WA House committee considers traffic stops, train length and per-mile tax

OLYMPIA — Washington legislators are considering a trio of bills that, if passed, would alter what law enforcement officers can do during traffic stops, limit the length of trains in the state, and establish a voluntary pilot program statewide to charge vehicles a per-mile road use tax.

During a hearing of the Washington State House of Representatives Transportation Committee on Tuesday, legislators discussed a measure, House Bill 1513, from Rep. Chipalo Street, D-Seattle, that would limit the ability of police officers, sheriff's deputies and Washington State Patrol officers to use traffic stops for non-moving violations like busted tail-lights.

“This expands existing best practices for police,” Street told committee members. “It improves traffic safety for communities of color … and (such stops) are a tremendous inefficient way of using police officer time.”

Street cited the death earlier in February of Tyre Nichols at the hands of five Memphis police officers and an encounter he said he had with police while a student at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, where he said he and a friend were accosted by police officers, asked to show their identification, and when he refused, Street said the officers then beat him.

“I’m lucky to be here,” he said. “Tyre is not.”

Street said reducing those encounters by limiting the ability of officers to use non-moving violations as a pretext for detaining drivers and searching vehicles would reduce fatalities and allow officers to focus on essential law enforcement, such as driving while intoxicated or apprehending violent suspects.

The bill would also require law enforcement officers to get written permission from drivers for vehicle searches. However, Street said the proposed measure would not prevent officers from pulling over drivers for minor violations as a pretext, and would still allow officers to stop drivers for significant safety hazards, moving violations or driving on licenses suspended for failure to furnish proof of participation in a drug or alcohol rehabilitation program or driving without insurance.

“It will keep that incident to a traffic stop,” Street said.

Capt. Neil Weaver, commander of the Washington State Patrol’s government and media relations division, told committee members that non-moving traffic stops are not merely a matter of paperwork, but are an important part of the patrol’s job of educating and warning motorists about road and vehicle safety.

“They ensure a little thing doesn’t become a big thing,” Weaver said.

Weaver also said the bill, if passed, would increase WSP operating costs significantly, forcing the agency to hire an additional 21 dispatchers and up to eight new records handlers to deal with the paperwork. While the measure would allow officers on the road to enter data at the beginning of a stop on their computers, Weaver said that would require an officer to focus on their computers and reduce their situational awareness.

“We will contact dispatch every time,” he said. “And we are already struggling to find dispatchers.”

The committee also heard testimony on a bill by Rep. Sharon Tomiko Santos, D-Seattle, House Bill 839, that would limit the length of trains inside the state to 7,500 feet. Santos told committee members the bill comes in response to the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, on Feb. 3, and is intended to prevent such accidents and the inconvenience caused when very long trains — some up to 15,000 feet long, or more than two miles — become stopped on tracks, blocking roads and stopping traffic.

This is especially a problem in dense urban areas like her district, Santos said.

“Stopped trains can block traffic,” Santos said. “What if emergency response is blocked and life depends on it?”

While railroads are regulated by the Federal Railroad Administration, there is no limit to the length of freight trains in the United States, Santos said.

Johan Hellman, executive director of public affairs for the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, told committee members the lengths of trains varies, especially if they are hauling single cargoes like grain or coal, and that limiting train length inside the state would make it more expensive for shippers and exporters to use Washington’s ports, and add more carbon pollution to the atmosphere.

“The BNSF does run a train if it cannot run safely,” he said.

Finally, the committee heard testimony on a bill by Committee Chair Rep. Jeff Fey, D-Tacoma, House Bill 1832, that would establish a voluntary pilot program statewide in 2025 to charge motorists per mile traveled on public highways with an eye toward replacing the state’s gasoline tax, especially as more motorists buy electric and hybrid cars.

“With gas tax revenue declining, things will only get worse in terms of revenue,” Fey said. “It will provide resources needed to maintain the highway system.”

The bill, if enacted, would impose a 2.5-cent per miles fee on all vehicles enrolled in the program, and would waive the annual renewal fee imposed on hybrid-electric vehicles. The goal, Fey said, would be to have electric and hybrid vehicle owners pay a fair share of state road maintenance costs.

After the hearings, Fey said the committee hoped to complete work on the three bills by Thursday.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached at cfeatherstone@columbiabasinherald.com