Toll rate setting process

AN ACT Relating to streamlining the toll rate setting process at 1
the transportation commission; amending RCW 34.05.030, 47.56.850, 2
47.56.165, 47.56.795, 47.46.100, and 47.46.105; adding a new section 3
to chapter 47.56 RCW; creating a new section; and providing an 4
effective date. 5
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that most tolling 7
facilities in Washington state are subject to strict bond covenants 8
and financial requirements, requiring swift action in response to 9
changing circumstances. However, the current process for setting or 10
adjusting toll rates or toll rate policies takes an average of 160 11
days to complete due to requirements in the administrative procedure 12
act, chapter 34.05 RCW. The legislature further finds that this 13
process lacks the flexibility that is necessary to quickly adjust 14
tolls to meet legally mandated revenue and performance requirements 15
in response to unforeseen circumstances. Therefore, in order to 16
address the challenges with the current toll rate setting process, it 17
is the intent of the legislature to exempt toll setting from the 18
administrative procedure act and to instead establish a toll setting 19
process that can be carried out efficiently and expeditiously while 20
maintaining public transparency.21
S-1185.2
SENATE BILL 5702
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Ramos, Goehner, and Nobles
Read first time 02/07/25. Referred to Committee on Transportation.
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Sec. 2. RCW 34.05.030 and 2021 c 314 s 24 are each amended to 1
read as follows: 2
(1) This chapter shall not apply to: 3
(a) The state militia((,)); or 4
(b) The ((board of)) clemency and pardons (([clemency and pardons 5
board],)) board; or 6
(c) The department of corrections or the indeterminate sentencing 7
review board with respect to persons who are in their custody or are 8
subject to the jurisdiction of those agencies; or9
(d) The transportation commission when exercising its powers as 10
the state tolling authority under RCW 47.56.850 and section 4 of this 11
act. 12
(2) The provisions of RCW 34.05.410 through 34.05.598 shall not 13
apply: 14
(a) To adjudicative proceedings of the board of industrial 15
insurance appeals except as provided in RCW 7.68.110 and 51.48.131;16
(b) Except for actions pursuant to chapter 46.29 RCW, to the 17
denial, suspension, or revocation of a driver's license by the 18
department of licensing; 19
(c) To the department of labor and industries where another 20
statute expressly provides for review of adjudicative proceedings of 21
a department action, order, decision, or award before the board of 22
industrial insurance appeals; 23
(d) To actions of the Washington personnel resources board, the 24
director of financial management, and the department of enterprise 25
services when carrying out their duties under chapter 41.06 RCW;26
(e) To adjustments by the department of revenue of the amount of 27
the surcharge imposed under RCW 82.04.261; 28
(f) To actions to implement the provisions of chapter 70A.02 RCW, 29
except as specified in RCW 70A.02.130; or 30
(g) To the extent they are inconsistent with any provisions of 31
chapter 43.43 RCW. 32
(3) Unless a party makes an election for a formal hearing 33
pursuant to RCW 82.03.140 or 82.03.190, RCW 34.05.410 through 34
34.05.598 do not apply to a review hearing conducted by the board of 35
tax appeals. 36
(4) The rule-making provisions of this chapter do not apply to:37
(a) Reimbursement unit values, fee schedules, arithmetic 38
conversion factors, and similar arithmetic factors used to determine 39
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payment rates that apply to goods and services purchased under 1
contract for clients eligible under chapter 74.09 RCW; and2
(b) Adjustments by the department of revenue of the amount of the 3
surcharge imposed under RCW 82.04.261. 4
(5) All other agencies, whether or not formerly specifically 5
excluded from the provisions of all or any part of the administrative 6
procedure act, shall be subject to the entire act. 7
Sec. 3. RCW 47.56.850 and 2009 c 498 s 15 are each amended to 8
read as follows: 9
(1) Unless these powers are otherwise delegated by the 10
legislature, the transportation commission is the tolling authority 11
for the state. The tolling authority shall: 12
(a) ((Set)) Consistent with the process described in section 4 of 13
this act, set toll rates, establish appropriate exemptions, including 14
discounts, if any, and make adjustments as conditions warrant on 15
eligible toll facilities; 16
(b) Review toll collection policies, toll operations policies, 17
and toll revenue expenditures on the eligible toll facilities and 18
report annually on this review to the legislature.19
(2) The tolling authority, in determining toll rates, shall 20
consider the policy guidelines established in RCW 47.56.830.21
(3) Unless otherwise directed by the legislature, in setting and 22
periodically adjusting toll rates, the tolling authority must ensure 23
that toll rates will generate revenue sufficient to:24
(a) Meet the operating costs of the eligible toll facilities, 25
including necessary maintenance, preservation, renewal, replacement, 26
administration, and toll enforcement by public law enforcement;27
(b) Meet obligations for the timely payment of debt service on 28
