AN ACT Relating to
advance right-of-way acquisition; amending RCW 43.79A.040, 47.44.010,
47.44.020, 47.44.050, and 47.24.020; adding new sections to chapter 47.26 RCW;
and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF
WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec.
1. A new section is added
to chapter 47.26 RCW to read as follows:
The term "advance
right-of-way acquisition" as used in this chapter means the acquisition of
property and property rights, together with the engineering costs necessary for
the advance right-of-way acquisition. Property or property rights purchased
must be for projects approved by the transportation improvement board or the
county road administration board as part of a city or county six-year plan or
program.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
2. A new section is added
to chapter 47.26 RCW to read as follows:
The city and county
advance right-of-way revolving fund is created in the custody of the
treasurer. The transportation improvement board is the administrator of the
fund and may deposit directly and spend without appropriation.
The transportation
improvement board and the county road administration board, in consultation
with the association of Washington cities and the Washington association of
counties, shall adopt reasonable rules and develop policies to implement this
program.
NEW SECTION. Sec.
3. A new section is added
to chapter 47.26 RCW to read as follows:
(1) After any
properties or property rights are acquired through funds in the city and county
advance right-of-way revolving fund, the acquiring city or county is
responsible for the management of the properties in accordance with sound
business practices and shall provide annual status reports to the board. Funds
received by the city or county from the interim management of the properties
must be deposited into the city and county advance right-of-way revolving fund.
(2) When the city or
county proceeds with the construction of an arterial project that will require
the use of any of the property so acquired, the city or county shall reimburse
the city and county advance right-of-way revolving fund. Reimbursement must
reflect the original cost of the acquired property or property rights required
for the project plus an interest rate as determined annually by the board. The
board shall report on the interest rate set to the transportation committees
through its annual report.
(3) When the city or
county determines that any properties or property rights acquired from funds in
the city and county advance right-of-way revolving fund will not be required
for an arterial construction project or the property has been held by the city
or county for more than six years, the city or county shall either sell the
property at fair market value or reimburse the fund at fair market value. All
proceeds of the sale must be deposited in the city and county advance
right-of-way revolving fund. At the board's discretion, a portion of savings
on transportation improvement board projects realized through the use of the
city and county advance revolving fund may be deposited back into the city and
county advance right-of-way revolving fund.
(4) Deposits in the
fund may be reexpended without further or additional appropriations.
Sec. 4. RCW 43.79A.040 and 2000
c 79 s 45 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Money in the
treasurer's trust fund may be deposited, invested, and reinvested by the state
treasurer in accordance with RCW 43.84.080 in the same manner and to the same
extent as if the money were in the state treasury.
(2) All income received
from investment of the treasurer's trust fund shall be set aside in an account
in the treasury trust fund to be known as the investment income account.
(3) The investment
income account may be utilized for the payment of purchased banking services on
behalf of treasurer's trust funds including, but not limited to, depository,
safekeeping, and disbursement functions for the state treasurer or affected
state agencies. The investment income account is subject in all respects to
chapter 43.88 RCW, but no appropriation is required for payments to financial
institutions. Payments shall occur prior to distribution of earnings set forth
in subsection (4) of this section.
(4)(a) Monthly, the
state treasurer shall distribute the earnings credited to the investment income
account to the state general fund except under (b) and (c) of this subsection.
(b) The following
accounts and funds shall receive their proportionate share of earnings based
upon each account's or fund's average daily balance for the period: The Washington
advanced college tuition payment program account, the agricultural local fund,
the American Indian scholarship endowment fund, the basic health plan
self-insurance reserve account, the Washington international exchange
scholarship endowment fund, the developmental disabilities endowment trust
fund, the energy account, the fair fund, the game farm alternative account, the
grain inspection revolving fund, the juvenile accountability incentive account,
the rural rehabilitation account, the stadium and exhibition center account,
the youth athletic facility ((grant)) account, the self-insurance
revolving fund, the sulfur dioxide abatement account, and the children's trust
fund. However, the earnings to be distributed shall first be reduced by the
allocation to the state treasurer's service fund pursuant to RCW 43.08.190.
