Committee hears technical cleanup for Transportation Improvement Board, sponsor offers substitute

The House Transportation Committee on Jan. 15 heard House Bill 1823, described by committee staff as a technical cleanup to the Washington State Transportation Improvement Board.

Chris Thomas, staff to the committee, told members the bill removes obsolete accounts and terms, updates outdated language and repeals sections no longer used. Thomas said the bill originally included language that would have stripped remaining TIB bond authority but that a proposed substitute from Representative Brecht Lowe restores the intended treatment of retired bonds. "The original bill was intended to sunset retired bonds, but the language actually stripped the remaining bond authority, which was not the intent," Thomas said.

Ashley Probart, executive director of the Transportation Improvement Board, testified in support and described practical examples of the obsolete references the bill would remove. "We just awarded $150,000,000 in grant awards this past year," Probart said, and called the cleanup "a good government bill." She added that some requirements—such as cities and counties sending hard copies of their six‑year transportation improvement programs—have become audit risks without practical utility.

Representative Brecht Lowe, appearing virtually, urged adoption of the substitute that corrects last session's drafting error. "I'm glad we caught the problem in the bill last year. It's now fixed in this amendment, and I'm urging adoption," Lowe said.

The committee closed the public hearing on HB 1823 and moved on to other bills. No vote was recorded during the hearing.

Background: the Transportation Improvement Board distributes revenue generated by three cents of the statewide gas tax to cities and counties and is composed of members representing cities, counties, WSDOT and other transportation interests. The bill includes an emergency clause and takes effect immediately if passed.