BILL REQ. #:  S-1175.1 

Read first time 01/28/09.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to toll penalties for violations of high occupancy toll lane restrictions; and amending RCW 47.56.403 and 47.66.090.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 47.56.403 and 2005 c 312 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The department may provide for the establishment, construction, and operation of a pilot project of high occupancy toll lanes on state route 167 high occupancy vehicle lanes within King county. The department may issue, buy, and redeem bonds, and deposit and expend them; secure and remit financial and other assistance in the construction of high occupancy toll lanes, carry insurance, and handle any other matters pertaining to the high occupancy toll lane pilot project.
     (2) Tolls for high occupancy toll lanes will be established as follows:
     (a) The schedule of toll charges for high occupancy toll lanes must be established by the transportation commission and collected in a manner determined by the commission.
     (b) Toll charges shall not be assessed on transit buses and vanpool vehicles owned or operated by any public agency.
     (c) The department shall establish performance standards for the state route 167 high occupancy toll lane pilot project. The department must automatically adjust the toll charge, using dynamic tolling, to ensure that toll-paying single-occupant vehicle users are only permitted to enter the lane to the extent that average vehicle speeds in the lane remain above forty-five miles per hour at least ninety percent of the time during peak hours. The toll charge may vary in amount by time of day, level of traffic congestion within the highway facility, vehicle occupancy, or other criteria, as the commission may deem appropriate. The commission may also vary toll charges for single-occupant inherently low-emission vehicles such as those powered by electric batteries, natural gas, propane, or other clean burning fuels.
     (d) The commission shall periodically review the toll charges to determine if the toll charges are effectively maintaining travel time, speed, and reliability on the highway facilities.
     (3) The department shall monitor the state route 167 high occupancy toll lane pilot project and shall annually report to the transportation commission and the legislature on operations and findings. At a minimum, the department shall provide facility use data and review the impacts on:
     (a) Freeway efficiency and safety;
     (b) Effectiveness for transit;
     (c) Person and vehicle movements by mode;
     (d) Ability to finance improvements and transportation services through tolls; and
     (e) The impacts on all highway users. The department shall analyze aggregate use data and conduct, as needed, separate surveys to assess usage of the facility in relation to geographic, socioeconomic, and demographic information within the corridor in order to ascertain actual and perceived questions of equitable use of the facility.
     (4) The department shall modify the pilot project to address identified safety issues and mitigate negative impacts to high occupancy vehicle lane users.
     (5) Authorization to impose high occupancy vehicle tolls for the state route 167 high occupancy toll pilot project expires if either of the following two conditions apply:
     (a) If no contracts have been let by the department to begin construction of the toll facilities associated with this pilot project within four years of July 24, 2005; or
     (b) Four years after toll collection begins under this section.
     (6) The department of transportation shall adopt rules that allow automatic vehicle identification transponders used for electronic toll collection to be compatible with other electronic payment devices or transponders from the Washington state ferry system, other public transportation systems, or other toll collection systems to the extent that technology permits.
     (7) The conversion of a single existing high occupancy vehicle lane to a high occupancy toll lane as proposed for SR-167 must be taken as the exception for this pilot project.
     (8) A violation of the lane restrictions applicable to the high occupancy toll lanes established under this section is a traffic infraction, plus an additional toll penalty. The toll penalty is equal to three times the toll for a standard passenger car during peak hours. The toll penalty may not be reduced. The court shall remit the toll penalty to the department or a private entity under contract with the department for deposit into the statewide account in which tolls are deposited for the tolling facility at which the violation occurred.
     (9) Procurement activity associated with this pilot project shall be open and competitive in accordance with chapter 39.29 RCW.

Sec. 2   RCW 47.66.090 and 2005 c 312 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     The high occupancy toll lanes operations account is created in the state treasury. The department shall deposit all revenues received by the department as toll charges collected from high occupancy toll lane users and all toll penalties identified in RCW 47.56.403. Moneys in this account may be spent only if appropriated by the legislature. Moneys in this account may be used for, but be not limited to, debt service, planning, administration, construction, maintenance, operation, repair, rebuilding, enforcement, and expansion of high occupancy toll lanes and to increase transit, vanpool and carpool, and trip reduction services in the corridor. A reasonable proportion of the moneys in this account must be dedicated to increase transit, vanpool, carpool, and trip reduction services in the corridor. A reasonable proportion of the moneys in this account must be dedicated to increase transit, vanpool, carpool, and trip reduction services in the corridor.