BILL REQ. #: S-0592.1
| State of Washington | 58th Legislature | 2003 Regular Session |
Read first time 01/29/2003. Referred to Committee on Highways & Transportation.
AN ACT Relating to election and authority of Sound Transit board members; and amending RCW 81.112.040, 81.112.010, and 81.112.030.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1 RCW 81.112.040 and 1994 c 109 s 1 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) ((The))(a) Except for the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit
Authority (CPSRTA) (also known as Sound Transit), a regional transit
authority shall be governed by ((a)) an appointive board consisting of
representatives appointed by the county executive and confirmed by the
council or other legislative authority of each member county((.)), as
provided in (b) of this subsection. In the case of the Central Puget
Sound Regional Transit Authority, the board will consist of nine
members chosen through district-based elections, as provided in (c) of
this subsection.
(b) In the case of an authority other than the Central Puget Sound
Regional Transit Authority, the authority will have an appointive
board, in which membership shall be based on population from that
portion of each county which lies within the service area. Board
members shall be appointed initially on the basis of one for each one
hundred forty-five thousand population within the county. Such
appointments shall be made following consultation with city and town
jurisdictions within the service area. In addition, the secretary of
transportation or the secretary's designee shall serve as a member of
the board and may have voting status with approval of a majority of the
other members of the board. Only board members, not including
alternates or designees, may cast votes.
Each member of the board, except the secretary of transportation or
the secretary's designee, shall be:
(((a))) (i) An elected official who serves on the legislative
authority of a city or as mayor of a city within the boundaries of the
authority;
(((b))) (ii) On the legislative authority of the county, if fifty
percent of the population of the legislative official's district is
within the authority boundaries; or
(((c))) (iii) A county executive from a member county within the
authority boundaries.
When making appointments, each county executive shall ensure that
representation on the board includes an elected city official
representing the largest city in each county and assures proportional
representation from other cities, and representation from
unincorporated areas of each county within the service area. At least
one-half of all appointees from each county shall serve on the
governing authority of a public transportation system.
Members appointed from each county shall serve staggered four-year
terms. Vacancies shall be filled by appointment for the remainder of
the unexpired term of the position being vacated.
The governing board shall be reconstituted, with regard to the
number of representatives from each county, on a population basis,
using the official office of financial management population estimates,
five years after its initial formation and, at minimum, in the year
following each official federal census. The board membership may be
reduced, maintained, or expanded to reflect population changes but
under no circumstances may the board membership exceed twenty-five.
(c) The board of the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority
(also known as Sound Transit) (referred to in this subsection (c) as
CPSRTA) will consist of nine members elected in nine numbered districts
in partisan primary and general elections commencing with the elections
held in 2003. Commencing with such elections, a person seeking
election or serving on the board may not hold other public office
(except for precinct committee officer) and must be a registered voter
residing in the relevant electoral district during the term in office
and for a period from at least thirty days before filing a petition for
candidacy.
A five-member districting commission appointed by the governor
shall define the districts as soon as possible after the effective date
of this act. Each commission member must reside in a different CPSRTA
subarea. The districting commission has all reasonably necessary
powers and shall determine a reasonable budget, which must be funded
upon its request, by the CPSRTA. The districting commission promptly
shall approve a plan for nine numbered electoral districts in the
CPSRTA service area, and publicize and file the plan with the county
clerks of Pierce, King, and Snohomish counties. The plan must be drawn
to ensure that the electoral districts have nearly equal populations
(in accord with the one-person-one-vote principle); do not divide a
precinct; are compact, convenient, and contiguous; and minimize the
number of districts that consist of portions of different counties or
different CPSRTA subareas. An objection to the plan must be commenced
within thirty days and heard within sixty days of filing the plan.