bonds issued for eligible toll facilities, and any other associated 29
financing costs including, but not limited to, required reserves, 30
minimum debt coverage or other appropriate contingency funding, 31
insurance, and compliance with all other financial and other 32
covenants made by the state in the bond proceedings;33
(c) Meet obligations to reimburse the motor vehicle fund for 34
excise taxes on motor vehicle and special fuels applied to the 35
payment of bonds issued for eligible toll facilities; and36
(d) Meet any other obligations of the tolling authority to 37
provide its proportionate share of funding contributions for any 38
projects or operations of the eligible toll facilities.39
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(4) The established toll rates may include variable pricing, and 1
should be set to optimize system performance, recognizing necessary 2
trade-offs to generate revenue for the purposes specified in 3
subsection (3) of this section. Tolls may vary for type of vehicle, 4
time of day, traffic conditions, or other factors designed to improve 5
performance of the system. 6
(5) In fixing and adjusting toll rates under this section, the 7
only toll revenue to be taken into account must be toll revenue 8
pledged to bonds that includes toll receipts, and the only debt 9
service requirements to be taken into account must be debt service on 10
bonds payable from and secured by toll revenue that includes toll 11
receipts. 12
(6) The legislature pledges to appropriate toll revenue as 13
necessary to carry out the purposes of this section. When the 14
legislature has specifically identified and designated an eligible 15
toll facility and authorized the issuance of bonds for the financing 16
of the eligible toll facility that are payable from and secured by a 17
pledge of toll revenue, the legislature further agrees for the 18
benefit of the owners of outstanding bonds issued by the state for 19
eligible toll facilities to continue in effect and not to impair or 20
withdraw the authorization of the tolling authority to fix and adjust 21
tolls as provided in this section. The state finance committee shall 22
pledge the state's obligation to impose and maintain tolls, together 23
with the application of toll revenue as described in this section, to 24
the owners of any bonds. 25
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 47.56 26
RCW under the subchapter heading "TOLL FACILITIES CREATED AFTER July 27
1, 2008" to read as follows: 28
(1) When setting or adjusting toll rates on eligible toll 29
facilities, or establishing or adjusting appropriate exemptions, 30
including discounts, the transportation commission shall:31
(a) Issue written notice to the public that the commission 32
intends to set or adjust toll rates on a given facility. At a 33
minimum, the notice must be published on the commission's website at 34
least 30 days before any proposed rates would take effect;35
(b) Carry out a public outreach process on a possible toll rate 36
option or options under consideration by the commission;37
(c) After review of options and public input, if any, the 38
commission shall select the applicable toll rates and may adopt the 39
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rates as soon as needed; however, adopting toll rates is deemed to be 1
an action as defined in RCW 42.30.020 and must occur at an open 2
public meeting of the commission; and 3
(d) Within one week of adopting toll rates, the commission shall 4
notify the public and stakeholder agencies, including the department 5
of transportation, of the toll rates, and provide the updated 6
information on its website. 7
(2) If the commission determines that immediate adoption of a 8
toll change is necessary in order to comply with the legal or 9
financial obligations of the state including, but not limited to, 10
state or federal law, federal rule, federal grant conditions, or the 11
bond covenants of the state, then the commission may adopt a toll 12
change on an emergency basis, without observing the notice and public 13
outreach and input requirements of subsection (1) of this section. 14
However, notice and public outreach and input requirements must be 15
observed to the greatest extent practicable as the emergency 16
circumstances allow. 17
(3) The commission shall establish administrative fees as 18
appropriate for toll collection processes using the same process 19
described in subsection (1) of this section. 20
(4) The commission shall post all current toll rates and toll 21
policies on its website. 22
(5) All open public meetings conducted under this section must 23
include an option for the public to participate remotely through 24
electronic means. 25
(6) The commission shall adopt rules that establish further 26
detail around the toll rate setting process and where relevant 27
information will be provided. 28
(7) This section does not apply to any rule making regarding toll 29
rate setting in progress by the commission on the effective date of 30
this section, which shall be completed under chapter 34.05 RCW.31
Sec. 5. RCW 47.56.165 and 2022 c 223 s 1 are each amended to 32
read as follows: 33
A special account to be known as the Tacoma Narrows toll bridge 34
account is created in the motor vehicle fund in the state treasury.35
(1) Deposits to the account must include: 36
