SENATE BILL REPORT
SB 6674
BYSenators McCaslin, Kreidler and Amondson; by request of Department of General Administration
Enlarging the department of general administration transportation management authority.
Senate Committee on Governmental Operations
Senate Hearing Date(s):January 29, 1990; January 30, 1990
Majority Report: Do pass and refer to Committee on Ways & Means.
Signed by Senators McCaslin, Chairman; Thorsness, Vice Chairman; DeJarnatt, Patrick.
Senate Staff:Rod McAulay (786-7754) January 30, 1990 !w
AS REPORTED BY COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS, JANUARY 30, 1990
BACKGROUND:
Growing automobile traffic to state facilities in Olympia and neighboring communities is resulting in congestion and increased competition for limited parking sites. The impact on the host communities has generated complaints from residential neighbors and some tension between governmental jurisdictions. An ad hoc committee comprised of various representatives from the Legislature, state agencies, the local transit authority, host cities and Thurston County convened in March, 1989 to address the problem.
While intergovernmental cooperation has been relatively successful, this ad hoc committee has no funding and no authority to design or implement a comprehensive parking and transportation program. The Department of General Administration has only limited authority to regulate parking on the Capitol Campus. No other state agency has authority to deal with the issue in a comprehensive manner.
SUMMARY:
The Director of General Administration shall establish an operational unit within the department headed by a program manager who is exempt from civil service. Through this unit, General Administration (GA) develops and implements a comprehensive state agency transportation and parking management program for state facilities in consultation with state agencies, employees and local governments. The director has general rule-making authority.
GA must implement alternatives to the single-occupant automobile including identification of alternative methods of travel, programs and facilities, and funding sources that support these alternatives.
Transportation and parking criteria must be provided in the development of new or renovated state facilities, including facility siting and design and GA shall establish standards governing the management and allocation of parking spaces in state-owned and leased parking facilities.
A system of parking rates for users must be established. The revenues from parking charges on the Capitol Campus shall be first applied to debt service related to such facilities. The balance of these revenues, together with revenues collected from other parking facilities and transportation programs that are a part of the "state agency transportation and parking management plan" shall be paid into a special account. This account shall be used to fund the costs incurred in the parking and transportation programs administered by GA. Revenues generated by parking or transportation programs which are a part of the "state agency transportation and parking management plan," but which are administered by agencies other than GA, will be maintained in a sub-account in the name of the agency and applied to the costs of the program from which they were collected.
The authority granted to GA extends to all state-owned or leased facilities except state roads and highways, institutions of higher education, state parks, park and ride facilities, ferry terminals, and state military facilities.
The statute authorizing GA to fix, collect and administer parking charges for the Capitol Campus and East Campus is repealed and replaced.
Appropriation: none
Revenue: none
Fiscal Note: requested January 25, 1990
Senate Committee - Testified: Wendy Holden, Director, GA; Hugh Mose, Intercity Transit; Doug DeForest, Olympia/Thurston County Chamber of Commerce; Steve Lindstrom, Washington State Transit Association