BILL REQ. #:  H-1473.3 

READ FIRST TIME 03/08/05.   

     AN ACT Relating to motorist information sign panels; amending RCW 47.36.310; reenacting and amending RCW 47.36.320; creating a new section; and repealing RCW 47.36.325.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 47.36.310 and 1999 c 201 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     The department is authorized to erect and maintain motorist information sign panels within the right of way of the interstate highway system to give the traveling public specific information as to gas, food, lodging, camping, or tourist-oriented business available on a crossroad at or near an interchange. Motorist information sign panels shall include the words "GAS," "FOOD," "LODGING," "CAMPING," or "TOURIST ACTIVITIES" and directional information and may contain one or more individual business signs maintained on the panel. In managing the number of individual business signs to be displayed, the department must ensure the use of available space on a panel is maximized. Motorist information sign panels are authorized within the corporate limits of cities and towns and areas zoned for commercial or industrial uses at locations where there is adequate distance between interchanges to ensure compliance with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. The erection and maintenance of motorist information sign panels shall also conform to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and rules adopted by the state department of transportation. A motorist service or tourist-oriented business located within one mile of an interstate highway shall not be permitted to display its name, brand, or trademark on a motorist information sign panel unless its owner has first entered into an agreement with the department limiting the height of its on-premise signs at the site of its service installation to not more than fifteen feet higher than the roof of its main building measured to the bottom of the on-premise sign. The restriction for on-premise signs does not apply if the sign is not visible from the highway. The department may, on a case-by-case basis, waive the height restriction when an on-premise sign is visible from the rural interstate system. The department shall charge ((reasonable)) sufficient fees for the display of individual business signs to ((defray)) recover the costs of their installation and maintenance, and ((may)) shall charge ((reasonable)) sufficient fees to recover costs for the erection and maintenance of the motorist information sign panels.

Sec. 2   RCW 47.36.320 and 1999 c 213 s 1 and 1999 c 201 s 4 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     The department is authorized to erect and maintain motorist information sign panels within the right of way of noninterstate highways to give the traveling public specific information as to gas, food, lodging, recreation, or tourist-oriented businesses accessible by way of highways intersecting the noninterstate highway. The motorist information sign panels are permitted only at locations within the corporate limits of cities and towns and areas zoned for commercial or industrial uses where there is adequate distance between interchanges to ensure compliance with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices. Motorist information sign panels shall include the words "GAS," "FOOD," "LODGING," "RECREATION," or "TOURIST ACTIVITIES" and directional information and may contain one or more individual business signs maintained on the panel. In managing the number of individual business signs to be displayed, the department must ensure the use of available space on a panel is maximized. The erection and maintenance of motorist information sign panels along noninterstate highways shall also conform to the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices and rules adopted by the state department of transportation. A motorist service or tourist-oriented business located within one mile of a noninterstate highway shall not be permitted to display its name, brand, or trademark on a motorist information sign panel unless its owner has first entered into an agreement with the department limiting the height of its on-premise signs at the site of its service installation to not more than fifteen feet higher than the roof of its main building measured to the bottom of the on-premise sign.
     The department shall adopt rules for the erection and maintenance of tourist-oriented directional signs with the following restrictions:
     (1) Where installed, they shall be placed in advance of the "GAS," "FOOD," "LODGING," or "RECREATION" motorist information sign panels previously described in this section;
     (2) Signs shall not be placed to direct a motorist to an activity visible from the main traveled roadway;
     (3) Premises on which the qualified tourist-oriented business is located must be within fifteen miles of the state highway except as provided in RCW 47.36.330(3) (b) and (c), and necessary supplemental signing on local roads must be provided before the installation of the signs on the state highway.
     The department shall charge ((reasonable)) sufficient fees for the display of individual business signs to ((defray)) recover the costs of their installation and maintenance, and ((may)) shall charge ((reasonable)) sufficient fees to recover the costs for the erection and maintenance of the motorist information sign panels.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   The department of transportation shall submit an electronic report by December 15, 2005, to the house of representatives and senate transportation committees detailing revenues and expenditures of the motorist information sign program. The report shall also include a detailed explanation of the methodology and calculation of costs charged to businesses using the program.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   RCW 47.36.325 (Motorist information signs-- Private contractors) and 2002 c 321 s 1 are each repealed.