The legislature finds that:

(1) The capacity of many of Washington state's transportation facilities have failed to keep up with the state's growth, particularly in major urban regions;

(2) The state cannot by itself fund, in a timely way, many of the major capacity and other improvements required on highways of statewide significance in the state's largest urbanized area;

(3) Providing a transportation system that provides efficient mobility for persons and freight requires a shared partnership and responsibility between the state, local, and regional governments and the private sector; and

(4) Timely construction and development of significant transportation improvement projects can best be achieved through enhanced funding options for governments at the county and regional levels, using already existing tax authority to address roadway and multimodal needs and new authority for regions to address critical transportation projects of statewide significance.