Background: Public Transportation Benefit Area (PTBA). A PTBA is a special-purpose district authorized to provide public transportation service within all or a portion of a county or counties. Cities must be wholly included or excluded. The PTBA is the most common type of district providing public transportation service in the state, with 21 currently in existence. A PTBA may collect fares for service and, with approval of the majority of the voters within the area, impose a sales and use tax within the area. Currently all but one PTBA may impose a sales and use tax up to a 0.9 percent. One PTBA operating in Snohomish County meets the population threshold required to implement an additional 0.3 percent, for a total of 1.2 percent voter approved sales and use tax.

PTBA Board. Within 60 days of establishment of a PTBA, the county legislative body or bodies and the elected representatives of each city within the PTBA must provide for the selection of a governing body of not more than nine elected officials—or, in the case of a multicounty PTBA, not more than 15 members—selected by and serving at the pleasure of the governments of the cities and counties in the PTBA. Cities within the PTBA that are excluded from direct membership on the authority are permitted to designate a member of the PTBA who is entitled to represent the interests of those cities.

After a PTBA has been in existence for four years, and every four years thereafter, the county legislative body or bodies and the elected representatives of each city within the PTBA must review the composition of the governing board and change it if appropriate.

County Populations. Currently Spokane, Pierce, and Clark counties:

include PTBAs;
contain populations of more than 400,000; and
do not contain a city with a population of more than 75,000 that operates a transit system.

Summary: The members of the governing board of a PTBA meeting certain criteria are required to be selected, to the extent possible, to assure proportional representation, based on population, of the cities and unincorporated sections of counties located within the PTBA boundaries.

This requirement applies only to PTBAs located in a county with a population of more than 400,000 that also does not also contain a city with a population of more than 75,000 that operates a transit system pursuant to chapter 35.95 RCW.

A single component city may not have a majority of the board of the PTBA representing it.

If necessary to insure proportional representation, a single elected representative from one of the cities within the PTBA may represent multiple cities.

Votes on Final Passage:

Senate	25	23
House	50	47