(1) On behalf of the state, the legislature of the state of Washington invites the legislature of the state of Oregon to participate in a joint legislative action committee regarding the construction of a new Interstate 5 bridge spanning the Columbia river that achieves the following purposes:
(a) Works with both states' departments of transportation and transportation commissions and stakeholders to begin a process toward project development. It is assumed that the appropriate local and bistate entities already tasked with related work will also be included when the legislative and interagency agreements are ready to move forward. The legislative action committee must convene its first meeting by December 15, 2017;
(b) Reviews and confirms lead roles related to permitting, construction, operation, and maintenance of a future Interstate 5 bridge project;
(c) Establishes a process to seek public comment on the Interstate 5 bridge project development plan selected and presents final recommendations for the process and financing to both states;
(d) Works to ensure that there are sufficient resources available to both states' departments of transportation to inventory and utilize existing data and any prior relevant work to allow for nonduplicative and efficient decision making regarding a new project;
(e) Examines all of the potential mass transit options available for a future Interstate 5 bridge project;
(f) Utilizes design-build procurement, or an equivalent or better innovation delivery method, and determines the least costly, most efficient project management and best practices tools consistent with work already completed including, but not limited to, height, navigation needs, transparency, economic development, and other critical elements, while minimizing the impacts of congestion during construction;
(g) Considers the creation of a Columbia river bridge authority to review bridge needs for possible repair, maintenance, or new construction, prioritizing those needs and making recommendations to both states with regard to financing specific projects, timing, authorities, and operations; and
(h) Provides a report to the legislatures of each state that details the findings and recommendations of the legislative action committee by December 15, 2018. The report must also contain a recommendation as to whether the Interstate 5 project should be designated by the legislature of the state of Washington as a project of statewide significance and by the state of Oregon with an equivalent designation.
(2)(a) The joint Oregon-Washington legislative action committee is established, with sixteen members as provided in this subsection:
(i) The speaker and minority leader of the house of representatives of each state shall jointly appoint four members, two from each of the two largest caucuses of their state's house of representatives.
(ii) The majority leader and minority leader of the senate of each state shall jointly appoint four members, two from each of the two largest caucuses of their state's senate.
(b) The legislative action committee shall choose its cochairs from among its membership, one each from the senate and the house of representatives of both states.
(c) Executive agencies, including the departments of transportation and the transportation commissions, shall cooperate with the committee and provide information and other assistance as the cochairs may reasonably request.
(d) Staff support for the legislative action committee must be provided by the Washington house of representatives office of program research, Washington senate committee services, and, contingent upon the acceptance by the legislature of the state of Oregon of the invitation in subsection (1) of this section to participate in the legislative action committee, the Oregon legislative policy and research office.
(e) Legislative members of the legislative action committee are reimbursed for travel expenses. For Washington legislative members, this reimbursement must be in accordance with RCW
44.04.120.
(f) The expenses of the legislative action committee must be paid jointly by both states' senate and house of representatives. In Washington, committee expenditures are subject to approval by the senate facilities and operations committee and the house of representatives executive rules committee, or their successor committees.
(g) Each meeting of the legislative action committee must allow an opportunity for public comment. Legislative action committee meetings must be scheduled and conducted in accordance with the requirements of both the senate and the house of representatives of both states.
(h) The Washington members of the joint Oregon-Washington legislative action committee shall report back to the Washington state legislature, by August 1, 2022, regarding the progress of the committee and its work to advance the project to build a new Interstate 5 bridge spanning the Columbia river. The report must include a description of the locally preferred alternative ultimately identified as part of the interstate bridge replacement project.