(1) Within amounts appropriated to the commission, the commission must convene the council comprised of stakeholders who have a unique interest or expertise in the safety of pedestrians, bicyclists, and other nonmotorists.
(2) The purpose of the council is to review and analyze data and programs related to fatalities and serious injuries involving pedestrians, bicyclists, and other nonmotorists to identify points at which the transportation system can be improved including, whenever possible, privately owned areas of the system such as parking lots, and to identify patterns in pedestrian, bicyclist, and other nonmotorist fatalities and serious injuries. The council may also:
(a) Monitor progress on implementation of existing council recommendations; and
(b) Seek opportunities to expand consideration and implementation of the principles of systematic safety, including areas where data collection may need improvement.
(3)(a) The council may include, but is not limited to:
(i) A representative from the commission;
(ii) A coroner from the county in which pedestrian, bicyclist, or nonmotorist deaths have occurred;
(iii) Multiple members of law enforcement who have investigated pedestrian, bicyclist, or nonmotorist fatalities;
(iv) A traffic engineer;
(v) A representative from the department of transportation and a representative from the department of health;
(vi) A representative from the association of Washington cities;
(vii) A representative from the Washington state association of counties;
(viii) A representative from a pedestrian advocacy group;
(ix) A representative from a tribal government; and
(x) A representative from a bicyclist or other nonmotorist advocacy group.
(b) The commission may invite other representatives of stakeholder groups to participate in the council as deemed appropriate by the commission. Additionally, the commission may invite a victim or family member of a victim to participate in the council.
(4) The council must meet at least quarterly. By December 31st of each year, the council must issue an annual report detailing any findings and recommendations to the governor and the transportation committees of the legislature. The commission must provide the annual report electronically to all municipal governments and state agencies that participated in the council during that calendar year. Additionally, the council must report any budgetary or fiscal recommendations to the office of financial management and the legislature by August 1st on a biennial basis.
(5)(a) The council may receive gifts, grants, or endowments from public or private sources that are made from time to time, in trust or otherwise, for the use and benefit of the purposes of the council and spend the gifts, grants, or endowments from the public or private sources according to their terms, unless the receipt of the gifts, grants, or endowments violates RCW
29B.45.020.
(b) Subject to the appropriation of funds for this specific purpose, the council may provide grants targeted at improving pedestrian, bicyclist, or nonmotorist safety in accordance with recommendations made by the council.