Upon certification of the November 2003 election, terms of office
of all previously appointed CPSRTA board members expire, and the nine
elected members shall take office. Each of these shall serve the
remainder of 2003 plus an additional period of two or four years. Lots
must be drawn to determine which five of the elected nine members shall
serve an additional four years, and which four of the elected nine
members shall serve an additional two years. All successors elected in
subsequent elections in odd-numbered years will have terms of office
for four years, commencing January 1st after the election. CPSRTA
board positions become vacant upon failure to maintain residence or
other qualification, recall, death, resignation, or adjudication of
permanent disability. The vacancy must be temporarily filled by a
person appointed by a majority vote of all elected precinct committee
officers in the relevant district of the same political party as the
person previously serving. The temporary appointed members shall serve
until a successor for the remainder of the vacated term is chosen in
the next primary and general election, if possible. Every decade,
after release of federal census information, the governor shall appoint
a new districting commission in accord with this subsection. The
commission shall operate in accord with the standards provided in this
section, and shall prepare a timetable for transition to any new
districts. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, to allow
staggered terms after a redistricting, a member who has an uncompleted
four-year term, who no longer resides in his or her prior district
solely due to redistricting, shall serve the remainder of the four-year
term.
(2) Major decisions of the authority shall require a favorable vote
of two-thirds of the entire membership of the voting members. "Major
decisions" include at least the following: System plan adoption and
amendment; system phasing decisions; annual budget adoption;
authorization of annexations; modification of board composition; and
executive director employment. However, this subsection does not
affect the rights of elected members of the Central Puget Sound
Regional Transit Authority specified in RCW 81.112.030(9).
(3) Each member of the board is eligible to be reimbursed for
travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060 and to
receive compensation as provided in RCW 43.03.250. However, any
elected member of the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority
board may elect to alternatively be compensated upon the same terms and
conditions as a member of any port district in the area served by such
authority.
Sec. 2 RCW 81.112.010 and 1992 c 101 s 1 are each amended to read
as follows:
The legislature recognizes that existing transportation facilities
in the central Puget Sound area are inadequate to address mobility
needs of the area. The geography of the region, travel demand growth,
and public resistance to new roadways combine to further necessitate
the rapid development of alternative modes of travel.
The legislature finds that local governments have been effective in
cooperatively planning a multicounty, high capacity transportation
system. However, a continued multijurisdictional approach to funding,
construction, and operation of a multicounty high capacity
transportation system may impair the successful implementation of such
a system.
The legislature finds that a single agency will be more effective
than several local jurisdictions working collectively at planning,
developing, operating, and funding a high capacity transportation
system. The single agency's services must be carefully integrated and
coordinated with public transportation services currently provided. As
the single agency's services are established, any public transportation
services currently provided that are duplicative should be eliminated.
Further, the single agency must coordinate its activities with other
agencies providing local and state roadway services, implementing
comprehensive planning, and implementing transportation demand
management programs and assist in developing infrastructure to support
high capacity systems including but not limited to feeder systems, park
and ride facilities, intermodal centers, and related roadway and
operational facilities. Coordination can be best achieved through
common governance, such as integrated governing boards, except in the
case of the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority, as to which
the legislature finds overriding need to ensure that the single agency
is accountable to the people, through election of board members by
districts.
It is therefore the policy of the state of Washington to empower
counties in the state's most populous region to create a local agency
for planning and implementing a high capacity transportation system
within that region. The authorization for such an agency, except as
specifically provided in this chapter, is not intended to limit the
powers of existing transit agencies.
Sec. 3 RCW 81.112.030 and 1994 c 44 s 1 are each amended to read
as follows:
Two or more contiguous counties each having a population of four
hundred thousand persons or more may establish a regional transit
authority to develop and operate a high capacity transportation system
as defined in chapter 81.104 RCW.
The authority shall be formed in the following manner:
(1) The joint regional policy committee created pursuant to RCW
81.104.040 shall adopt a system and financing plan, including the
definition of the service area. This action shall be completed by
September 1, 1992, contingent upon satisfactory completion of the
planning process defined in RCW 81.104.100. The final system plan
shall be adopted no later than June 30, 1993. In addition to the
requirements of RCW 81.104.100, the plan for the proposed system shall
provide explicitly for a minimum portion of new tax revenues to be
allocated to local transit agencies for interim express services. Upon
adoption the joint regional policy committee shall immediately transmit
the plan to the county legislative authorities within the adopted
service area.
(2) The legislative authorities of the counties within the service
area shall decide by resolution whether to participate in the
authority. This action shall be completed within forty-five days
following receipt of the adopted plan or by August 13, 1993, whichever
comes first.
(3)(a) Each county that chooses to participate in the authority
shall appoint its board members as set forth in RCW 81.112.040 and
shall submit its list of members to the secretary of the Washington
state department of transportation. These actions must be completed
within thirty days following each county's decision to participate in
the authority.