(c) The following
accounts and funds shall receive eighty percent of their proportionate share of
earnings based upon each account's or fund's average daily balance for the
period: The advanced right of way revolving fund, the advanced environmental
mitigation revolving account, the city and county advance right-of-way
revolving fund, the federal narcotics asset forfeitures account, the high
occupancy vehicle account, the local rail service assistance account, and the
miscellaneous transportation programs account.
(5) In conformance with
Article II, section 37 of the state Constitution, no trust accounts or funds
shall be allocated earnings without the specific affirmative directive of this
section.
Sec. 5. RCW 47.44.010 and 1980 c
28 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The
department of transportation may grant franchises to persons, associations,
private or municipal corporations, the United States government, or any agency
thereof, to use any state highway for the construction and maintenance of water
pipes, flume, gas, oil or coal pipes, telephone, telegraph and electric light
and power lines and conduits, trams or railways, and any structures or
facilities ((which)) that are part of an urban public
transportation system owned or operated by a municipal corporation, agency,
or department of the state of Washington other than the department of
transportation, and any other such facilities. In order to minimize the
disruption to traffic and damage to the roadway, the department is encouraged
to develop a joint trenching policy with other affected jurisdictions so that
all permittees and franchisees requiring access to ground under the roadway may
do so at one time.
(2) All
applications for ((such)) the franchise ((shall)) must
be made in writing and subscribed by the applicant, and ((shall))
describe the state highway or portion thereof over which franchise is desired
and the nature of the franchise. The application must also include the
identification of all jurisdictions affected by the franchise and the names of
other possible franchisees who should receive notice of the application for a
franchise.
(3)
The department of transportation shall adopt rules providing for a hearing or
an opportunity for a hearing with reasonable public notice thereof with respect
to any franchise application involving the construction and maintenance of
utilities or other facilities within the highway right of way which the
department determines may (((1))) (a) during construction,
significantly disrupt the flow of traffic or use of driveways or other
facilities within the right of way, or (((2))) (b) during or
following construction, cause a significant and adverse effect upon the
surrounding environment.
Sec. 6. RCW 47.44.020 and 1980 c
28 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) If the
department of transportation deems it to be for the public interest, the
franchise may be granted in whole or in part, with or without hearing under
such regulations and conditions as the department may prescribe, with or without
compensation, but not in excess of the reasonable cost for investigating,
handling, and granting the franchise. The department may require that the
utility and appurtenances be so placed on the highway that they will, in its
opinion, least interfere with other uses of the highway.
(2) If a hearing
is held, it ((shall)) must be conducted by the department, and
may be adjourned from time to time until completed. The applicant may be
required to produce all facts pertaining to the franchise, and evidence may be
taken for and against granting it.
(3) The facility
((shall)) must be made subject to removal when necessary for the
construction, alteration, repair, or improvement of the highway and at the
expense of the franchise holder, except that the state shall pay the cost of ((such))
the removal whenever the state ((shall be)) is entitled to
receive proportionate reimbursement therefor from the United States in the
cases and in the manner set forth in RCW 47.44.030. Renewal upon expiration of
a franchise ((shall)) must be by application.
(4) A person
constructing or operating such a utility on a state highway is liable to any
person injured thereby for any damages incident to the work of installation or
the continuation of the occupancy of the highway by the utility, and except as
provided above, is liable to the state for all necessary expenses incurred in
restoring the highway to a permanent suitable condition for travel. A
person constructing or operating such a utility on a state highway is also
liable to the state for all necessary expenses incurred in inspecting the construction
and restoring the pavement or other related transportation equipment or
facilities to a permanent condition suitable for travel and operation in
accordance with requirements set by the department. Permit and franchise
holders are also financially responsible to the department for trenching work
not completed within the contractual period and for compensating for the loss
of useful pavement life caused by trenching. No franchise may be granted
for a longer period than fifty years, and no exclusive franchise or privilege
may be granted.
