Read first time 04/02/2003.   Referred to Committee on Highways & Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to authorizing bonds for transportation funding; amending RCW 39.42.060 and 35.95A.120; adding new sections to chapter 47.10 RCW; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   In order to provide funds necessary for the location, design, right of way, and construction of selected projects or improvements that are identified as transportation 2003 projects or improvements in the omnibus transportation budget, there shall be issued and sold upon the request of the transportation commission a total of two billion six hundred million dollars of general obligation bonds of the state of Washington.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   Upon the request of the transportation commission, as appropriate, the state finance committee shall supervise and provide for the issuance, sale, and retirement of the bonds in this act in accordance with chapter 39.42 RCW. Bonds authorized by this act shall be sold in the manner, at time or times, in amounts, and at the price as the state finance committee shall determine. No bonds may be offered for sale without prior legislative appropriation of the net proceeds of the sale of the bonds.
     The state finance committee shall consider the issuance of short-term obligations in lieu of long-term obligations for the purposes of more favorable interest rates, lower total interest costs, and increased marketability and for the purpose of retiring the bonds during the life of the project for which they were issued.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   The proceeds from the sale of bonds authorized by section 1 of this act shall be deposited in the transportation 2003 account (nickel account) in the motor vehicle fund. The proceeds shall be available only for the purposes enumerated in section 1 of this act, for the payment of bond anticipation notes, if any, and for the payment of bond issuance costs, including the costs of underwriting.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   Bonds issued under the authority of sections 1 through 6 of this act shall distinctly state that they are a general obligation of the state of Washington, shall pledge the full faith and credit of the state to the payment of the principal thereof and the interest thereon, and shall contain an unconditional promise to pay such principal and interest as the same shall become due. The principal and interest on the bonds shall be first payable in the manner provided in sections 1 through 6 of this act from the proceeds of the state excise taxes on motor vehicle and special fuels imposed by chapters 82.36 and 82.38 RCW. Proceeds of these excise taxes are hereby pledged to the payment of any bonds and the interest thereon issued under the authority of sections 1 through 6 of this act, and the legislature agrees to continue to impose these excise taxes on motor vehicle and special fuels in amounts sufficient to pay, when due, the principal and interest on all bonds issued under the authority of sections 1 through 6 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   Both principal and interest on the bonds issued for the purposes of sections 1 through 6 of this act shall be payable from the highway bond retirement fund. The state finance committee may provide that a special account be created in the fund to facilitate payment of the principal and interest. The state finance committee shall, on or before June 30th of each year, certify to the state treasurer the amount required for principal and interest on the bonds in accordance with the bond proceedings. The state treasurer shall withdraw revenues from the transportation 2003 account (nickel account) in the motor vehicle fund and deposit in the highway bond retirement fund, or a special account in the fund, such amounts, and at such times, as are required by the bond proceedings.
     Any funds required for bond retirement or interest on the bonds authorized by sections 1 through 6 of this act shall be taken from that portion of the motor vehicle fund that results from the imposition of excise taxes on motor vehicle and special fuels and that is distributed to the transportation 2003 account (nickel account) in the motor vehicle fund. Funds required shall never constitute a charge against any other allocations of motor vehicle fuel and special fuel tax revenues to the state, counties, cities, and towns unless the amount arising from excise taxes on motor vehicle and special fuels distributed to the transportation 2003 account (nickel account) proves insufficient to meet the requirements for bond retirement or interest on any such bonds.