(b) Notwithstanding (a) of this subsection, the Central Puget Sound
Regional Transit Authority (also known as Sound Transit) board will be
selected by direct election as set forth in RCW 81.112.040.
(4) The secretary shall call the first meeting of the authority, to
be held within thirty days following receipt of the appointments. At
its first meeting, the authority shall elect officers and provide for
the adoption of rules and other operating procedures.
(5) The authority is formally constituted at its first meeting and
the board shall begin taking steps toward implementation of the system
and financing plan adopted by the joint regional policy committee. If
the joint regional policy committee fails to adopt a plan by June 30,
1993, the authority shall proceed to do so based on the work completed
by that date by the joint regional policy committee. Upon formation of
the authority, the joint regional policy committee shall cease to
exist. The authority may make minor modifications to the plan as
deemed necessary and shall at a minimum review local transit agencies'
plans to ensure feeder service/
(6) If the authority determines that major modifications to the
plan are necessary before the initial ballot proposition is submitted
to the voters, the authority may make those modifications with a
favorable vote of two-thirds of the entire membership. Any such
modification shall be subject to the review process set forth in RCW
81.104.110. The modified plan shall be transmitted to the legislative
authorities of the participating counties. The legislative authorities
shall have forty-five days following receipt to act by motion or
ordinance to confirm or rescind their continued participation in the
authority.
(7) If any county opts to not participate in the authority, but two
or more contiguous counties do choose to continue to participate, the
authority's board shall be revised accordingly. The authority shall,
within forty-five days, redefine the system and financing plan to
reflect elimination of one or more counties, and submit the redefined
plan to the legislative authorities of the remaining counties for their
decision as to whether to continue to participate. This action shall
be completed within forty-five days following receipt of the redefined
plan.
(8) The authority shall place on the ballot within two years of the
authority's formation, a single ballot proposition to authorize the
imposition of taxes to support the implementation of an appropriate
phase of the plan within its service area. In addition to the system
plan requirements contained in RCW 81.104.100(2)(d), the system plan
approved by the authority's board before the submittal of a proposition
to the voters shall contain an equity element which:
(a) Identifies revenues anticipated to be generated by corridor and
by county within the authority's boundaries;
(b) Identifies the phasing of construction and operation of high
capacity system facilities, services, and benefits in each corridor.
Phasing decisions should give priority to jurisdictions which have
adopted transit-supportive land use plans; and
(c) Identifies the degree to which revenues generated within each
county will benefit the residents of that county, and identifies when
such benefits will accrue.
A simple majority of those voting within the boundaries of the
authority is required for approval. If the vote is affirmative, the
authority shall begin implementation of the projects identified in the
proposition. However, the authority may not submit any authorizing
proposition for voter-approved taxes prior to July 1, 1993; nor may the
authority issue bonds or form any local improvement district prior to
July 1, 1993.
(9) If the vote on a proposition fails, the board may redefine the
proposition, make changes to the authority boundaries, and make
corresponding changes to the composition of the board. If the
composition of the board is changed, the participating counties shall
revise the membership of the board accordingly, subject to RCW
81.112.040(1)(c). The board may then submit the revised proposition or
a different proposition to the voters. No single proposition may be
submitted to the voters more than twice. The authority may place
additional propositions on the ballot to impose taxes to support
additional phases of plan implementation.
If the authority is unable to achieve a positive vote on a
proposition within two years from the date of the first election on a
proposition, the board may, by resolution, reconstitute the authority
as a single-county body. With a two-thirds vote of the entire
membership of the voting members, the board may also dissolve the
authority. Notwithstanding RCW 81.112.040(2), if a majority of voting
board members of the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority
selected by direct election decides in its discretion that the Link
Light Rail proposal has materially changed from that submitted to or
reasonably expected or understood by voters, then the board may by
majority vote terminate the Link Light Rail program, and thereafter the
board may submit a revised or different proposition to the voters, or
may reprogram Link Light Rail resources to a monorail line in the
SeaTac-Northgate corridor or beyond, commuter rail (Sounder), intercity
bus service, vanpools, or any combination thereof. Any board of the
Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority that was not elected as
provided for in RCW 81.112.040(1)(c) may not make expenditures, nor
enter into an obligation or commitment, for purposes of implementing
the Link Light Rail system.