In the past five or six years, the Legislature has done
a great deal to advance beyond the preceding decade-long
lapse in investments in our state transportation
infrastructure. But our state transportation needs
remain acute, and new needs continue to emerge.
Lawmakers are playing catch-up, at a time when the
federal government is pulling back from its role in
keeping our transportation infrastructure sound.
Senate Democrats are up to the task, and are committed
to tackling the most pressing transportation challenges
facing our state. Having a viable transportation system
is essential to our state’s economy – nothing
demonstrates this more than when problems (even
temporary ones) inevitably arise, such as the recent
weather-induced closures of Snoqualmie Pass.
For the week of Feb 11:
Senate Bill 6678 – Gold star parents vehicle
license plates
During the Second World War, families displayed a
banner in their window that had a blue star for each
family member who was deployed overseas. A gold star
on the banner denoted that a family member had died
in combat, and was widely recognized as a symbol of
sacrifice.
SB 6678 authorizes the
Department of
Licensing to issue special license
plates to mothers and fathers of armed forces
members who died while in service to their country
or as a result of that service, with the Department
of Veterans Affairs certifying eligibility.
Senate Bill 6932 - Ferry vessel and terminal
planning
Implements recommendations from the 2007 Joint
Transportation Committee (JTC) ferry study by
directing Washington State Ferries (WSF) to develop
and maintain the following:
- a vessel deployment plan to ensure that the
fleet is being used as efficiently as possible
- a vessel maintenance and preservation program,
which must include, at a minimum:
- measures to maximize efficiency by reducing
dry-dock time; and
- notification to the legislature of any
vessels not being maintained according to it’s
established schedule.
- a vessel rebuild and replacement plan that
provides a timeline for vessel acquisition and
identifies future capital needs.
Senate Bill 6531 - Environmental mitigation in
highway construction
In the process of reviewing potential sites to be
used as the mitigation component of a highway
construction project, Washington State Department of
Transportation (WSDOT) must, to the greatest extent
possible, consider using public land first.
Additionally, WSDOT must make every effort to avoid
any net loss of agricultural lands that have a
designation of long-term commercial significance.
Senate Bill 6761 - Service areas for wetlands
mitigation banks
A wetland mitigation bank is a wetland, stream,
or other aquatic resource that has been restored or
created for the purpose of providing compensation
for unavoidable impacts to aquatic resources, such
as highway construction. Currently, “units of
mitigation” can be bought from a “wetland bank” and
credited as mitigation against projects with
unavoidable wetland impacts. A “service area” is the
geographic area in which a wetland bank can be used
to offset impacts to other wetlands.
SB 6761 establishes that the criteria for
determining a service area for a wetland mitigation
bank must include restricting the maximum allowable
service area to the water resource inventory area (WRIA)
in which the bank is located. The
Department of
Ecology and the appropriate county or city in which
the bank is located will have final approval for
determining the service area for specific banks.
Senate Bill 6800 - Maintaining publicly owned
railroad infrastructure
Publically owned rail infrastructure is too
valuable an asset to simply tear out unless we’re
absolutely sure we won’t end up wanting to put it
back in a few years.
SB 6800 limits the degree to which a local
government, port district, rail district or other
special district can remove or disassemble
publically owned railroad infrastructure. Under the
bill, local governments or special purpose districts
cannot remove or disassemble railroad infrastructure
without prior legislative approval, unless they are
doing so in order to comply with statutory
obligations or to immediately realign or improve the
infrastructure.
Senate Bill 6602 - Modifying certain provisions of
the pilotage act
Under current law, the
Board of Pilotage
Commissioners must provide for the maintenance of
efficient and competent pilotage service on the
waters of the Puget Sound and Grays Harbor. This is
done by examining the proficiency of potential
pilots, licenses pilots, enforcing the use of
pilots, setting pilotage rates, investigating
reported accidents involving pilots, keeping records
of various matters affecting pilotage, and
performing various other duties as required by law.
SB 6602 revises general statutory provisions
regarding the implementation of the Pilotage Act,
including:
- Qualifications and Licensing
- Administrative Changes
- Pilotage Account
Senate Bill 6771 – Moratorium on regional
transportation investment districts
Regional Transportation Investment Districts (RTIDs)
were authorized during the 2002 legislative session
for the purposes of planning, selecting, funding and
implementing certain transportation projects within
the central Puget Sound region.
Last year, the three-county RTID planning
committee established in King, Pierce, and Snohomish
Counties submitted a regional transportation funding
proposal, along with Sound Transit, to regional
voters. That measure was not approved.
SB 6771 prevents another RTID from being
submitted to voters prior to November 1, 2009.