     Any payments for bond retirement or interest on the bonds taken from other revenues from the motor vehicle fuel or special fuel taxes that are distributable to the state, counties, cities, and towns shall be repaid from the first revenues from the motor vehicle fuel or special fuel taxes distributed to the transportation 2003 account (nickel account) not required for bond retirement or interest on the bonds.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   Bonds issued under the authority of sections 1 through 5 of this act and this section and any other general obligation bonds of the state of Washington that have been or that may be authorized and that pledge motor vehicle and special fuels excise taxes for the payment of principal and interest thereon shall be an equal charge against the revenues from such motor vehicle and special fuels excise taxes.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   For the purpose of providing funds for the planning, design, construction, reconstruction, and other necessary costs for transportation projects, the state finance committee is authorized to issue general obligation bonds of the state of Washington in the sum of three hundred forty-nine million five hundred thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be required, to finance these projects and all costs incidental thereto. Bonds authorized in this section may be sold at such price as the state finance committee shall determine. No bonds authorized in this section may be offered for sale without prior legislative appropriation of the net proceeds of the sale of the bonds.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   The proceeds of the sale of the bonds authorized in section 7 of this act must be deposited in the multimodal transportation account and must be used exclusively for the purposes specified in section 7 of this act and for the payment of expenses incurred in the issuance and sale of the bonds.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9   (1) The nondebt-limit reimbursable bond retirement account must be used for the payment of the principal and interest on the bonds authorized in section 7 of this act.
     (2)(a) The state finance committee must, on or before June 30th of each year, certify to the state treasurer the amount needed in the ensuing twelve months to meet the bond retirement and interest requirements on the bonds authorized in section 7 of this act.
     (b) On or before the date on which any interest or principal and interest is due, the state treasurer shall transfer from the multimodal transportation account for deposit into the nondebt-limit reimbursable bond retirement account the amount computed in (a) of this subsection for bonds issued for the purposes of section 7 of this act.
     (3) If the multimodal transportation account has insufficient revenues to pay the principal and interest computed in subsection (2)(a) of this section, then the debt-limit reimbursable bond retirement account must be used for the payment of the principal and interest on the bonds authorized in section 7 of this act from any additional means provided by the legislature.
     (4) If at any time the multimodal transportation account has insufficient revenues to repay the bonds, the legislature may provide additional means for the payment of the bonds.

NEW SECTION.  Sec.10   (1) Bonds issued under section 7 of this act must state that they are a general obligation of the state of Washington, must pledge the full faith and credit of the state to the payment of the principal and interest, and must contain an unconditional promise to pay the principal and interest as it becomes due.
     (2) The owner and holder of each of the bonds or the trustee for the owner and holder of any of the bonds may by mandamus or other appropriate proceeding require the transfer and payment of funds as directed in this section.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 11   The legislature may provide additional means for raising moneys for the payment of the principal and interest on the bonds authorized in section 7 of this act, and sections 9 and 10 of this act are not deemed to provide an exclusive method for their payment.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 12   The bonds authorized in section 7 of this act are a legal investment for all state funds or funds under state control and for all funds of any other public body.

Sec. 13   RCW 39.42.060 and 2002 c 240 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:
     No bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness for borrowed money shall be issued by the state which will cause the aggregate debt contracted by the state to exceed that amount for which payments of principal and interest in any fiscal year would require the state to expend more than seven percent of the arithmetic mean of its general state revenues, as defined in RCW 39.42.070, for the three immediately preceding fiscal years as certified by the treasurer in accordance with RCW 39.42.070. It shall be the duty of the state finance committee to compute annually the amount required to pay principal of and interest on outstanding debt. In making such computation, the state finance committee shall include all borrowed money represented by bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness which are secured by the full faith and credit of the state or are required to be paid, directly or indirectly, from general state revenues and which are incurred by the state, any department, authority, public corporation or quasi public corporation of the state, any state university or college, or any other public agency created by the state but not by counties, cities, towns, school districts, or other municipal corporations, and shall include debt incurred pursuant to section 3 of Article VIII of the Washington state Constitution, but shall exclude the following:
