Brief Summary of Substitute Bill

Creates a vehicle maintenance improvement program for the purpose of raising awareness of the importance of routine vehicle maintenance, particularly for older vehicles, and to achieve environmental, economic, vehicle performance, and reliability-related benefits attributable to proper vehicle maintenance.
Tasks the departments of Ecology and Commerce with administering the program, in conjunction with local government partners.

Background:

In 2010 the Department of Ecology (Ecology), in collaboration with several local government partners, formed a vehicle leaks reduction committee to research the factors that influence vehicle leaks in the Puget Sound region and to identify programmatic strategies for addressing the issue. The committee made several recommendations, including creating a program to encourage vehicle owners to identify and fix leaks voluntarily and to engage the auto industry to develop innovative solutions to minimize the type, frequency, and impact of leaks on water quality and road safety. Using grant funding, Ecology implemented this recommendation in a program called "Don't Drip and Drive."

The Don't Drip and Drive program was implemented in three phases. Under the first phase, in 2011-2013, the primary focus was to conduct initial formative research that provided insight into: the target audience; the barriers to and motivating factors for vehicle maintenance to address leaks; and the key strategies to change behavior. At the same time, Ecology piloted strategies to motivate vehicle owners to identify and repair leaks, including: a partnership with auto repair shops to provide free visual inspections; deployment of parking lot events to do leak checks; and collaborating with technical and community colleges to conduct in-depth half-day workshops. The program and campaign were expanded and further refined in the second phase, from 2014-2015, and included an evaluation on the campaign's effectiveness. Phase three, from 2016 to 2017, continued activities from the previous phases, as well as engaging oil lube shop franchisees to conduct free leak inspections during routine oil changes, including outreach in Spanish and holding leak-check events at county fairs.

The Don't Drip and Drive program included tools for participating cities to provide localized outreach and activities. While county governments served as lead agencies for the campaign, municipalities participated by: recruiting auto repair shop participation; conducting public leak-check events; and using local newsletters, email lists, websites, bill inserts, and other channels to promote the campaign.

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Summary of Substitute Bill:

A Vehicle Maintenance Improvement program is created, based on the Don't Drip and Drive program at Ecology from 2011-17. The new program requires Ecology, in collaboration with the Department of Commerce and local governments around the state, to undertake an ongoing vehicle maintenance improvement program to raise awareness and motivate vehicle owners, and especially those with older vehicles, to conduct proper and routine vehicle maintenance and yield improvements to the environment, vehicle reliability, and personal economy.

The role of the state is to:

coordinate public outreach and education efforts;
provide grant oversight and technical assistance to local government partners;
develop vehicle maintenance workshops;
develop educational materials in different languages and for different media;
establish an advisory group to guide program development;
develop strategies to reduce costs and/or perceptions of costs associated with vehicle maintenance; and
measure the behavioral response and other programmatic outcomes.

Local governments are authorized to participate in the program and participate through:

disseminating program materials;
holding workshops and other events;
applying to the state for matching grants;
engaging stakeholders to advise the local government on implementation strategies; and
partnering with private sector vehicle maintenance facilities to promote vehicle maintenance.

A new appropriated account, the Vehicle Maintenance Improvement Account (Account), is created. All receipts from local and private sector contributions related to the Vehicle Maintenance Improvement program must be deposited to the Account. Receipts may be used only for the purposes of the program.

The departments of Ecology and Commerce must evaluate the program every four years and report to the Governor and the transportation committees of the Legislature on the results of the program to date.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony:

(In support) There are two different benefits to this program, for which the grant funding is coming to an end. There are stormwater and environmental impacts. In addition, there are benefits related to better vehicular maintenance, including cost savings to individuals and improved vehicle reliability. This bill would expand the Don't Drip and Drive program statewide. There is funding in the capital budget proposal to look at local public-private partnerships to address the stormwater issues, and this seems like it might be a good nexus.

Futurewise was one of the stakeholders on the Don't Drip and Drive program steering committee. This is another tool to take on stormwater and related pollution issues. If you walk through just about any parking lot, you will see divots and holes where the oil is eating away at the asphalt.

(Opposed) None.

(Other) Ecology supports the policy concepts embedded in the bill but, because it is not funded in the Governor's budget proposal, cannot support the bill. Ecology has helped coordinate a campaign under the Don't Drip and Drive program in which much of the work was handled by the 82 municipalities implementing the program. The program has helped educate Puget Sound area drivers to the importance of routine vehicle maintenance to help prevent and fix vehicle leaks. It provides the public information about participating repair shops, including those that will do an inspection for free. There is a website that helps disseminate information. Funding has come through grants that are part of a competitive grant program. This should be administered at the local level, rather than housed at Ecology.