BILL REQ. #:  H-1512.2 

Read first time 02/06/09.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to making traffic congestion relief a higher priority of the state transportation system; and amending RCW 47.04.280.

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

Sec. 1   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.