BILL REQ. #:  H-3622.1 

Read first time 01/27/14.   Referred to Committee on Transportation.

     AN ACT Relating to expanding transportation demand management through community trip reduction; amending RCW 70.94.524 and 70.94.527; adding a new section to chapter 70.94 RCW; and providing an effective date.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 70.94.524 and 2006 c 329 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.
     (1) "A major employer" means a private or public employer, including state agencies, that employs one hundred or more full-time employees at a single worksite who begin their regular workday between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. on weekdays for at least twelve continuous months during the year.
     (2) "Major worksite" means a building or group of buildings that are on physically contiguous parcels of land or on parcels separated solely by private or public roadways or rights-of-way, and at which there are one hundred or more full-time employees, who begin their regular workday between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. on weekdays, for at least twelve continuous months.
     (3) "Major employment installation" means a military base or federal reservation, excluding tribal reservations, at which there are one hundred or more full-time employees, who begin their regular workday between 6:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. on weekdays, for at least twelve continuous months during the year.
     (4) (("Person hours of delay" means the daily person hours of delay per mile in the peak period of 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., as calculated using the best available methodology by the department of transportation.
     (5))) "Commute trip" means trips made from a worker's home to a worksite during the peak period of 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. on weekdays.
     (((6))) (5) "Proportion of single-occupant vehicle commute trips" means the number of commute trips made by single-occupant automobiles divided by the number of full-time employees.
     (((7))) (6) "Commute trip vehicle miles traveled per employee" means the sum of the individual vehicle commute trip lengths in miles over a set period divided by the number of full-time employees during that period.
     (((8))) (7) "Base year" means the twelve-month period commencing when a major employer is determined to be participating by the local jurisdiction, on which commute trip reduction goals ((shall)) must be based.
     (((9))) (8) "Growth and transportation efficiency center" means a defined, compact, mixed-use urban area that contains jobs or housing and supports multiple modes of transportation. For the purpose of funding, a growth and transportation efficiency center must meet minimum criteria established by the commute trip reduction board under RCW 70.94.537, and must be certified by a regional transportation planning organization as established in RCW 47.80.020.
     (((10))) (9)(a) "Affected urban growth area" means:
     (i) An urban growth area, designated pursuant to RCW 36.70A.110, ((whose boundaries contain a state highway segment exceeding the one hundred person hours of delay threshold calculated by the department of transportation, and any contiguous urban growth areas)) which meets or exceeds the threshold for affected areas, as defined in department of transportation rules; and
     (ii) An urban growth area, designated pursuant to RCW 36.70A.110, which meets or exceeds the threshold for affected areas, as defined in department of transportation rules, containing a jurisdiction with a population over seventy thousand that adopted a commute trip reduction ordinance before the year 2000, and any contiguous urban growth areas.
     (b) Affected urban growth areas ((will)) must be listed by the department of transportation in the rules for chapter 329, Laws of 2006 using the criteria identified in (a) of this subsection.
     (((11))) (10) "Certification" means a determination by a regional transportation planning organization that a locally designated growth and transportation efficiency center program meets the minimum criteria developed in a collaborative regional process and the rules established by the department of transportation.

Sec. 2   RCW 70.94.527 and 2006 c 329 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) ((Each county containing an urban growth area, designated pursuant to RCW 36.70A.110, and each city within an urban growth area with a state highway segment exceeding the one hundred person hours of delay threshold calculated by the department of transportation, as well as those counties and cities located in any contiguous urban growth areas, shall adopt a commute trip reduction plan and ordinance for major employers in the affected urban growth area by a date specified by the commute trip reduction board. Jurisdictions located within an urban growth area with a population greater than seventy thousand that adopted a commute trip reduction ordinance before the year 2000, as well as any jurisdiction within contiguous urban growth areas, shall also adopt a commute trip reduction plan and ordinance for major employers in the affected urban growth area by a date specified by the commute trip reduction board.)) Cities and counties with urban growth areas that meet or exceed the threshold for affected areas, as defined in department of transportation rules, must adopt a commute trip reduction plan and ordinance. Jurisdictions containing a major employment installation in a county with an affected growth area, designated pursuant to RCW 36.70A.110, ((shall)) must adopt a commute trip reduction plan and ordinance for major employers in the major employment installation by a date specified by the commute trip reduction board. The ordinance ((shall)) must establish the requirements for major employers and provide an appeals process by which major employers, who as a result of special characteristics of their business or its locations would be unable to meet the requirements of the ordinance, may obtain waiver or modification of those requirements. The plan ((shall)) must be designed to achieve reductions in the proportion of single-occupant vehicle commute trips and be consistent with the rules established by the department of transportation. The county, city, or town ((shall)) must submit its adopted plan to the regional transportation planning organization. The county, city, or town plan ((shall)) must be included in the regional commute trip reduction plan for regional transportation planning purposes, consistent with the rules established by the department of transportation in RCW 70.94.537.