(5) The holder of a
franchise granted under this section is financially responsible to the
department for trenching work not completed within the period of the permit and
for compensating for the loss of useful pavement life caused by trenching. In
the case of common trenching operations, liability under this subsection will
be assessed equally between the franchisees. The assessed parties may
thereafter pursue claims of contribution or indemnity in accord with such fault
as may be determined by arbitration or other legal action.
Sec. 7. RCW 47.44.050 and 1984 c
7 s 237 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The
department ((is empowered to)) may grant a permit to construct or
maintain on, over, across, or along any state highway any water, gas,
telephone, telegraph, light, power, or other such facilities when they do not
extend along the state highway for a distance greater than three hundred feet.
The department may require such information as it deems necessary in the
application for any such permit, and may grant or withhold the permit within
its discretion. Any permit granted may be canceled at any time, and any
facilities remaining upon the right of way of the state highway after thirty
days written notice of the cancellation ((is [are])) are an
unlawful obstruction and may be removed in the manner provided by law.
(2) The holder of a
permit granted under this section is financially responsible to the department
for trenching work not completed within the period of the permit and for
compensating for the loss of useful pavement life caused by trenching. In the
case of common trenching operations, liability under this subsection will be
assessed equally between the permit holders. The assessed parties may
thereafter pursue claims of contribution or indemnity in accord with such fault
as may be determined by arbitration or other legal action.
Sec. 8. RCW 47.24.020 and 1993 c
126 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
The jurisdiction,
control, and duty of the state and city or town with respect to such streets ((shall
be)) is as follows:
(1) The department has
no authority to change or establish any grade of any such street without
approval of the governing body of such city or town, except with respect to
limited access facilities established by the commission;
(2) The city or town
shall exercise full responsibility for and control over any such street beyond
the curbs and if no curb is installed, beyond that portion of the highway used
for highway purposes. However, within incorporated cities and towns the title
to a state limited access highway vests in the state, and, notwithstanding any
other provision of this section, the department shall exercise full
jurisdiction, responsibility, and control to and over such facility as provided
in chapter 47.52 RCW;
(3) The department has
authority to prohibit the suspension of signs, banners, or decorations above
the portion of such street between the curbs or portion used for highway
purposes up to a vertical height of twenty feet above the surface of the
roadway;
(4) The city or town
shall at its own expense maintain all underground facilities in such streets,
and has the right to construct such additional underground facilities as may be
necessary in such streets. However, pavement trenching and restoration
performed as part of installation of such facilities must meet or exceed
requirements established by the department;
(5) The city or town
has the right to grant the privilege to open the surface of any such street,
but all damage occasioned thereby shall promptly be repaired either by the city
or town itself or at its direction. Pavement trenching and restoration
performed under a privilege granted by the city under this subsection must meet
or exceed requirements established by the department;
(6) The city or town at
its own expense shall provide street illumination and shall clean all such streets,
including storm sewer inlets and catch basins, and remove all snow, except that
the state shall when necessary plow the snow on the roadway. In cities and
towns having a population of twenty-two thousand five hundred or less according
to the latest determination of population by the office of financial
management, the state, when necessary for public safety, shall assume, at its
expense, responsibility for the stability of the slopes of cuts and fills and
the embankments within the right of way to protect the roadway itself. When
the population of a city or town first exceeds twenty-two thousand five hundred
according to the determination of population by the office of financial
management, the city or town shall have three years from the date of the determination
to plan for additional staffing, budgetary, and equipment requirements before
being required to assume the responsibilities under this subsection. The state
shall install, maintain, and operate all illuminating facilities on any limited
access facility, together with its interchanges, located within the corporate
limits of any city or town, and shall assume and pay the costs of all such
installation, maintenance, and operation incurred after November 1, 1954;
(7) The department has
the right to use all storm sewers on such highways without cost; and if new
storm sewer facilities are necessary in construction of new streets by the
department, the cost of the facilities shall be borne by the state and/or city
as may be mutually agreed upon between the department and the governing body of
