2015 State Legislative Priorities

The 2015 Washington State Legislature convenes today in Olympia. It is a biennial budget year, which means the session is scheduled for 105 days. Many budget-year legislatures continue into special sessions, taking business further into the spring.

Community Transit will be tracking legislative activity closely, as several bills could make a big difference in the future of transit service in Snohomish County.

Legislation that would allow the agency to ask local voters to increase financial support for transit service is the top priority in this year’s state legislative agenda.

Community Transit's 2015 State Legislative Priorities

"Local Option" legislation – Community Transit is at the maximum taxing authority allowed by law. The agency is asking the state legislature to pass “local option” legislation that would allow the agency to seek up to a three-tenths (0.3) of one percent sales tax increase to support transit.

Should this legislation pass, it would be up to the Community Transit Board of Directors to decide if and when to put such a measure to a local vote.

Regional Mobility Grant projects – Approval of the WSDOT Recommended Regional Mobility Project List for 2015-2017, which includes $6.8 million for the Seaway Transit Center near Paine Field and $2.68 million for a Mukilteo Park & Ride.

State transportation package – Secure legislative passage of a statewide transportation funding package that includes significant state investment in public transportation, and includes $1 billion (or 10 percent of total revenue) for Snohomish County transportation projects.

Maintain existing programs – Fully fund the Regional Mobility Grant program at $50 million, plus re-appropriations, for the current biennium. Continue the fee revenue-based transit operating grant program at $26 million per biennium, and maintain funding for the vanpool, special needs and Commute Trip Reduction programs.

Transit-friendly legislation – Support legislation that provides for the effective and efficient delivery of transit services within an integrated multi-modal transportation system. Oppose legislation that would negatively impact the oversight, financing, construction, and delivery of transit service and projects.

As the session moves forward, keep reading this blog for updates on activity concerning transit service and funding. We'd love to hear your thoughts.

State Transportation Funding Back in the News

With the announcement this week of a state Senate Majority Coalition Caucus transportation funding proposal, it is once more a possibility that transit could receive new funding this year.

The announcement, by Sen. Curtis King, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee, with Senate Majority Leader Rodney Tom and other supporters at this side, falls short of the funding level for transit included in a House package. But the good news was the announcement itself. Without Senate support, new state transportation funding appeared dead this year.

Sens. King and Tom both said that they want to re-open negotiations with Senate and House Democrats and that they hope to approve a package during this legislative session, which is scheduled to end on March 18.

The Senate proposal includes a local option that would allow Community Transit to go to voters to seek additional sales tax funding for bus service. Without legislative authority, Community Transit cannot seek any new local funding. This local option is similar to the one included in the House package and could generate enough funding to substantially increase bus service in Snohomish County.

Overall, the Senate proposal does not include significant funding for Community Transit beyond the local option. Frankly, neither does the House package. If a local option does not pass, Community Transit's portion of either funding package will be enough to pay for "schedule maintenance," but not much new bus service.

There are roads projects in both proposals that will benefit transit users, and could help to make transit operations more efficient. But there are enough differences between the House and Senate proposals that it is not time for celebration yet, Differences over the use of sales tax for state road construction projects and policy reforms are among the issues that could prevent adoption this session.

Still, there is hope that a funding package could pass. What is likely the best scenario for Community Transit riders is that a local option will be approved by the Legislature, then the issue of increased transit funding truly becomes a local decision.

Improvements Ahead as Swift Turns 4

It was four years ago this Saturday, Nov. 30, that Swift bus rapid transit was launched. People still talk about the flash mob that invaded the grand opening party. And the sub-freezing temperatures that first week of service, when staff were out at each station teaching people how to use the off-board ticket vending machines and ORCA readers.

Today, Swift is a mature BRT line talked about across the country. Because it does not have its own dedicated lane, some say it is not “true” BRT. But Swift uses right-turn BAT lanes for 7 miles, transit signal priority its entire length and off-board fare collection at all stations to save a third of the trip time of a regular local bus. And, with 4,400 riders a weekday and nearly 3,000 riders on Saturdays, people obviously love to take Swift!

