wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > SB 6335 > Original Bill
The transportation commission shall have the following functions, powers, and duties:
1.
To provide for public involvement designed to elicit the public's views both with respect to transportation topics that fall within the commission's responsibilities as well as any additional topics directed by the legislature, and to provide a summary report of the public's views to the transportation committees of the legislature by December 1st of each year;
To propose to the governor and the legislature prior to the convening of each regular session held in an odd-numbered year a recommended budget for the operations of the commission as required by RCW 47.01.061;
To adopt such rules as may be necessary to carry out reasonably and properly those functions expressly vested in the commission by statute;
To contract with the office of financial management or other appropriate state agencies for administrative support, accounting services, computer services, and other support services necessary to carry out its other statutory duties;
To conduct transportation-related studies and policy analysis to the extent directed by the legislature or governor in the biennial transportation budget act, or as otherwise provided in law, and subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose; and
To exercise such other specific powers and duties as may be vested in the transportation commission by this or any other provision of law.
It is the intent of the legislature to establish policy goals for the planning, operation, performance of, and investment in, the state's transportation system. Public investments in transportation should support achievement of these policy goals:
Preservation: To maintain, preserve, and extend the life and utility of prior investments in transportation systems and services, including the state ferry system;
Safety: To provide for and improve the safety and security of transportation customers and the transportation system;
Stewardship: To continuously improve the quality, effectiveness, resilience, and efficiency of the transportation system;
Mobility: To improve the predictable movement of goods and people throughout Washington state, including congestion relief and improved freight mobility;
Economic vitality: To promote and develop transportation systems that stimulate, support, and enhance the movement of people and goods to ensure a prosperous economy; and
Environment: To enhance Washington's quality of life through transportation investments that promote energy conservation, enhance healthy communities, and protect the environment.
The powers, duties, and functions of state transportation agencies must be performed in a manner consistent with the policy goals set forth in subsection (1) of this section with preservation and safety being priorities.
These policy goals are intended to be the basis for establishing detailed and measurable objectives and related performance measures.
It is the intent of the legislature that the office of financial management establish objectives and performance measures for the department and other state agencies with transportation-related responsibilities to ensure transportation system performance at local, regional, and state government levels progresses toward the attainment of the policy goals set forth in subsection (1) of this section. The office of financial management shall submit objectives and performance measures to the legislature for its review and shall provide copies of the same to the commission during each regular session of the legislature during an even-numbered year thereafter.
A local or regional agency engaging in transportation planning may voluntarily establish objectives and performance measures to demonstrate progress toward the attainment of the policy goals set forth in subsection (1) of this section or any other transportation policy goals established by the local or regional agency. A local or regional agency engaging in transportation planning is encouraged to provide local and regional objectives and performance measures to be included with the objectives and performance measures submitted to the legislature pursuant to subsection (4) of this section.
This section does not create a private right of action.
The specific role of the department in transportation planning must be, consistent with the policy goals described under RCW 47.04.280: (1) Ongoing coordination and development of statewide transportation policies that guide all Washington transportation providers; (2) ongoing development of a statewide multimodal transportation plan that includes both state-owned and state-interest facilities and services; (3) coordinating the state high capacity transportation planning and regional transportation planning programs; and (4) conducting special transportation planning studies that impact state transportation facilities or relate to transportation facilities and services of statewide significance. Specific requirements for each of these state transportation planning components are described in this chapter.
In order to qualify for state planning funds available to regional transportation planning organizations, the regional transportation planning organizations containing any county with a population in excess of 1,000,000 shall provide voting membership on its executive board to the state department of transportation, the four largest public port districts within the region as determined by gross operating revenues, any incorporated principal city of a metropolitan statistical area within the region, as designated by the United States census bureau, and any incorporated city within the region with a population in excess of 80,000. It shall further assure that at least 50 percent of the county and city local elected officials who serve on the executive board also serve on transit agency boards or on a regional transit authority.