the city or town;
(8) Cities and towns
have exclusive right to grant franchises not in conflict with state laws and
rules, over, beneath, and upon such streets, but the department is
authorized to enforce in an action brought in the name of the state any
condition of any franchise which a city or town has granted on such street. No
franchise for transportation of passengers in motor vehicles may be granted on
such streets without the approval of the department, but the department shall
not refuse to approve such franchise unless another street conveniently located
and of strength of construction to sustain travel of such vehicles is
accessible;
(9) Every franchise or
permit granted any person by a city or town for use of any portion of such
street by a public utility ((shall)) must require the grantee or
permittee to restore, repair, and replace ((to its original condition))
any portion of the street damaged or injured by it to conditions that meet
or exceed requirements established by the department;
(10) The city or town
has the right to issue overload or overwidth permits for vehicles to operate on
such streets or roads subject to regulations printed and distributed to the
cities and towns by the department;
(11) Cities and towns
shall regulate and enforce all traffic and parking restrictions on such
streets, but all regulations adopted by a city or town relating to speed,
parking, and traffic control devices on such streets not identical to state law
relating thereto are subject to the approval of the department before becoming
effective. All regulations pertaining to speed, parking, and traffic control
devices relating to such streets heretofore adopted by a city or town not
identical with state laws shall become null and void unless approved by the
department heretofore or within one year after March 21, 1963;
(12) The department
shall erect, control, and maintain at state expense all route markers and
directional signs, except street signs, on such streets;
(13) The department
shall install, operate, maintain, and control at state expense all traffic
control signals, signs, and traffic control devices for the purpose of
regulating both pedestrian and motor vehicular traffic on, entering upon, or
leaving state highways in cities and towns having a population of twenty-two
thousand five hundred or less according to the latest determination of
population by the office of financial management. Such cities and towns may
submit to the department a plan for traffic control signals, signs, and traffic
control devices desired by them, indicating the location, nature of
installation, or type thereof, or a proposed amendment to such an existing plan
or installation, and the department shall consult with the cities or towns
concerning the plan before installing such signals, signs, or devices. Cities
and towns having a population in excess of twenty-two thousand five hundred
according to the latest determination of population by the office of financial
management shall install, maintain, operate, and control such signals, signs,
and devices at their own expense, subject to approval of the department for the
installation and type only. When the population of a city or town first
exceeds twenty-two thousand five hundred according to the determination of
population by the office of financial management, the city or town shall have
three years from the date of the determination to plan for additional staffing,
budgetary, and equipment requirements before being required to assume the
responsibilities under this subsection. For the purpose of this subsection,
striping, lane marking, and channelization are considered traffic control
devices;
(14) All revenue from
parking meters placed on such streets belongs to the city or town;
(15) Rights of way for
such streets shall be acquired by either the city or town or by the state as
shall be mutually agreed upon. Costs of acquiring rights of way may be at the
sole expense of the state or at the expense of the city or town or at the
expense of the state and the city or town as may be mutually agreed upon.
Title to all such rights of way so acquired shall vest in the city or town:
PROVIDED, That no vacation, sale, rental, or any other nontransportation use of
any unused portion of any such street may be made by the city or town without
the prior written approval of the department; and all revenue derived from
sale, vacation, rental, or any nontransportation use of such rights of way
shall be shared by the city or town and the state in the same proportion as the
purchase costs were shared;
(16) If any city or
town fails to perform any of its obligations as set forth in this section or in
any cooperative agreement entered into with the department for the maintenance
of a city or town street forming part of the route of a state highway, the
department may notify the mayor of the city or town to perform the necessary
maintenance within thirty days. If the city or town within the thirty days
fails to perform the maintenance or fails to authorize the department to
perform the maintenance as provided by RCW 47.24.050, the department may
perform the maintenance, the cost of which is to be deducted from any sums in
the motor vehicle fund credited or to be credited to the city or town.
NEW SECTION.
Sec. 9. If specific funding for
the purposes of this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is
not provided by June 30, 2001, in the transportation appropriations act, this
act is null and void.
