{"id":6232,"date":"2014-02-11T16:49:39","date_gmt":"2014-02-12T00:49:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wabikes.org\/?p=6232"},"modified":"2014-02-12T11:44:25","modified_gmt":"2014-02-12T19:44:25","slug":"wabikes-olympia-5-things-watch-week-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wabikes.org\/index.php\/2014\/02\/11\/wabikes-olympia-5-things-watch-week-5\/","title":{"rendered":"WAbikes in Olympia: 5 things to watch in week 5"},"content":{"rendered":"

Exactly 30 days into session, here are five things Washington Bikes is watching as the second half of the Washington state legislature’s 2014 session begins:<\/p>\n

#1 – Supplemental Transportation Budget: Supporting Mobility\u00a0<\/strong>and Safety.<\/strong> Now with the policy bill cutoff behind us, discussions are transitioning into addressing the supplemental budgets for the 2013-15<\/p>\n

\"Washington<\/a>

Washington State Capitol – courtesy of Cacophony<\/p><\/div>\n

biennium. With approximately $30.45 million, the 2013-15 transportation budget represented the best budget ever for the Safe Routes to School and Bicycle and Pedestrian state grant programs. Unfortunately, due to federal funding uncertainty (2014 represents the end of the federal transportation reauthorization, MAP-21) and state funding ties to these grant programs expiring, only $8 million in state funds is programmed for the 2015-17 biennium for both grant programs.<\/p>\n

A supplemental budget for the 2013-15 biennium (essentially, a budget that corrects for changing forecasts, and adjustments in policy priorities halfway through the two-year budget) represents a first step in bridging the significant drop in funding for these two grant programs that provide education and training to over 10,000 kids every year, improvements in tens of schools and neighborhoods, and critical trail connections that improve accessibility and safety statewide.<\/p>\n

#2 – SB 6227<\/a>:\u00a0Distracted Driving.<\/strong> This commonsense legislation, sponsored by Senate Transportation co-chair Tracey Eide builds on previous legislation championed by Washington Bikes and passed in 2010. <\/a>By bringing Washington state up to federal standards around portable technology use while driving, the Distracted Driving bill would make Washington state eligible for federal safety funding.<\/p>\n

#3 –\u00a0HB 2123<\/a>:\u00a0Adding Congestion Relief to the State Mobility Goal<\/strong>. This legislation takes a clear state transportation mobility system goal and adds unnecessary specificity that could actually skew how state spending is directed at the 99.2% of congestion that occurs in the Puget Sound region. It passed out of committee with concerns from a number of Washington Bikes\u2019 legislative champions. For more about the specifics of the legislation, Sightline Institute authored an informative blog post on the legislation<\/a>.<\/p>\n