(1) To support the implementation of RCW 47.04.280 and 47.01.078(4), the department shall adopt broad statewide goals to reduce annual per capita vehicle miles traveled by 2050 consistent with the stated goals of executive order 07-02. Consistent with these goals, the department shall:

(a) Establish the following benchmarks using a statewide baseline of seventy-five billion vehicle miles traveled less the vehicle miles traveled attributable to vehicles licensed under RCW 46.16A.455 and weighing ten thousand pounds or more, which are exempt from this section:

(i) Decrease the annual per capita vehicle miles traveled by eighteen percent by 2020;

(ii) Decrease the annual per capita vehicle miles traveled by thirty percent by 2035; and

(iii) Decrease the annual per capita vehicle miles traveled by fifty percent by 2050;

(b) By July 1, 2008, establish and convene a collaborative process to develop a set of tools and best practices to assist state, regional, and local entities in making progress towards the benchmarks established in (a) of this subsection. The collaborative process must provide an opportunity for public review and comment and must:

(i) Be jointly facilitated by the department, the department of ecology, and the department of commerce;

(ii) Provide for participation from regional transportation planning organizations, the Washington state transit association, the Puget Sound clean air agency, a statewide business organization representing the sale of motor vehicles, at least one major private employer that participates in the commute trip reduction program, and other interested parties, including but not limited to parties representing diverse perspectives on issues relating to growth, development, and transportation;

(iii) Identify current strategies to reduce vehicle miles traveled in the state as well as successful strategies in other jurisdictions that may be applicable in the state;

(iv) Identify potential new revenue options for local and regional governments to authorize to finance vehicle miles traveled reduction efforts;

(v) Provide for the development of measurement tools that can, with a high level of confidence, measure annual progress toward the benchmarks at the local, regional, and state levels, measure the effects of strategies implemented to reduce vehicle miles traveled and adequately distinguish between common travel purposes, such as moving freight or commuting to work, and measure trends of vehicle miles traveled per capita on a five-year basis;

(vi) Establish a process for the department to periodically evaluate progress toward the vehicle miles traveled benchmarks, measure achieved and projected emissions reductions, and recommend whether the benchmarks should be adjusted to meet the state's overall goals for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions;

(vii) Estimate the projected reductions in greenhouse gas emissions if the benchmarks are achieved, taking into account the expected implementation of existing state and federal mandates for vehicle technology and fuels, as well as expected growth in population and vehicle travel;

(viii) Examine access to public transportation for people living in areas with affordable housing to and from employment centers, and make recommendations for steps necessary to ensure that areas with affordable housing are served by adequate levels of public transportation; and

(vix) [(ix)] By December 1, 2008, provide a report to the transportation committees of the legislature on the collaborative process and resulting recommended tools and best practices to achieve the reduction in annual per capita vehicle miles traveled goals.

(2) Included in the December 1, 2008, report to the transportation committees of the legislature, the department shall identify strategies to reduce vehicle miles traveled in the state as well as successful strategies in other jurisdictions that may be applicable in the state that recognize the differing urban and rural transportation requirements.

(3) Prior to implementation of the goals in this section, the department, in consultation with the department of commerce, cities, counties, local economic development organizations, and local and regional chambers of commerce, shall provide a report to the appropriate committees of the legislature on the anticipated impacts of the goals established in this section on the following:

(a) The economic hardship on small businesses as it relates to the ability to hire and retain workers who do not reside in the county in which they are employed;

(b) Impacts on low-income residents;

(c) Impacts on agricultural employers and their employees, especially on the migrant farmworker community;

(d) Impacts on distressed rural counties; and

(e) Impacts in counties with more than fifty percent of the land base of the county in public or tribal lands.

Explanatory statement—2023 c 470: See note following RCW 10.99.030.

Intent—Effective date—2011 c 171: See notes following RCW 4.24.210.

Findings—Intent—Scope of chapter 14, Laws of 2008—2008 c 14: See RCW 70A.45.005 and 70A.45.900.