After its 2009 launch, several improvements have been made to Swift. In 2011, four new stations opened in Everett; a pair at 112th and one each at Pecks and Madison. In 2012, a queue jump signal was added at northbound 148th as the BAT lane ended. This early light gives the Swift bus a three-second jump on other traffic so the bus can merge into the general purpose lanes.

There are two new improvements coming in 2014.

A WSDOT project in early 2014 to shave the “pork chop” islands at Airport Road will allow Swift buses to use right-hand turn lanes, rather than general purpose lanes, as they cross the busy intersection and glide into the next station. This will save time and make for a smoother ride into the station.

Later in the year, Community Transit will build a southbound station at 204th near Edmonds Community College. That station was in the original route design, but was delayed because 204th was a dead-end street. The city of Lynnwood plans to extend that road between Highway 99 and the college, so it is finally time to build that station.

The big news that will emerge in 2014 will be details for what is being tentatively called Swift II. A feasibility study is underway for a second Swift line that would travel from Boeing-Everett in the north end, down Airport Road along 128th crossing Highway 99 and I-5, then south at Highway 527 (Bothell-Everett Highway). The route would serve Mill Creek Town Center and terminate at either 164th or Canyon Park.

Before people get all righteous about why this next Swift route is where it is, visit our 20-year Long Range Transit Plan to see that we do envision a network of Swift routes. Unless we fall into a great deal of new funding, we’ll take them one at a time, seeking federal and state funding for each one. The good news that we are moving forward with plans for more Swift!

Gov. Inslee Makes Pitch for Snohomish County Transportation Investment

Gov. Jay Inslee was at Lynnwood Transit Center yesterday making the case for new investment in transportation projects. He said that Snohomish County is a key for transportation investment because of Boeing and other manufacturing jobs that rely on roads and transit to move goods and people.

With a backdrop of a Swift bus and speaking to an audience of about 100 people, including many elected officials, business owners and community leaders, Inslee said the state has a role in transportation and he called upon legislators to work with him to get a funding package approved as soon as possible.

Asked if there would be a special session of the Legislature later this year to approve a transportation funding package, Inslee said, "We need to have a package fully baked, and the votes fully identified before calling a special session." Inslee said he did not want
to bring lawmakers together to simply "sit around talking."

Following the speech, about 60 people took a tour of county projects identified in a funding proposal on a Community Transit bus. For its part, Community Transit is seeking funding to add service after several years of cuts. The agency also is studying routing for a new Swift line and is seeking state funding to help that become a reality.

Thanks to Economic Alliance Snohomish County, which sponsored this event, and is leading the effort in Snohomish County to get transportation projects funded.

We Are Not Cutting Service (Despite No State Transportation Package)

Community Transit has no plans to cut service. Despite the failure of the Washington State Legislature to pass a transportation funding package, Snohomish County’s transit provider will not cut service.

The question keeps coming up, so I want to repeat, no matter what other local transit agencies may or may not be doing, Community Transit is not going to cut service.

That said, the statewide transportation funding package was an important key to our county’s future. The package contained some direct funding for transit, funding for several capital transit projects and a local option that would have allowed Community Transit to make its case for an increase in local transit funding. There were also some major roads projects in that package that could have also benefited transit.

For Community Transit, the local option was the centerpiece of this package. While initially introduced as a motor vehicle excise tax, then changed to an additional sales tax, this local option could have provided the level of funding needed to erase the service cuts made in 2010 and 2012.

The local option was not guaranteed funding, it was authorization to place a ballot measure before our voters to ask their support. From that perspective, we were only asking the Legislature to let us do the heavy lifting because passing a tax measure is no easy feat. But with the death of the statewide package, we do not even get to ask the question.

Community Transit gets the majority of its funding through a state-authorized 0.9 percent sales tax in our service district, which is most of Snohomish County with the exception of Everett and some sparsely populated areas. So, 9 cents of every $10 taxable purchase (groceries are exempt from sales tax) in our service area helps to pay for transit service. The local option in the recent legislation would have given authorization to seek up to 0.3 percent additional sales tax, or another 3 cents on a $10 purchase.

