SB 5402 — Creating the Cooper Jones bicyclist safety advisory council.

S-1439.2SUBSTITUTES-0262.2SENATE SENATE BILL 5402State of Washington65th Legislature2017 Regular SessionBy Senate Transportation (originally sponsored by Senators Liias, Walsh, Billig, Hobbs, King, and Sheldon)READSheldonRead FIRSTfirst TIMEtime 02/14/17.AN01/23/17. ACT Relating to the Cooper Jones bicyclist safety advisory council;

Referred to Committee on Transportation.AN ACT Relating to the Cooper Jones bicyclist safety advisory council;

It is the intent of the legislature that the Cooper Jones bicycle safety advisory council continue that work with a focus on a review of best practices for the reduction and eventual elimination of bicycle-related injuries and fatalities in contribution to Washington state's adoption of Target Zero.NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 43.59 RCW to read as follows:(1) SubjectWithin toamounts the availability of funds appropriated forto thisthe specifictraffic purpose,safety commission, the commission must convene the Cooper Jones bicyclist safety advisory council comprised of stakeholders who have a unique interest or expertise in bicyclist and road safety.(2) The purpose of the council is to review and analyze data related to bicyclist fatalities and serious injuries to identify points at which the transportation system can be improved and to identify patterns in bicyclist fatalities and serious injuries.(3)(a) The council may include, but is not limited to:(i) A representative from the commission;(ii) An emergency medical technician from the county in which the most bicyclist deaths have occurred;(iii) A representative from the Washington association of sheriffs and police chiefs;(iv) Multiple members of law enforcement who have investigated bicyclist fatalities;(v) A traffic engineer;(vi) A representative from the department of transportation;(vii) A representative of cities, and up to two stakeholders, chosen by the council, who represent municipalities in which at least one bicyclist fatality has occurred in the previous three years;(viii) A representative from a bicyclist advocacy group;(ix) An attorney that has worked in areas of the law related to bicycles;(x) A transportation planner with a focus on multimodal planning;(xi) A public health official, researcher, or epidemiologist;

Additionally, the council must report any budgetary or fiscal recommendations to the office of financial management and the legislature by August 1,1st 2018.(5)on a biennial basis.(5) As part of the review of bicyclist fatalities and serious injuries that occur in Washington, the council may review any available information, including accident information maintained in existing databases;

The commission and the council must maintain the confidentiality of such information to the extent required by any applicable law.(7) If acting in good faith, without malice, and within the parameters of and protocols established under this chapter, representatives of the commission and the council are immune from civil liability for an activity related to reviews of particular fatalities and serious injuries.(8) This section must not be construed to provide a private civil cause of action.(9)(a) The council may receive gifts, grants, or endowments from public or private sources that are made from time to time, in trust or otherwise, for the use and benefit of the purposes of the council and spend the gifts, grants, or endowments from the public or private sources according to their terms, unless the receipt of the gifts, grants, or endowments violates RCW 42.17A.560.(b) Subject to the appropriation of funds for this specific purpose, the council may provide grants targeted at improving bicyclist safety in accordance with recommendations made by the council.(10) By December 1, 2018,2020, the council must report to the transportation committees of the legislature on the strategies that have been deployed to improve bicyclist safety by the council and make a recommendation as to whether the council should be continued and if there are any improvements the legislature can make to improve the council.(11) For purposes of this section:(a) "Bicyclist fatality" means any death of a bicyclist resulting from a collision with a vehicle, whether on a roadway, at an intersection, along an adjacent sidewalk, or on a path that is contiguous with a roadway.(b) "Council" means the Cooper Jones bicyclist safety advisory council.(c) "Serious injury" means any injury other than a fatal injury that prevents the injured person from walking, driving, or normally continuing the activities the person was capable of performing before the injury occurred.(12) This section expires June 30, 2019.---2021.--- END ---