BILL REQ. #:  H-1341.1 

Read first time 02/04/11.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to requiring comprehensive reform of the Washington state ferry system; adding new sections to chapter 47.60 RCW; and creating new sections.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that:
     (1) Ferry service is an integral element of the state's network of highway, transit, freight, and communications infrastructure vital to the overall socioeconomic well-being of the state and to the survival of ferry-dependent communities.
     (2) Serious declines in the amount and reliability of ferry service in recent years have damaged the economic vitality of many ferry communities. For these businesses and working families, recovery from the current, severe recession depends directly on the rapid restoration of better ferry service.
     (3) Immediate action is needed to bring ferry system operating costs under control by downsizing administrative functions, improving the working climate, and by refocusing the ferry system on its primary mission of delivering reliable, cost-effective service.
     (4) Immediate action is also needed both to begin furnishing new vessels to our overaged, too small ferry fleet and to bolster the maintenance of the existing fleet during the decade or more required to achieve a substantial improvement in fleet size, age, and reliability.
     (5) Despite several years of legislative studies, directives, planning exercises, and the administrative integration of Washington ferry service into the department of transportation, ferry system management remains ineffective with key goals for cost-effective operations, personnel management, vessel construction, and the public availability of comprehensive budget and related information unrealized.
     (6) Accordingly, the legislature intends to impose on a transitional, get-well basis a system reform executive board charged with executive supervision of ferry system managers as the system implements a series of explicit ferry system reform tasks and prepares to transition to a new, sustainable management structure with enhanced public oversight.
     (7) Recognizing that restoring public trust in the ferry system requires confidence that past problems will not be repeated, the legislature also intends to launch a prompt comprehensive and independent audit of the series of executive and legislative choices that have led to the current service and fleet replacement crises.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   This act may be known and cited as the ferry reform and accountability act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 47.60 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The Washington state ferry reform executive board is created. Unless extended by the legislature, the board must complete its work by and dissolve June 30, 2013. The board must consist of three members appointed by the governor with the concurrence of the speaker of the house of representatives and the majority leader of the senate in consultation with the minority leaders of the house of representatives and senate. In order to bring a balance of executive expertise, the appointees must be an executive with maritime operations experience, an executive with experience in cultivating positive workplace environments, and an executive with contracting and construction experience, each chosen for their proven capacity for innovation and organizational excellence.
     (2) Staffing of the Washington state ferry reform executive board must be furnished by the Washington state ferries and the department of transportation staffs as part of their regular support to the ferry system's executives. The board may hire one full-time executive staff support per appointed board member, of which one must be designated transition chief of staff for the ferry system. Support staff must receive compensation similar to a level two Washington management services employee.
     (3) Appointed board members must be compensated on a per diem basis at the same rate of pay as the assistant secretary of Washington state ferries.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 47.60 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The Washington state ferry reform executive board shall direct and oversee the transition of Washington ferry service to the cost-effective performance of the mission prescribed in section 5 of this act. To that end, the board shall work toward the following key operational reform goals:
     (a) Maximize administrative efficiency so that the fleet operates with minimum nonafloat staff and administrative costs;
     (b) Reform the personnel climate and labor-management relationships to assure quality service by a healthy career force;
     (c) Improve fleet maintenance effectiveness to assure reliable, cost-effective service from the aging ferry fleet; and
     (d) Create a new ferry system management architecture to be fully functional by June 1, 2013, which incorporates a fully transparent budget and other management information and participation by ferry communities and ferry crews in cost control, system efficiency, fare setting (per transportation commission processes), and service schedule development.
     (2) The Washington state ferry reform executive board shall propose to the legislature by December 1, 2012:
     (a) A revised, long-range plan for cost-effective ferry service, fleet and terminal maintenance, fleet and terminal modernization, and ferry system staffing;
     (b) A plan for ferry system organization and governance reform; and
     (c) A revised strategy for the acquisition of new ferries consistent with the mission prescribed in section 5 of this act.
     (3) The Washington state ferry reform executive board shall periodically consult with ferry communities and ferry system employees in public meetings.
     (4) The Washington state ferry reform executive board shall provide quarterly updates on its activities to the Washington state transportation commission, the legislative standing committees on transportation, and the general public.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   A new section is added to chapter 47.60 RCW to read as follows:
     The sole mission of the Washington state ferry system, operating as a division of the department of transportation and in consonance with the statutory authorities of the Washington state transportation commission, is to operate, staff, and maintain a ferry fleet and terminal system to deliver on marine highway routes designated by the legislature highly reliable, maximally cost-effective ferry service integrated with all other elements of the regional transportation network.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   A new section is added to chapter 47.60 RCW to read as follows:
     The total cost of the Washington state ferry reform executive board and the accountability audit under section 7 of this act, plus an additional one million dollars in savings per fiscal biennium, must be achieved by utilizing existing resources that support the ferry system's executive and administrative staff costs.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   A new section is added to chapter 47.60 RCW to read as follows:
     In order to assure the lasting reforms directed under sections 1 through 6 of this act, the legislature and the public must be certain that the lessons of past problems have been learned. To that end, the state auditor shall conduct an immediate, comprehensive forensic audit of the series of legislative and executive actions and decisions that have materially contributed to the current crisis of ferry service and system viability. In addition to identifying the salient executive and legislative decisions and their impact on the system's performance, the auditor shall suggest corrective lessons learned, provide a progress report to the transportation committees of the legislature in January 2012, and complete the audit by June 2012.