Budgeting and Appropriations | Biennial enactment of one 24-month budget; fiscal year begins July 1. |
Bonding or Pay-as-You-Go | Combination of bonding and pay-as-you-go financing. Much of the revenue in the enacted 2003 and 2005 funding packages was used to support bonding to accelerate project construction. Preexisting revenue streams, however, are mainly used for pay-as-you-go and operations. |
State-Level Funding Provided for DOT Budgets | 2010 to 2011 biennium (approved): $4.7 billion |
Allocation of Federal Transportation Funds to the DOT | Federal transportation funds are allocated to WSDOT mainly as a state legislative appropriation at the program or category level. If federal funding is received for operating purposes and is outside current appropriation authority, WSDOT must seek approval through the governor's budget office using the "unanticipated receipts" process, which includes feedback from legislative staff. Some funds flow directly to WSDOT from the U.S. DOT with no state legislative involvement. |
Allocation of State Transportation Funds to the DOT | State transportation funds are allocated to WSDOT through state legislative appropriation at the program or category level and some project-specific earmarks. |
Traditional State Funding and Finance for Highways | Fuel taxes; vehicle registration/license/title fees; truck weight fees; tolls; interest income; sale of WSDOT property and other business-related revenues; general obligation bonds. |
State Funding and Finance for Other Modes | Rail and transit: Motor vehicle/rental car sales taxes; vehicle registration/license/title fees; interest income; passenger vehicle weight fees, penalty fees, plate number retention fees and filing fees. The state does not directly participate in transit, but makes grants to local entities and provides coordination. Aviation: Aircraft excise tax; aircraft dealer license fees; aircraft fuel tax; aircraft registration fees. Bridges: included with highways. Ferries: Same as for highways, plus ferry fares. |
Innovative Transportation Funding and Finance | GARVEE bonds (authorized per Wash. Rev. Code Ann. §47.29.060, subject to further legislative authorization and appropriation); Build America Bonds; state infrastructure bank (federally capitalized); congestion variable tolling; photo tolling (beginning 2011); PPPs (authorized in statute with legislative approval requirements); design-build (authorized in statute, used as a component of several projects); advance construction. Traffic camera fees and impact fees are used only at the local level (Wash. Rev. Code Ann. §39.92.040 and §46.63.170). Washington also has a state-funded rail bank, capitalized at a rate of $2.5 million per year. To date, the rail bank has been used more than the state infrastructure bank. |
Dedicated/Restricted State Funds and Revenues | The state constitution requires vehicle license fees and fuel taxes to be used exclusively for highway purposes (Wash. Const. art. II, §40). Vehicle sales taxes, rental car sales taxes, and passenger vehicle and motor home weight fees are deposited to the multimodal transportation account and must be used for transportation purposes; in addition, other vehicle-related fees can be used for non-highway transportation purposes if state law makes it clear that they are not vehicle license fees (Wash. Rev. Code Ann. §46.68.415, §47.66.070 and §82.08.020). Ferry fares must be used to maintain and operate state ferries (Wash. Rev. Code Ann. §47.60.530). Revenues associated with the 2003 and 2005 funding packages are deposited into dedicated accounts for funding the projects identified in those packages. Tolls must be used for the facility from which they were collected, and general obligation bonds must be used for the projects for which they were approved. |
DOT Authorized to Retain Surplus Funds | WSDOT is not authorized to retain excess funds (i.e., unspent appropriation authority), which then remain within the funds and become part of balances going forward. Every fiscal biennium, WSDOT must seek new expenditure authority for unfinished projects or activities. |
Legislative Approval Required to Move Funds Between Projects | Yes. Section 603 of the budget (2009 Wash. Laws, Chap. 470) provides a process for WSDOT to request fund transfers between projects that received funds as part of the 2003 and 2005 funding packages, and limitations on such transfers. The Office of Financial Management reviews WSDOT requests with the legislative staff of the House and Senate Transportation Committees. |
Transportation Funding Allocations through Local Aid | Transportation funds are allocated to local entities by state legislative appropriation, WSDOT allocation by formula and WSDOT discretion. A portion of certain transportation revenues is distributed to cities and counties by statutory formulas. For cities, the formula is based on population only and for counties it is based on population, road costs and money need (Wash. Rev. Code Ann. §46.68.110 and §§46.68.120 et seq.). WSDOT awards certain public transportation grants through the regional mobility grant program-which receives funds from the multimodal transportation account, subject to appropriation-for cost-effective transportation projects that reduce delay and improve connectivity (Wash. Rev. Code Ann. §47.66.030 and §46.68.320). WSDOT also can make grants or loans to municipalities or tribal governments for aviation purposes, out of legislative appropriations made for that purpose (Wash. Rev. Code Ann. §47.68.090). |