Because Community Transit took action during the recession both to raise its fares and reduce expenses, including a 37 percent cut in bus service and laying off one-third of its employees, the agency is in a financial position now where it is preparing to grow again. Remember that slogan "Promising tomorrow with responsibility today?"

Community Transit envisions no more cuts in the foreseeable future. Some additional service hours to help with bus connections and other “fixes” to our system for the next year or two, and maybe more after that. But with additional funding there could be much more growth.

Maybe next year...

Legislative Update: Waiting for Special Session

The 2013 State Legislature ended its regular session yesterday after passing a transportation budget, but still has to complete work on a biennial operating budget. So, Gov. Jay Inslee has called for a special session to begin on May 13.

It is expected that a new transportation funding package, which includes funding for transit and road projects as well as local options for transit agencies, will be discussed as part of the special session. The most significant part of that package for Community Transit is a provision that would allow the agency to take a ballot measure to local voters seeking new funding. Of course, there is no guarantee that any new transportation legislation will be adopted.

Passage of the regular transportation budget still is good news for Community Transit. A modest amount of direct transit funding that was established in 2012 was funded again. This will bring Community Transit about $800,000 in the next fiscal year.

Also, Community Transit secured two Regional Mobility Grants, one to match federal funding for the purchase of 17 new Double Tall buses and another to begin study and design for efforts to get a park & ride built in Mukilteo.

While the direct funding is welcome, the funding need is much greater. Community Transit cut $23 million of service in 2010-2012 dollars, so it would take at least that much every year to restore the same level of service.

Before the special session starts, Community Transit will continue to ask legislators to support transit funding. This extends to the new House Republican leader Dan Kristiansen, who becomes Snohomish County's highest ranking legislator.

In his remarks calling for a special session, Inslee mentioned transit funding as one of the items he would like the legislature to resolve. Let's hope this next session is truly "special" for transit.

Gov. Jay Inslee last week said he supports passage of a transportation funding package this year. He was not specific about what he wanted to see in such a package, nor what he would not accept.

Three bills exist which could bring new funding to Community Transit - two "local option" bills that could allow the agency to go to local voters for funding, and a statewide transportation package that could bring some new state funding to transits as well as a local option.

Next week, both chambers are expected to announce their transportation budget proposals, so we'll know more about where transit's needs are addressed. Word in Olympia is that the statewide package introduced in the House last month (HB 1954) is being retooled to make it more likely to pass this session. Translated, that means it is getting smaller and likely will have even less money dedicated for transit.

Community Transit, as well as King County Metro Transit, Pierce Transit and the Washington State Transit Association, continue to talk to legislators to ask for robust new transit funding this year. Several organizations also are addressing legislators to request strong transit funding.

Economic Alliance Snohomish County will gather in Olympia on Friday, April 5 to urge county legislators to support a transportation package that includes transit funding. Also, Transportation Choices Coalition will be in Olympia on Wednesday, April 3 to press King County legislators to support transit funding.

Transit Funding Bills Pass Out of Committee

Two bills aimed at providing new funding options for Community Transit have passed out of their respective State House and Senate transportation committees. The bills (HB 1953 and SB 5773) would give Community Transit authority to seek new funding from local voters.

One change occurred to help get the senate bill out of committee. Rather than a motor vehicle excise tax, the funding source is now the retail sales tax. Currently, Community Transit gets revenue from a 0.9 percent sales tax within the service district (9 cents on a $10 purchase). Both bills would allow the agency to ask voters to increase that tax by up to an additional 0.3 percent.

State Senate Considers Transit Bill

The Washington Senate Transportation Committee yesterday heard testimony on SB 5773 which would authorize a local motor vehicle excise tax (MVET) to support Community Transit service, if approved by voters. The bill was introduced by Sen. Nick Harper of Everett.

Those testifying in favor of the bill included Joe Marine, Mayor of Mukilteo and chair of the Community Transit Board of Directors, Community Transit CEO Joyce Eleanor, and representatives from United Way, Economic Alliance Snohomish County, Workforce Development Council, Boeing Machinists Union (IAM), UW and Transportation Choices Coalition.