(a) All proceeds of bonds issued for construction of the Tacoma 37
Narrows public-private initiative project, including any capitalized 38
interest; 39
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(b) All of the toll charges and other revenues received from the 1
operation of the Tacoma Narrows bridge as a toll facility, to be 2
deposited at least monthly; 3
(c) Any interest that may be earned from the deposit or 4
investment of those revenues; 5
(d) Notwithstanding RCW 47.12.063, proceeds from the sale of any 6
surplus real property acquired for the purpose of building the second 7
Tacoma Narrows bridge; 8
(e) All liquidated damages collected under any contract involving 9
the construction of the second Tacoma Narrows bridge; and10
(f) Beginning with September 2022 and ending July 1, 2032, by the 11
last day of September, December, March, and June of each year, the 12
state treasurer shall transfer from the general fund to the account 13
the sum of $3,250,000. The total amount that may be transferred 14
pursuant to this subsection is $130,000,000. 15
(2) Proceeds of bonds shall be used consistent with RCW 16
47.46.130, including the reimbursement of expenses and fees incurred 17
under agreements entered into under RCW 47.46.040 as required by 18
those agreements. 19
(3) Toll charges, other revenues, and interest may only be used 20
to: 21
(a) Pay required costs that contribute directly to the financing, 22
operation, maintenance, management, and necessary repairs of the 23
tolled facility ((, as determined by rule by the transportation 24
commission)); and 25
(b) Repay amounts to the motor vehicle fund as required under RCW 26
47.46.140. 27
(4) Toll charges, other revenues, and interest may not be used to 28
pay for costs that do not contribute directly to the financing, 29
operation, maintenance, management, and necessary repairs of the 30
tolled facility ((, as determined by rule by the transportation 31
commission)). 32
(5) The department shall make detailed quarterly expenditure 33
reports available to the transportation commission and to the public 34
on the department's website using current department resources.35
(6) When repaying the motor vehicle fund under RCW 47.46.140, the 36
state treasurer shall transfer funds from the Tacoma Narrows toll 37
bridge account to the motor vehicle fund on or before each debt 38
service date for bonds issued for the Tacoma Narrows public-private 39
initiative project in an amount sufficient to repay the motor vehicle 40
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fund for amounts transferred from that fund to the highway bond 1
retirement fund to provide for any bond principal and interest due on 2
that date. The state treasurer may establish subaccounts for the 3
purpose of segregating toll charges, bond sale proceeds, and other 4
revenues. 5
Sec. 6. RCW 47.56.795 and 2015 c 292 s 2 are each amended to 6
read as follows: 7
(1) A toll collection system may include, but is not limited to, 8
electronic toll collection and photo tolling. 9
(2)(a) A photo toll system may take photographs, digital 10
photographs, microphotographs, videotapes, or other recorded images 11
of the vehicle and vehicle license plate only. 12
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all photographs, 13
digital photographs, microphotographs, videotape, other recorded 14
images, or other records identifying a specific instance of travel 15
prepared under this chapter are for the exclusive use of the tolling 16
agency for toll collection and enforcement purposes and are not open 17
to the public and may not be used in a court in a pending action or 18
proceeding unless the action or proceeding relates to a civil penalty 19
under RCW 46.63.160. No photograph, digital photograph, 20
microphotograph, videotape, other recorded image, or other record 21
identifying a specific instance of travel may be used for any purpose 22
other than toll collection or enforcement of civil penalties under 23
RCW 46.63.160. Records identifying a specific instance of travel by a 24
specific person or vehicle must be retained only as required to 25
ensure payment and enforcement of tolls and to comply with state 26
records retention policies. Aggregate records that do not identify an 27
individual, vehicle, or account may be maintained.28
(3) The department and its agents shall only use electronic toll 29
collection system technology for toll collection purposes.30
(4) Tolls may be collected and paid by the following methods:31
(a) A customer may pay an electronic toll through an electronic 32
toll collection account; 33
(b) A customer may pay a photo toll either through a customer-34
initiated payment or in response to a toll bill; or35
(c) A customer may pay with cash on toll facilities that have a 36
manual cash collection system. 37
(5) To the extent practicable, the department shall adopt 38
electronic toll collection options, which allow for anonymous 39
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customer accounts and anonymous accounts that are not linked to a 1
specific vehicle. 2
(6) The transportation commission shall ((adopt rules, in 3
accordance with chapter 34.05 RCW, to)), consistent with the process 4
described in section 4 of this act, assess administrative fees as 5
appropriate for toll collection processes. Administrative fees must 6
