Committee hears bill to create temporary crash‑prevention zones, fund short‑term fixes with local penalties

House Bill 21 74 would authorize counties, cities, towns or WSDOT to establish crash‑prevention zones at corridors with repeated serious collisions to create a time‑limited path for engineering fixes, signage and enhanced enforcement.

Staff explained the bill requires a public hearing and an engineering and traffic investigation once a zone is proposed. The bill mandates coordination with the Washington State Patrol and local law enforcement and requires signage notifying drivers of increased penalties. It sets a $73 monetary penalty for covered speed‑related infractions or infractions associated with collisions in a designated zone; proceeds would be deposited to an account used for investigations, signage and safety projects, and the zone would be dissolved when safety improvements are implemented.

Sponsor Representative Mark Clicker described local hotspots with repeated fatalities and major crashes — citing Highway 395 and Highway 12 near Walla Walla — and said the measure is intended as a temporary tool pending long‑term projects. Local governments, county risk pools and municipal associations testified in support while asking the committee to add language protecting cities and counties from having the zone designations used against them in liability claims; supporters asked collected funds to be clearly directed to safety improvements.

Agency testimony from WSDOT described indeterminate fiscal impacts depending on local uptake; staff estimated a sample five‑mile corridor sign package at roughly $30,000 and noted that many costs would be absorbed into existing safety programming. Sponsors and witnesses agreed the tool should be local and short term, with transparent signage and community input required before designation.

The committee did not take final action on HB 21 74 that day; sponsors requested follow‑up on liability language and potential amendment alignment with the Senate companion.