Regional transportation investment district planning committees are advisory entities that are created, convened, and empowered as follows:

(1) A county with a population over one million five hundred thousand persons and any adjoining counties with a population over five hundred thousand persons may create a regional transportation investment district and shall convene a regional transportation investment district planning committee.

(a) The boundaries of the district should include at least the contiguous areas within the regional transit authority serving the counties. The boundaries must be proposed by the planning committee and approved by the county legislative authorities by ordinance before or in conjunction with approval of a regional transportation investment plan. Boundaries must follow complete parcels of land. However, any portion of a county that is located on a peninsula shall be exempt from a regional transportation investment district in which more than one county is included if (i) the portion of the county located on the peninsula is connected to the other portion of the county by a bridge improved under chapter 47.46 RCW, and (ii) the county has a national park and a population of more than five hundred thousand persons, but less than one million five hundred thousand persons.

(b) After voters within the district boundaries have approved a plan under RCW 36.120.070, elections to add areas to the district boundaries may be called by a resolution of the board, after consultation with the regional transportation planning organization and affected transit agencies and with the concurrence of the legislative authority of the city or town if the area is incorporated or with the concurrence of the county legislative authority if the area is unincorporated. The election may include a single ballot measure providing annexation to the district, approval of the plan, and approval of revenue sources necessary to finance the plan. The electorate are the voters voting within the proposed area to be annexed. A simple majority of the persons voting on the single ballot measure is required for approval of the measure.

(2) The members of the legislative authorities participating in planning under this chapter shall serve as the district planning committee. Members of the planning committee receive no compensation, but may be reimbursed for travel and incidental expenses as the planning committee deems appropriate.

The secretary of transportation, or the appropriate regional administrator of the department, as named by the secretary, shall serve on the committee as a nonvoting member.

(3) A regional transportation investment district planning committee may be entitled to state funding, as appropriated by the legislature, for start-up funding to pay for salaries, expenses, overhead, supplies, and similar expenses ordinarily and necessarily incurred in selecting transportation projects and funding for those transportation projects under this chapter. Upon creation of a regional transportation investment district, the district shall within one year reimburse the state for any sums advanced for these start-up costs from the state.

(4) The planning committee shall conduct its affairs and formulate a regional transportation investment plan as provided under RCW 36.120.040, except that it shall elect an executive board of seven members to discharge the duties of the planning committee and formulate a regional transportation investment plan, subject to the approval of the full committee.

(5) At its first meeting, a regional transportation investment district planning committee may elect officers and provide for the adoption of rules and other operating procedures.

(6) Governance of and decisions by a regional transportation investment district planning committee must be by a sixty-percent weighted majority vote of the total membership.

(7) The planning committee may dissolve itself at any time by a two-thirds weighted majority vote of the total membership of the planning committee.

(8) If a multicounty regional transportation investment district is not formed by December 1, 2007, through approval by the voters voting on a regional transportation investment plan, then the authority under this chapter to create a district, and to fund and construct transportation projects, shall be available to each of the eligible counties described in subsection (1) of this section on an individual and independent basis.

Findings—2006 c 311: See note following RCW 36.120.020.