not exceed toll collection costs. All administrative fees collected 7
under this section must be deposited into the toll facility account 8
of the facility on which the toll was assessed. 9
(7) Failure to pay a photo toll by the toll payment due date is a 10
violation for which a notice of civil penalty may be issued under RCW 11
46.63.160. 12
(8) For an electronic toll collection system that uses an in-13
vehicle device, such as a transponder, to identify a particular 14
customer for the purposes of paying an electronic toll from that 15
customer's toll collection account, the department must allow such 16
in-vehicle devices to be offered for sale at vehicle dealers.17
Sec. 7. RCW 47.46.100 and 2002 c 114 s 7 are each amended to 18
read as follows: 19
(1) ((The)) Consistent with the process described in section 4 of 20
this act, the commission shall fix the rates of toll and other 21
charges for all toll bridges built under this chapter that are 22
financed primarily by bonds issued by the state. Subject to RCW 23
47.46.090, the commission may impose and modify toll charges from 24
time to time as conditions warrant. 25
(2) In establishing toll charges, the commission shall give due 26
consideration to any required costs for operating and maintaining the 27
toll bridge or toll bridges, including the cost of insurance, and to 28
any amount required by law to meet the redemption of bonds and 29
interest payments on them. 30
(3) The toll charges must be imposed in amounts sufficient to:31
(a) Provide annual revenue sufficient to provide for annual 32
operating and maintenance expenses, except as provided in RCW 33
47.56.245; 34
(b) Make payments required under RCW 47.56.165 and 47.46.140, 35
including insurance costs and the payment of principal and interest 36
on bonds issued for any particular toll bridge or toll bridges; and37
(c) Repay the motor vehicle fund under RCW 47.46.110, 47.56.165, 38
and 47.46.140. 39
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(4) The bond principal and interest payments, including repayment 1
of the motor vehicle fund for amounts transferred from that fund to 2
provide for such principal and interest payments, constitute a first 3
direct and exclusive charge and lien on all tolls and other revenues 4
from the toll bridge concerned, subject to operating and maintenance 5
expenses. 6
Sec. 8. RCW 47.46.105 and 2010 c 249 s 4 are each amended to 7
read as follows: 8
(1) A toll collection system may include, but is not limited to, 9
electronic toll collection and photo tolling. 10
(2)(a) A photo toll system may take photographs, digital 11
photographs, microphotographs, videotapes, or other recorded images 12
of the vehicle and vehicle license plate only. 13
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all photographs, 14
digital photographs, microphotographs, videotape, other recorded 15
images, or other records identifying a specific instance of travel 16
prepared under this chapter are for the exclusive use of the tolling 17
agency for toll collection and enforcement purposes and are not open 18
to the public and may not be used in a court in a pending action or 19
proceeding unless the action or proceeding relates to a civil penalty 20
under RCW 46.63.160. No photograph, digital photograph, 21
microphotograph, videotape, other recorded image, or other record 22
identifying a specific instance of travel may be used for any purpose 23
other than toll collection or enforcement of civil penalties under 24
RCW 46.63.160. Records identifying a specific instance of travel by a 25
specific person or vehicle must be retained only as required to 26
ensure payment and enforcement of tolls and to comply with state 27
records retention policies. 28
(3) The department and its agents shall only use electronic toll 29
collection system technology for toll collection purposes.30
(4) Tolls may be collected and paid by the following methods:31
(a) A customer may pay an electronic toll through an electronic 32
toll collection account; 33
(b) A customer who does not have an electronic toll collection 34
account may pay a photo toll either through a customer-initiated 35
payment or in response to a toll bill; or 36
(c) A customer who does not have an electronic toll collection 37
account may pay with cash on toll facilities that have a manual cash 38
collection system. 39
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(5) To the extent practicable, the department shall adopt 1
electronic toll collection options, which allow for anonymous 2
customer accounts and anonymous accounts that are not linked to a 3
specific vehicle. 4
(6) The transportation commission shall ((adopt rules, in 5
accordance with chapter 34.05 RCW, to)), consistent with the process 6
described in section 4 of this act, assess administrative fees as 7
appropriate for toll collection processes. Administrative fees must 8
not exceed toll collection costs. All administrative fees collected 9
under this section must be deposited into the toll facility account 10
of the facility on which the toll was assessed. 11
(7) Failure to pay a photo toll by the toll payment due date is a 12
violation for which a notice of civil penalty may be issued under RCW 13
46.63.160. 14
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. This act takes effect January 1, 2026.15
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