H-4417              _______________________________________________

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 3013

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1990 Regular Session

By Representatives R. Fisher, Schmidt, Zellinsky and R. Meyers

Read first time 2/2/90 and referred to Committee on Transportation.

AN ACT Relating to specialized transportation services; adding a new section to Title 47 RCW; creating a new section; making an appropriation; and providing an effective date.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     The legislature finds that:

          There is a large population of elderly and disabled citizens in Washington state who are unable to access basic state services provided for them because they do not have transportation to reach the provided services;

          In many of the rural cities of the state the problem is even more critical because public transportation is often nonexistent;

          Because of the lack of transportation services many elderly and disabled persons face institutionalization and that for others, meaningful and gainful employment is denied;

          The state of Washington has the responsibility to provide all its citizens an access to basic services and that to not provide transportation access to the elderly and the disabled is discriminatory;

          The older population is increasing dramatically in this state and that the current effort to integrate the disabled into the general population places increased demands upon transportation resources.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to Title 47 RCW to read as follows:

          There is hereby established in the state treasury the specialized transportation services account.  Money in the account shall be used, after appropriation, for specialized transportation purposes.  All earnings of investments of any balances in the specialized transportation account shall be credited to the specialized transportation account.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     (1) the sum of six million dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is transferred from the general fund, from moneys credited to the general fund under RCW 82.44.110(3) to the specialized transportation services account created in section 2 of this act.

          (2) The sum of six million dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the specialized transportation account to the department of transportation, for the biennium ending June 30, 1991, to be used for specialized transportation services.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.     This act shall take effect July 1, 1990.