     (1) Obligations for the payment of current expenses of state government;
     (2) Indebtedness incurred pursuant to RCW 39.42.080 or 39.42.090;
     (3) Principal of and interest on bond anticipation notes;
     (4) Any indebtedness which has been refunded;
     (5) Financing contracts entered into under chapter 39.94 RCW;
     (6) Indebtedness authorized or incurred before July 1, 1993, pursuant to statute which requires that the state treasury be reimbursed, in the amount of the principal of and the interest on such indebtedness, from money other than general state revenues or from the special excise tax imposed pursuant to chapter 67.40 RCW;
     (7) Indebtedness authorized and incurred after July 1, 1993, pursuant to statute that requires that the state treasury be reimbursed, in the amount of the principal of and the interest on such indebtedness, from (a) moneys outside the state treasury, except higher education operating fees, (b) higher education building fees, (c) indirect costs recovered from federal grants and contracts, and (d) fees and charges associated with hospitals operated or managed by institutions of higher education;
     (8) Any agreement, promissory note, or other instrument entered into by the state finance committee under RCW 39.42.030 in connection with its acquisition of bond insurance, letters of credit, or other credit support instruments for the purpose of guaranteeing the payment or enhancing the marketability, or both, of any state bonds, notes, or other evidence of indebtedness;
     (9) Indebtedness incurred for the purposes identified in RCW 43.99N.020;
     (10) Indebtedness incurred for the purposes of the school district bond guaranty established by chapter 39.98 RCW;
     (11) Indebtedness incurred for the purposes of replacing the waterproof membrane over the east plaza garage and revising related landscaping construction pursuant to RCW 43.99Q.070; ((and))
     (12) Indebtedness incurred for the purposes of the state legislative building rehabilitation, to the extent that principal and interest payments of such indebtedness are paid from the capitol building construction account pursuant to RCW 43.99Q.140(2)(b); and
     (13) Indebtedness incurred for the purposes of financing projects under section 7 of this act.
     To the extent necessary because of the constitutional or statutory debt limitation, priorities with respect to the issuance or guaranteeing of bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness by the state shall be determined by the state finance committee.

Sec. 14   RCW 35.95A.120 and 2002 c 248 s 13 are each amended to read as follows:
     The city transportation authority may be dissolved by a vote of the people residing within the boundaries of the authority if the authority is faced with significant financial problems. However, the authority may covenant with holders of its bonds that it may not be dissolved and shall continue to exist solely for the purpose of continuing to levy and collect any taxes or assessments levied by it and pledged to the repayment of debt and to take other actions, including the appointment of a trustee, as necessary to allow it to repay any remaining debt. No such debt may be incurred by the authority on a project until thirty days after a final environmental impact statement on that project has been issued as required by chapter 43.21C RCW. The amount of the authority's initial bond issue is limited to the amount of the project costs in the subsequent two years as documented by a certified engineer or by submitted bids, plus any reimbursable capital expenses already incurred at the time of the bond issue. The authority may size the first bond issue consistent with the internal revenue service five-year spend down schedule if an independent financial advisor recommends such an approach is financially advisable. Any referendum petition to dissolve the city transportation authority must be filed with the city council and contain provisions for dissolution of the authority. Within seven days, the city prosecutor must review the validity of the petition and submit its report to the petitioner and city council. If the petitioner's claims are deemed valid by the city prosecutor, within ten days of the petitioner's filing, the city council will confer with the petitioner concerning the form and style of the petition, issue an identification number for the petition, and write a ballot title for the measure. The ballot title must be posed as a question and an affirmative vote on the measure results in authority retention and a negative vote on the measure results in the authority's dissolution. The petitioner will be notified of the identification number and ballot title within this ten-day period.
     After this notification, the petitioner has ninety days in which to secure on petition forms, the signatures of not less than fifteen percent of the registered voters in the authority area and to file the signed petitions with the filing officer. Each petition form must contain the ballot title and the full text of the measure to be referred. The filing officer will verify the sufficiency of the signatures on the petitions. If sufficient valid signatures are properly submitted, the filing officer shall submit the initiative to the authority area voters at a general or special election held on one of the dates provided in RCW 29.13.010 as determined by the city council, which election will not take place later than one hundred twenty days after the signed petition has been filed with the filing officer.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 15   Sections 1 through 12 of this act are each added to chapter 47.10 RCW.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 16   This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect July 1, 2003.