     (2) All other counties, cities, and towns may adopt and implement a commute trip reduction plan consistent with department of transportation rules established under RCW 70.94.537. Tribal governments are encouraged to adopt a commute trip reduction plan for their lands. State investment in voluntary commute trip reduction plans ((shall be)) is limited to those areas that meet criteria developed by the commute trip reduction board.
     (3) The department of ecology may, after consultation with the department of transportation, as part of the state implementation plan for areas that do not attain the national ambient air quality standards for carbon monoxide or ozone, require municipalities other than those identified in subsection (1) of this section to adopt and implement commute trip reduction plans if the department determines that such plans are necessary for attainment of said standards.
     (4) A commute trip reduction plan ((shall)) must be consistent with the rules established under RCW 70.94.537 and ((shall)) must include but is not limited to: (a) Goals for reductions in the proportion of single-occupant vehicle commute trips consistent with the state goals established by the commute trip reduction board under RCW 70.94.537 and the regional commute trip reduction plan goals established in the regional commute trip reduction plan; (b) a description of the requirements for major public and private sector employers to implement commute trip reduction programs; (c) a commute trip reduction program for employees of the county, city, or town; and (d) means, consistent with rules established by the department of transportation, for determining base year values and progress toward meeting commute trip reduction plan goals. The plan ((shall)) must be developed in consultation with local transit agencies, the applicable regional transportation planning organization, major employers, and other interested parties.
     (5) The commute trip reduction plans adopted by counties, cities, and towns under this chapter ((shall)) must be consistent with and may be incorporated in applicable state or regional transportation plans and local comprehensive plans and ((shall)) must be coordinated, and consistent with, the commute trip reduction plans of counties, cities, or towns with which the county, city, or town has, in part, common borders or related regional issues. Such regional issues ((shall)) must include assuring consistency in the treatment of employers who have worksites subject to the requirements of this chapter in more than one jurisdiction. Counties, cities, and towns adopting commute trip reduction plans may enter into agreements through the interlocal cooperation act or by resolution or ordinance as appropriate with other jurisdictions, local transit agencies, transportation management associations or other private or nonprofit providers of transportation services, or regional transportation planning organizations to coordinate the development and implementation of such plans. Transit agencies ((shall)) must work with counties, cities, and towns as a part of their six-year transit development plan established in RCW 35.58.2795 to take into account the location of major employer worksites when planning and prioritizing transit service changes or the expansion of public transportation services, including rideshare services. Counties, cities, or towns adopting a commute trip reduction plan ((shall)) must review it annually and revise it as necessary to be consistent with applicable plans developed under RCW 36.70A.070. Regional transportation planning organizations ((shall)) must review the local commute trip reduction plans during the development and update of the regional commute trip reduction plan.
     (6)(a) Each affected regional transportation planning organization ((shall)) must adopt a commute trip reduction plan for its region consistent with the rules and deadline established by the department of transportation under RCW 70.94.537. The plan ((shall)) must include, but is not limited to: (((a))) (i) Regional program goals for commute trip reduction in urban growth areas and all designated growth and transportation efficiency centers; (((b))) (ii) a description of strategies for achieving the goals; (((c))) (iii) a sustainable financial plan describing projected revenues and expenditures to meet the goals; (((d))) (iv) a description of the way in which progress toward meeting the goals will be measured; and (((e))) (v) minimum criteria for growth and transportation efficiency centers.
