ESSB 6839

SENATE BILL REPORT
ESSB 6839

Title: An act relating to transportation accounts and revenue distributions.

Brief Description: Modifying transportation accounts and revenue distributions.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on Transportation (originally sponsored by Senator Haugen).

Majority Report: That Substitute Senate Bill No. 6839 be substituted therefor, and the substitute bill do pass.Signed by Senators Haugen, Chair; Jacobsen, Vice Chair; Berkey, Eide, Kastama, Oke, Sheldon, Spanel, Swecker and Weinstein.

Background: The sixteen-year transportation financial plan enacted by the Legislature in 2005 relies on numerous, ongoing budgetary transfers to support planned expenditures.

The 2005 transportation revenue bill (ESSB 6103) authorized the State Auditor to conduct performance audits for transportation-related agencies and appropriated $4 million for this purpose. However, on November 8, 2005, voters approved Initiative 900 (I-900) requiring the State Auditor to conduct performance audits of state and local governments, including "state and local transportation governmental entities and each of their agencies, accounts and programs...." I-900 dedicates a percentage of the state sales and use tax for this purpose.

ESSB 6103 also included language stating that if a regional transportation funding plan has not been adopted by 2007, the Legislature intends to reprioritize allocation of funding for projects identified in the 2005 financial plan.

Summary of Bill: Planned, future transfers in support of the 2005 financial plan are codified as statutory distributions. Two funds are also created in support of the financial plan including the Freight Mobility Multimodal Account and the Regional Mobility Grant Program Account. Both accounts are subject to appropriation and retain their own interest.

The $4 million appropriation authorized in ESSB 6103 for the State Auditor to conduct performance audits of transportation-related agencies is reduced to $2 million. Language concerning legislative intent to reprioritize the state transportation financial plan if a regional transportation funding plan is not adopted by 2007 is also repealed.

Effective Date: The bill contains several effective dates. Please refer to the bill.

House Amendment(s): The 2005-07 appropriation of $4 million to the State Auditor's Office for performance audits of transportation agencies is restored and all references to the Transportation Performance Audit Board are eliminated. The effective date for creation of the Freight Mobility Multimodal Account is March 24, 2006. Capron Act fuel tax refunds to San Juan and Island Counties are capped at the twenty-three cents per gallon rate. Fuel tax receipts above twenty-three cents per gallon from the affected counties are deposited to the Puget Sound Ferry Operations Account.