BILL REQ. #:  H-3528.2 

Read first time 01/12/10.   Referred to Committee on State Government & Tribal Affairs.

     AN ACT Relating to biennial regular sessions of the legislature; amending RCW 44.04.010, 44.04.200, 34.05.610, 40.04.090, 44.55.020, and 47.01.071; and providing a contingent effective date.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 44.04.010 and 1980 c 87 s 27 are each amended to read as follows:
     Regular sessions of the legislature shall be held ((annually)) biennially, commencing on the second Monday of January in each odd-numbered year.

Sec. 2   RCW 44.04.200 and 1980 c 87 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     After ((June 12, 1980)) the effective date of this act, all references in the Revised Code of Washington to a regular session of the legislature mean a regular session during an ((odd- or even-numbered)) odd-numbered year unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

Sec. 3   RCW 34.05.610 and 1998 c 280 s 9 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) There is hereby created a joint administrative rules review committee which shall be a bipartisan committee consisting of four senators and four representatives from the state legislature. The senate members of the committee shall be appointed by the president of the senate, and the house members of the committee shall be appointed by the speaker of the house. Not more than two members from each house may be from the same political party. The appointing authorities shall also appoint one alternate member from each caucus of each house. All appointments to the committee are subject to approval by the caucuses to which the appointed members belong.
     (2) Members and alternates shall be appointed as soon as possible after the legislature convenes in regular session in an odd-numbered year, and their terms shall extend until their successors are appointed and qualified at the next regular session of the legislature in an odd-numbered year or until such persons no longer serve in the legislature, whichever occurs first. Members and alternates may be reappointed to the committee.
     (3) On or about January 1, 1999, the president of the senate shall appoint the chairperson and the vice chairperson from among the committee membership. The speaker of the house shall appoint the chairperson and the vice chairperson in alternating even-numbered years beginning in the year 2000 from among the committee membership. The secretary of the senate shall appoint the chairperson and the vice chairperson in the alternating even-numbered years beginning in the year 2002 from among the committee membership. Such appointments shall be made in January of each even-numbered year ((as soon as possible after a legislative session convenes)).
     (4) The chairperson of the committee shall cause all meeting notices and committee documents to be sent to the members and alternates. A vacancy shall be filled by appointment of a legislator from the same political party as the original appointment. The appropriate appointing authority shall make the appointment within thirty days of the vacancy occurring.

Sec. 4   RCW 40.04.090 and 1995 c 24 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     The house and senate journals shall be distributed and sold by the chief clerk of the house of representatives and the secretary of the senate as follows:
     (1) Subject to subsection (5) of this section, sets shall be distributed as follows: One to each requesting official whose office is created by the Constitution, and one to each requesting state department director; two copies to the state library; ten copies to the state law library; two copies to the University of Washington library; one to the King county law library; one to the Washington State University library; one to the library of each of the regional universities and to The Evergreen State College; one each to the law library of any accredited law school in this state; and one to each free public library in the state that requests it.
     (2) House and senate journals of the preceding regular session ((during an odd- or even-numbered year)), and of any intervening special session, shall be provided for use of legislators and legislative staff in such numbers as directed by the chief clerk of the house of representatives and secretary of the senate.
     (3) Surplus sets of the house and senate journals shall be sold and delivered by the chief clerk of the house of representatives and the secretary of the senate at a price set by them after consulting with the state printer to determine reasonable costs associated with the production of the journals, and the proceeds therefrom shall be paid to the state treasurer for the general fund.
     (4) The chief clerk of the house of representatives and the secretary of the senate may exchange copies of the house and senate journals for similar journals of other states, territories, and governments, or for other legal materials, and make such other and further distribution of them as in their judgment seems proper.
     (5) Periodically the chief clerk of the house of representatives and the secretary of the senate may canvas those entitled to receive copies under this section, and may reduce or eliminate the number of copies distributed to anyone who so concurs.

Sec. 5   RCW 44.55.020 and 2003 c 404 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     A joint legislative oversight committee on trade policy is created, to consist of four senators and four representatives from the legislature and three ex officio members. The president of the senate shall appoint the senate members of the committee, and the speaker of the house shall appoint the house members of the committee. No more than two members from each house may be from the same political party. A list of appointees must be submitted by July 1, 2003, and before ((the close of each regular session during an)) July 1st of each even-numbered year. Vacancies on the committee will be filled by appointment and must be filled from the same political party and from the same house as the member whose seat was vacated. The ex officio members shall be appointed by the speaker of the house and the president of the senate, and include a representative from the department of agriculture, the state trade representative, and a representative from the office of the attorney general.