     (((i))) (b) Regional transportation planning organizations ((shall)) must review proposals from local jurisdictions to designate growth and transportation efficiency centers and ((shall)) must determine whether the proposed growth and transportation efficiency center is consistent with the criteria defined in the regional commute trip reduction plan.
     (((ii))) (c) Growth and transportation efficiency centers certified as consistent with the minimum requirements by the regional transportation planning organization ((shall)) must be identified in subsequent updates of the regional commute trip reduction plan. These plans ((shall)) must be developed in collaboration with all affected local jurisdictions, transit agencies, and other interested parties within the region. The plan ((will)) must be reviewed and approved by (([the])) the commute trip reduction board as established under RCW 70.94.537. Regions without an approved regional commute trip reduction plan ((shall not be)) are not eligible for state commute trip reduction program funds.
     (d) The regional commute trip reduction plan ((shall)) must be consistent with and incorporated into transportation demand management components in the regional transportation plan as required by RCW 47.80.030.
     (7) Each regional transportation planning organization implementing a regional commute trip reduction program ((shall)) must, consistent with the rules and deadline established by the department of transportation, submit its plan as well as any related local commute trip reduction plans and certified growth and transportation efficiency center programs, to the commute trip reduction board established under RCW 70.94.537. The commute trip reduction board ((shall)) must review the regional commute trip reduction plan and the local commute trip reduction plans. The regional transportation planning organization ((shall)) must collaborate with the commute trip reduction board to evaluate the consistency of local commute trip reduction plans with the regional commute trip reduction plan. Local and regional plans must be approved by the commute trip reduction board in order to be eligible for state funding provided for the purposes of this chapter.
     (8) Each regional transportation planning organization implementing a regional commute trip reduction program ((shall)) must submit an annual progress report to the commute trip reduction board established under RCW 70.94.537. The report ((shall be)) is due at the end of each state fiscal year for which the program has been implemented. The report ((shall)) must describe progress in attaining the applicable commute trip reduction goals and ((shall)) must highlight any problems being encountered in achieving the goals. The information ((shall)) must be reported in a form established by the commute trip reduction board.
     (9) Any waivers or modifications of the requirements of a commute trip reduction plan granted by a jurisdiction ((shall)) must be submitted for review to the commute trip reduction board established under RCW 70.94.537. The commute trip reduction board may not deny the granting of a waiver or modification of the requirements of a commute trip reduction plan by a jurisdiction but they may notify the jurisdiction of any comments or objections.
     (10) Plans implemented under this section ((shall)) do not apply to commute trips for seasonal agricultural employees.
     (11) Plans implemented under this section ((shall)) do not apply to construction worksites when the expected duration of the construction project is less than two years.
     (((12) If an affected urban growth area has not previously implemented a commute trip reduction program and the state has funded solutions to state highway deficiencies to address the area's exceeding the person hours of delay threshold, the affected urban growth area shall be exempt from the duties of this section for a period not exceeding two years.))

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 70.94 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) A city or county may establish a transportation demand management program to substantially reduce vehicle miles traveled and drive alone trips, and to improve the mobility of people and goods through the use of locally determined strategies to reduce work commute or other driving trips.
     (2) The plan may modify or waive employer administrative requirements defined in this chapter for commute trip reduction plans, while maintaining the requirement and ordinance that major employers provide a commute trip reduction program for their employees.
     (3) The community trip reduction plan must be developed in consultation with local transit agencies, the applicable regional transportation planning organization, and other interested parties. The plan must be consistent with and incorporated into the same plans and processes expected of commute trip reduction plans in RCW 70.94.527.
     (4) In order to be eligible to apply for state funds provided for purposes of this section, the plan must be approved by the commute trip reduction board as consistent with department of transportation rules and the program purposes to reduce automobile-related air pollution, energy consumption, and traffic congestion. Once board approved, a community trip reduction plan may be implemented as a substitute for a commute trip reduction plan. The request for funds to implement their board-approved plan must take the form of an application.
     (5) A city or county that has established a community trip reduction plan must support trip reduction activities in its jurisdiction. As appropriate, the implementing jurisdiction must adopt policies, ordinances, and funding strategies that will lead to attainment of program goals.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   This act takes effect July 1, 2014.