Washington State
House of Representatives
Office of Program Research
BILL
ANALYSIS
Transportation Committee
HB 1418
Brief Description: Adding two voting members that are transit users to the governing body of public transportation benefit areas.
Sponsors: Representatives Timmons, Ramel, Duerr, Simmons, Parshley, Reed, Doglio, Pollet, Hill and Donaghy.
Brief Summary of Bill
  • Allows for the appointment of two transit-using members to the governing body of public transportation benefit areas (PTBAs) as voting members.
  • Requires one of the transit-using members to represent a community-based organization, if possible.
  • Requires meetings of the governing body of certain PTBAs to be reasonably accessible by transit.
Hearing Date: 1/27/25
Staff: David Munnecke (786-7315).
Background:

Public Transportation Benefit Area.

A public transportation benefit area (PTBA) is a type of municipal corporation created to provide regional transportation service to all or a portion of a county or multiple counties. ?It is authorized to construct, own, and operate a regional transportation system within its jurisdictional boundaries, in accordance with specified statutory requirements. ?The creation of a PTBA requires the convening of a public transportation improvement conference attended by an elected official from each city and county falling within the jurisdiction of the proposed PTBA.

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In total, there are 32 transit systems in Washington, operating under one of six different governance structures.? Of these 32 systems, 21 are operating as PTBAs.

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Governance.

The governance of a PTBA is provided by a governing body consisting of not more than 9 (or 15 if the PTBA is multicounty) elected officials from the governments of the cities and counties participating in the PTBA.? A PTBA must also include in its governing body a nonvoting member recommended by the labor organization or organizations representing its employees, if the authority has employees represented by a labor union.
Summary of Bill:

The requirements for the governing body of a PTBA are modified to allow for the appointment of two transit-using members to the governing body of PTBAs, as voting members.? One of the transit-using members must represent a community-based organization, if possible, and the other must primarily rely on public transportation.? If no organizational representative residing within the PTBA's service area is available to serve, a second member who is primarily reliant on public transportation must be appointed instead.? Transit-using members must be provided comprehensive training regarding the Open Public Meetings Act and the Public Records Act, as soon as is reasonably practicable after the member's appointment.

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The meetings of the governing body of a PTBA, that has transit-using members of the governing body, must occur at a time and place that is reasonably accessible by transit.

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The ability to appoint transit-using members to the governing body of a PTBA does not apply to any PTBA where there are retained citizen positions on the governing body, which were in existence at the time the PTBA assumed public transportation functions previously provided under the Interlocal Cooperation Act.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Available.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect on January 1, 2026.