BILL REQ. #:  S-1075.1 

Read first time 01/30/09.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to alternative student transportation; amending RCW 47.30.050; and adding new sections to chapter 47.04 RCW.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 47.30.050 and 1999 c 269 s 11 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The amount expended by a city, town, or county as authorized by RCW 47.30.030 shall never in any one fiscal year be less than 0.42 percent of the total amount of funds received from the motor vehicle fund according to RCW 46.68.090. However, this section does not apply to a city or town in any year in which the 0.42 percent equals five hundred dollars or less, or to a county in any year in which the 0.42 percent equals three thousand dollars or less. Also, a city, town, or county in lieu of expending the funds each year may credit the funds to a financial reserve or special fund, to be held for not more than ten years, and to be expended for the purposes required or permitted by RCW 47.30.030.
     (2) In each fiscal year the department of transportation shall expend, as a minimum, for the purposes mentioned in RCW 47.30.030 a sum equal to ((three-tenths of)) one percent of all funds, both state and federal, expended for the construction of state highways in such year, or in order to more efficiently program trail improvements the department may defer any part of such minimum trail or path expenditures for a fiscal year for a period not to exceed four years after the end of such fiscal year. Any fiscal year in which the department expends for trail or path purposes more than the minimum sum required by this subsection, the amount of such excess expenditure shall constitute a credit which may be carried forward and applied to the minimum trail and path expenditure requirements for any of the ensuing four fiscal years.
     (3) The department of transportation, a city, or a county in computing the amount expended for trails or paths under their respective jurisdictions may include the cost of improvements consistent with a comprehensive plan or master plan for bicycle trails or paths adopted by a state or local governmental authority either prior to such construction or prior to January 1, 1980.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 47.04 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Concurrent with P.L. 109-59, a safe routes to school program is established within the department. The purposes of the program must be to:
     (a) Enable and encourage children, including those with disabilities, to walk and bicycle to school;
     (b) Make bicycling and walking to school a safer and more appealing transportation alternative, encouraging a healthy and active lifestyle from an early age; and
     (c) Facilitate the planning, development, and implementation of projects and activities that will improve safety and reduce traffic, fuel consumption, and air pollution in the vicinity of schools.
     (2) Each fiscal year at least twenty-five percent of the expended funds designated under RCW 47.30.050(2) must supplement federal funds contributed to the safe routes to school program.
     (3) In addition to existing federal funds available from the motor vehicle account for the safe routes to school program, funding to expand the program must be drawn equally from the multimodal transportation account and the transportation partnership account. An expansion of funds under this section must not supplant current state investments in the safe routes to school program or other alternative transportation programs.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 47.04 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The department shall administer a competitive grant program for the safe routes to school program established under section 2 of this act. The following guidelines apply for the grant program:
     (a)(i) The grant application process must include questions that assess the possible eligibility of a disadvantaged school. Primary variables that may define a disadvantaged school include:
     (A) Exceeds the state median in the school's proportion of free and reduced-price meals;
     (B) Falls below the state median in the school's student scores on the Washington assessment of student learning; or
     (C) Past history of traffic collisions in and around the school's area.
     (ii) Grants awarded to disadvantaged schools must constitute at least fifty percent of the number of grants awarded.
     (b) The department shall use grant funds to award noninfrastructure grants, which emphasize education, encouragement, and enforcement efforts, only if the grant applicant can establish that the current engineered infrastructure of the school provides adequate safe walking and biking routes within the relevant school walk boundary. Noninfrastructure grants awarded must constitute at least twenty-five percent of the amount of grants awarded.
     (c) The grant application process must include questions that assess the strength of the relationships between schools, school districts, and corresponding municipalities.
     (d) The department, in consultation with the statewide advisory committee established in subsection (2) of this section, must attempt to make the grant application process as streamlined as possible.
     (2) A statewide advisory committee is created within the department to create and refine grant criteria and review and recommend grant applications to the department for the grant program. Committee membership should include, but not be limited to:
     (a) The department;
     (b) The department of health;
     (c) Local public health jurisdictions;
     (d) The office of the superintendent of public instruction;
     (e) The traffic safety commission;
     (f) The state parent teacher association;
     (g) Metropolitan planning organizations, such as the Puget Sound regional council;
     (h) City or county public works or transportation entities;
     (i) Transportation advocacy groups;
     (j) Public health advocacy groups; and
     (k) Community residents.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 47.04 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The department shall fund an ongoing state center to provide information, resources, outreach, training, and program evaluation support to grantees awarded grants under the grant program described in section 3 of this act. The department shall contract with a nonprofit or a consortium of nonprofits that demonstrate an expertise in alternative transportation programs and policies, including implementation of the safe routes to school program.
     (2) The department shall coordinate evaluation methods and findings with those of the national center for safe routes to school in order to standardize program evaluation, measure Washington's progress to that of other states, and learn from safe routes to school programs across the country. Current measurement criteria from the national center for safe routes to school include:
     (a) Number of children who walk and bike to school;
     (b) Number of children bused to school;
     (c) Reduced number of car trips to and from school;
     (d) Awareness of the program; and
     (e) Parent acceptance/attitude towards biking and walking.
     (3) Additional indicators that the department may compile and report upon include:
     (a) Personal health - general levels of physical activity, body weight;
     (b) Traffic safety - vehicular crashes, number of traffic calming or other pedestrian-oriented traffic safety measures installed, number of miles of sidewalks and bike paths installed;
     (c) Environmental health - reduced congestion and pollution, emissions levels and asthma rates;
     (d) Student achievement – absenteeism, tardiness, grades, test scores; and
     (e) Community aspects - leveraged funds from other sources, parent attitudes toward yellow school bus transportation, public transit to school, and driving.