Each county having within its boundaries an urban area and cities and towns shall prepare and submit to the transportation improvement board arterial inventory data required to determine the long-range arterial construction needs. The counties, cities, and towns shall revise the arterial inventory data every four years to show the current arterial construction needs through the advanced planning period, and as revised shall submit them to the transportation improvement board during the first week of January every four years beginning in 1996. The inventory data shall be prepared pursuant to guidelines established by the transportation improvement board.
In order to develop fully integrated, balanced, and coordinated transportation plans, programs, and budgets the chief of the Washington state patrol, the director of the traffic safety commission, the executive director of the county road administration board, and the director of licensing shall consult with the secretary of transportation on the matter of relative priorities during the development of their respective agencies' plans, programs, and budgets as they pertain to transportation activities.
For the purpose of environmental mitigation of transportation projects, the department may acquire or develop, or both acquire and develop, environmental mitigation sites in advance of the construction of programmed projects. The term "advanced environmental mitigation" means mitigation of adverse impacts upon the environment from transportation projects before their design and construction. Advanced environmental mitigation consists of the acquisition of property; the acquisition of property, water, or air rights; the development of property for the purposes of improved environmental management; engineering costs necessary for such purchase and development; and the use of advanced environmental mitigation sites to fulfill project environmental permit requirements. Advanced environmental mitigation must be conducted in a manner that is consistent with the definition of mitigation found in the council of environmental quality regulations (40 C.F.R. Sec. 1508.20) and the governor's executive order on wetlands (EO 90-04). Advanced environmental mitigation is for projects included in the state highway system plan. Advanced environmental mitigation must give consideration to activities related to fish passage, fish habitat, wetlands, and flood management. Advanced environmental mitigation may also be conducted in partnership with federal, state, or local government agencies, tribal governments, interest groups, or private parties. Partnership arrangements may include joint acquisition and development of mitigation sites, purchasing and selling mitigation bank credits among participants, and transfer of mitigation site title from one party to another. Specific conditions of partnership arrangements will be developed in written agreements for each applicable environmental mitigation site.
The department shall develop a statewide multimodal transportation plan in conformance with federal requirements, to ensure the continued mobility of people and goods within regions and across the state in a safe, cost-effective manner. The statewide multimodal transportation plan shall consist of:
A state-owned facilities component, which shall guide state investment for state highways including bicycle and pedestrian facilities, and state ferries; and
A state-interest component, which shall define the state interest in aviation, marine ports and navigation, freight rail, intercity passenger rail, bicycle transportation and pedestrian walkways, and public transportation, and recommend actions in coordination with appropriate public and private transportation providers to ensure that the state interest in these transportation modes is met.
The plans developed under each component must be consistent with each other, reflect public involvement, be consistent with regional transportation planning, high capacity transportation planning, and local comprehensive plans prepared under chapter 36.70A RCW, and include analysis of intermodal connections and choices. A primary emphasis for these plans shall be the relief of congestion, the preservation of existing investments and downtowns, ability to attract or accommodate planned population, and employment growth, the improvement of traveler safety, the efficient movement of freight and goods, and the improvement and integration of all transportation modes to create a seamless intermodal transportation system for people and goods.
In the development of the statewide multimodal transportation plan, the department shall identify and document potential affected environmental resources, including, but not limited to, wetlands, stormwater runoff, flooding, air quality, fish passage, and wildlife habitat. The department shall conduct its environmental identification and documentation in coordination with all relevant environmental regulatory authorities, including, but not limited to, local governments. The department shall give the relevant environmental regulatory authorities an opportunity to review the department's environmental plans. The relevant environmental regulatory authorities shall provide comments on the department's environmental plans in a timely manner. Environmental identification and documentation as provided for in RCW 47.01.300 and this section is not intended to create a private right of action or require an environmental impact statement as provided in chapter 43.21C RCW.