The bill allows Community Transit to seek up to one percent MVET on car registrations within the service district, which is most of Snohomish County excluding Everett. CEO Joyce Eleanor says such funding could be used to bring back Sunday and late-night bus service, and that any specific service plan would go through a public process with input from riders.

In opposition to the bill, Michael Ennis of the Association of Washington Businesses said the AWB wanted the MVET funding source to remain part of a statewide transportation package, and not “peeled off” to benefit one agency.

SB 5773 is the first of several proposals that could fund Community Transit service. A companion “local option” bill has been introduced in the House, while a separate statewide “roads and transit” transportation funding package was announced yesterday by House Transportation Committee Chair Judy Clibborn.

State Transportation News

There is a lot going on in state transportation news this week.

Yesterday, Gov. Jay Inslee named a new Transportation Secretary. Lynn Peterson serves as an advisor to Oregon Gov. John Kithzhaber and is a former planner with Tri-Met, the Portland-area transit agency. Among other things, Inslee said Peterson shared his vision for improving transit in the state.

Today, State Rep. Judy Clibborn will unveil a transportation funding package that includes earmarked funding for transit. Details on that plan will emerge throughout the day.

Also today, at 3:30 p.m. the Senate Transportation Committee will hear testimony on SB 5773 which would allow certain transit agencies to seek local taxing authority to fund operations. That bill could allow a vote in Snohomish County to help raise funding for Community Transit bus service.

Community Transit is at its state-authorized maximum tax authority, 0.9 percent sales tax. That is one of the reasons the agency relied on fare increases, cost-cutting and service cuts as the primary ways to balance its budget during the recession. As a result, 37 percent of bus service was cut, including Sunday and holiday service. The state provides about 2 percent of Community Transit's funding, although that share was as high as 30 percent before the passage of I-695 in 1999.

Stay tuned for more details on efforts to get new transit funding in Olympia.

To Add Bus Service, We Need New Funding

The Washington State Legislature began its 2013 session this week, so it’s a good time to review how bus service in Snohomish County is funded. Community Transit will be asking legislators for new funding, or authority to seek additional funding, so it can add bus service after several years of cuts.

Community Transit is a special purpose municipal corporation, separate from the county, cities or state. It was created by voters in 1976 under state authority to provide public transportation service to Snohomish County residents. Our service area, or public transportation benefit area (PTBA), includes unincorporated Snohomish County and all cities in the county except for Everett, which has its own transit agency.

Service is paid for by a 0.9 percent retail sales tax – the state maximum – in those jurisdictions. That’s nine cents on a $10 taxable purchase. In many parts of the county, the sales tax is above 9 percent, so Community Transit gets about one-tenth of that sales tax collected.

When the recession hit in 2008, sales tax revenues fell as people in the county reduced their buying, especially on big-ticket items like homes and cars. Tax revenue for transit dropped 18 percent that first year and pretty much stayed at that level for four years. In real dollars, that meant about $14 million less money each year.

After cutting internal costs, reducing administrative staff and freezing wages, Community Transit implemented two service cuts, reducing bus service by 37 percent and laying off 206 employees. Those painful actions have hopefully put the worst behind us; now it is a matter of funding new service.

Meanwhile, modest fare increases help keep pace with inflation. The $1.75 fare for local bus service pays for less than 20 percent of the cost of a local trip. The extra 25-cent increase in February will bring that farebox recovery up to about 21 percent.

While people’s buying habits have started to improve, 2012 revenues were still $10 million below 2007 levels. At this rate, it will take several years until there is enough guaranteed sales tax revenue to add significant service.

That is why new funding is needed to add service.

This year we are asking the state for direct funding for transit operations. That may be a pie-in-the-sky request, but before Initiative 695, the state provided directly about 30 percent of transit service funding. Today, that state funding is about 2 percent, some of which comes through competitive grants that are not guaranteed.

We are also asking the state for a local option – the authority to ask our voters to fund service. Two years ago, the state gave King County Metro authority for a $20 car tab fee that kept Metro from making some major service cuts. We’ll see what legislators are willing to support in terms of transit funding this year.