridges must not be structurally deficient, and safety retrofits must be performed on those state bridges at the highest seismic risk levels; and
    (d) Environmental stewardship: To ensure that transportation investments protect the environment.

(2) The powers, duties, and functions of state transportation agencies must be performed in a manner consistent with the policy goals set forth in subsection (1) of this section.

(3) These policy goals are intended to be the basis for establishing detailed and measurable objectives and related performance measures.

(4) It is the intent of the legislature that the office of financial management establish objectives and performance measures for the department of transportation and other state agencies with transportation‑related responsibilities to ensure transportation system performance at local, regional, and state government levels progresses toward the attainment of the policy goals set forth in subsection (1) of this section. The office of financial management shall submit initial objectives and performance measures to the legislature for its review and shall provide copies of the same to the commission during the 2008 legislative session. The office of financial management shall submit objectives and performance measures to the legislature for its review and shall provide copies of the same to the commission during each regular session of the legislature during an even-numbered year thereafter.

(5) This section does not create a private right of action.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. Captions used in this act are not any part of the law.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected."

Correct the title.

EFFECT: Requires Washington to commit to the formation of a carbonless energy park and the construction of 4 next generation nuclear generation facilities by 2050. Establishes a Legislative task force on carbonless energy parks to report to the Legislature by December 1, 2010.

Requires Washington to commit to the construction of a high-speed rail network. Establishes a joint select committee on high-speed rail to report to the Legislature by December 1, 2010.

Provides an intent section that specifies that the legislature must commit to recognizing hydropower as a renewable resource and investments in other renewable resources and conservation as contributions to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Modifies the definition of “conservation” to include investments made by a qualifying utility in smart grid technology. Allows electricity from a generation facility powered by fresh water to qualify as an eligible renewable resource.

Permits the nonpower attributes from an anaerobic digester to be separated into avoided emissions of carbon dioxide, and other greenhouse gases, and into renewable energy credits.

Permits byproducts of pulping or wood manufacturing processes that are not derived from old growth forests; wooden demolition or construction debris; and black liquors derived from algae and other sources to qualify as a renewable resource. Allows qualifying utilities to apply energy conservation acquisitions toward the renewable resource targets. Allows a qualifying utility that invests in smart grid technology to count that investment toward it renewable energy targets at three times its base value.

Requires the Legislature to commit the Life Sciences Discovery Fund to new technologies and efforts to reduce GHG emissions.

A light and power business is allowed a credit against public utility taxes.

A person is allowed a credit against the business and occupation tax for carbon reduction equipment.

The retail sales tax and the use tax does not apply to sales of passenger vehicles if the purchaser trades in a passenger vehicle that is more than fifteen years old and the vehicle to be traded in is not compliant with EPA emission standards.

The WSDOT must adopt by rule, subject to legislative approval, a comprehensive program that allows private entities to competitively bid on the operation of state-owned safety rest areas that include alternative fuel distribution stations.

Provides priorities for public investments in transportation.

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