Sec. 6   RCW 47.01.071 and 2007 c 516 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     The transportation commission shall have the following functions, powers, and duties:
     (1) To propose policies to be adopted by the governor and the legislature designed to assure the development and maintenance of a comprehensive and balanced statewide transportation system which will meet the needs of the people of this state for safe and efficient transportation services. Wherever appropriate, the policies shall provide for the use of integrated, intermodal transportation systems. The policies must be aligned with the goals established in RCW 47.04.280. To this end the commission shall:
     (a) Develop transportation policies which are based on the policies, goals, and objectives expressed and inherent in existing state laws;
     (b) Inventory the adopted policies, goals, and objectives of the local and area-wide governmental bodies of the state and define the role of the state, regional, and local governments in determining transportation policies, in transportation planning, and in implementing the state transportation plan;
     (c) Establish a procedure for review and revision of the state transportation policy and for submission of proposed changes to the governor and the legislature; and
     (d) Integrate the statewide transportation plan with the needs of the elderly and persons with disabilities, and coordinate federal and state programs directed at assisting local governments to answer such needs;
     (2) To provide for the effective coordination of state transportation planning with national transportation policy, state and local land use policies, and local and regional transportation plans and programs;
     (3) In conjunction with the provisions under RCW 47.01.075, to provide for public involvement in transportation designed to elicit the public's views both with respect to adequate transportation services and appropriate means of minimizing adverse social, economic, environmental, and energy impact of transportation programs;
     (4) By December 2010, to prepare a comprehensive and balanced statewide transportation plan consistent with the state's growth management goals and based on the transportation policy goals provided under RCW 47.04.280 and applicable state and federal laws. The plan must reflect the priorities of government developed by the office of financial management and address regional needs, including multimodal transportation planning. The plan must, at a minimum: (a) Establish a vision for the development of the statewide transportation system; (b) identify significant statewide transportation policy issues; and (c) recommend statewide transportation policies and strategies to the legislature to fulfill the requirements of subsection (1) of this section. The plan must be the product of an ongoing process that involves representatives of significant transportation interests and the general public from across the state. Every four years, the plan shall be reviewed and revised, and submitted to the governor and the house of representatives and senate standing committees on transportation.
     The plan shall take into account federal law and regulations relating to the planning, construction, and operation of transportation facilities;
     (5) By December 2007, the office of financial management shall submit a baseline report on the progress toward attaining the policy goals under RCW 47.04.280 in the 2005-2007 fiscal biennium. By October 1, 2008, beginning with the development of the 2009-2011 biennial transportation budget, and by October 1st biennially thereafter, the office of financial management shall submit to the legislature and the governor a report on the progress toward the attainment by state transportation agencies of the state transportation policy goals and objectives prescribed by statute, appropriation, and governor directive. The report must, at a minimum, include the degree to which state transportation programs have progressed toward the attainment of the policy goals established under RCW 47.04.280, as measured by the objectives and performance measures established by the office of financial management under RCW 47.04.280;
     (6) To propose to the governor and the legislature prior to the convening of each regular session ((held in an odd-numbered year)) a recommended budget for the operations of the commission as required by RCW 47.01.061;
     (7) To adopt such rules as may be necessary to carry out reasonably and properly those functions expressly vested in the commission by statute;
     (8) To contract with the office of financial management or other appropriate state agencies for administrative support, accounting services, computer services, and other support services necessary to carry out its other statutory duties;
     (9) To conduct transportation-related studies and policy analysis to the extent directed by the legislature or governor in the biennial transportation budget act, or as otherwise provided in law, and subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose; and
     (10) To exercise such other specific powers and duties as may be vested in the transportation commission by this or any other provision of law.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   This act takes effect if the proposed amendment to Article II, section 12 of the state Constitution providing for biennial regular sessions of the legislature is validly submitted to and is approved and ratified by the voters at the next general election. If the proposed amendment is not approved and ratified, this act is void in its entirety.