Today marked the cutoff for a set of bills in Olympia. Honestly, this doesn’t affect too many bills, but it warrants a little check-in.
Congratulations, bills that made the cutoff!
Wheeeeeeee: A bill that lets local governments create “golf cart zones” on streets or highways with speed limits under 25 MPH moved from the Senate to the House—and has even moved out of the House Transportation Committee.
In Private Transit: Senate Bill 6570, which would allow all vehicles with 8 or more passengers to use some facilities reserved for public transit, like bus-only lanes, is alive; it has motored into the House Transportation Committee.
Tolls: House Bill 2941, which would authorize express toll lanes on I-405, just squeezed by with its first Senate public hearing today.
Good News for Bridges: A Senate bill that would create a local bridge restoration and replacement account has passed out of the House Transportation Committee.
For the Children: Senate Bill 6363, which would double crosswalk violation fines in school zones, is now in the House Transportation Committee.
And dead as a coelacanth in the Sahara:
This Really Existed? House Bill 3133 would have allowed advertising on school buses; it and its Senate companion bill are both, understandably, dead.
Ha-ha: A bill “prohibiting the construction or operation of a light rail or other rail system on the Interstate 90 floating bridge” never even made it out of committee.
Oh, Damn!: “Music Matters” license plates will not exist, at least not this year.
Oh, Well: A bill that would have allowed human trafficking informational posters in rest areas never made it past January.
Saraha – is that anything like a Sarlacc?
I’ve been monitoring the development of auto-piloted cars.
Should be ready in 5 years making all current transit wasteful and obsolete.
That golf cart bill seems like a great opportunity. Most golf carts are electric. Why not create cooridors in the city for electric vehicles like golf carts(they ate pretty cheap) and bikes.
Is there a particular reason school zone fines need to be ramped up, or was it just sort of a ‘We need to protect the kids! Anybody who votes against this isn’t protecting the kids!’ moral panic sort of situation?
@4 if it’s like here in Spokane, anything that encourages people to slow the fuck down at crossings is a good thing. It’s not only kids who use the crosswalks, but anyone who happened to be heading in about the same direction.
Too many people treat the reduced speed zone as optional
That last one seems like a really good idea… maybe I’ll call my legislators here in NJ about it.