Senate Bill 6321 - Jurisdictional route transfers
The Transportation Improvement Board (TIB)
distributes grant money to cities and counties for
transportation projects, and receives petitions from
cities, counties, or the state requesting route
jurisdiction transfers. A route jurisdiction
transfer is the conversion of a state highway into a
local road, or the conversion of a local road into a
state highway. The TIB must evaluate each request
according to specified criteria and forward annually
any recommended route jurisdiction transfers to the
Senate and House transportation committees.
SB 6321 reassigns the responsibility for
reviewing route jurisdiction transfer requests from
the TIB to the Washington State Transportation
Commission.
Senate Bill 6237 - Armed forces and veterans
license plates
The Department
of Licensing issues armed
forces special license plates, which are a series of
six plates that contain a symbol representing
different branches of the armed forces.
The special plates are available only to
veterans, active duty military personnel,
reservists, members of the Washington National
Guard, and spouses of deceased veterans. Former
prisoner of war license plates are issued free of
charge to veterans who were held captive during a
period of war for more than 29 days.
SB 6237 deletes references to Washington when
referring to the National Guard special license
plate, expanding eligibility to include the National
Guard of any state.
In addition to spouses, other family members of
living or deceased veterans and current service
members may purchase an armed forces special license
plate and receive a decal.
The eligibility criteria to receive a prisoner of
war special license plate is changed from a veteran
who was held captive during a period of war for more
than 29 days to a veteran that was held captive and
received a prisoner of war medal.
Senate Bill 6324 - Providing liability immunity
for aerial search and rescue activities
Under current law, the Aviation Division of the
Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT)
conducts and manages all aerial search and rescue
activities within the state that typically involves
downed aircraft. These activities often involve the
use of volunteers.
SB 6324 establishes liability protection for
persons registered with the WSDOT Aviation Division,
and engaged in aerial search and rescue activities
managed by WSDOT.
Senate Bill 6569 - Permitting public transit
vehicle stops at unmarked stop zones
Under current law, it is generally a traffic
infraction to stop, park, or leave standing any
vehicle upon the roadway in an unincorporated area,
whether attended or not.
SB 6569 provides that public transportation
service providers, including certain nonprofit
organizations, may allow the driver of a transit
vehicle to stop upon a roadway in an unincorporated
area to receive or discharge passengers at an
unmarked stop zone, provided that the driver:
- stops the vehicle as far to the right side of
the roadway as is practicable so as to not
significantly impede traffic;
- activates four-way flashing lights; and
- stops at a portion of the highway with an
unobstructed view for drivers approaching from
behind the transit vehicle.
Accomplishments:
Senate Democrats recognize that ferries provide
transportation links across Puget Sound, aiding
families, commuters, and businesses alike. They are
extensions of our state highways and a crucial part of
our transportation infrastructure.
Under the leadership of Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen,
the Senate Transportation Committee approved legislation
to acquire replacements for the Steel Electric ferries
that were retired in November (SB
6794, Haugen). That bill has been passed by both
houses of the Legislature, and is awaiting the Governors
signature.
With car-carrying ferry service being temporarily
restored to the Keystone – Port Townsend route by
leasing the Steilacoom II from Pierce County, we
now have a plan in place to purchase three vessels of
appropriate size and design to permanently replace the
Steel Electrics.
Senate Democrats have also taken the lead in creating
a new atmosphere of accountability at Washington State
Ferries with a plan requiring WSF to implement the
latest findings of a ferry study conducted by the Joint
Transportation Committee (SB
6932, Haugen).
Washington State Ferries will be required comply with
a more rigorous maintenance reporting procedure,
including:
- a
vessel maintenance and preservation program that takes a
vessel’s or terminal’s entire life-cycle cost into
account
- a
vessel deployment plan to ensure that the fleet is being
used as efficiently as possible, measures to maximize
efficiency by reducing dry-dock time
- notifying the legislature of any vessels not being
maintained according to it’s established schedule
- a
Joint Transportation Committee review of WSF’s plans for
- service standards
- ridership forecasts
- operational strategies
- terminal design standards
- a long
range capital plan
- an
updated life cycle cost model
- vessel
rebuild and replacement plans
- a
vessel sizing study
- a
review of maintenance expenditures
- a 2009
evaluation of WSF’s vessel maintenance and preservation
program.
With the successful opening and operation of the
Tacoma Narrows Bridge, there is widespread recognition
that tolling will be part of the future of
transportation in Washington, which is why Senate
Democrats have been working to form a comprehensive
tolling policy (SB
6355, Haugen). The goal is to create consistent
statewide toll policies and guidelines that will bring
numerous existing tolling statutes in line with one
another.
