This bill adds a new section to chapter 47.44 RCW directing the Washington State Department of Transportation to adopt and maintain agency policies about state highway fish barrier removal projects. The policies must (1) proactively provide utility owners with information about planned fish barrier removal projects to enable collaboration, including providing at least one year of advance notice whenever feasible, and (2) maximize the amount of federal funding used for fish barrier removal projects that also allow federal funds to be used for utility relocation costs, consistent with applicable federal rules and regulations. The bill also encourages the department, if federal program rules allow utility relocation costs as an eligible use, to deposit any awards received into the multimodal transportation account and to report to the Legislature and the Office of Financial Management with recommendations for changes to state law, rules, or policies to enable more efficient receipt of competitive federal grant funding or reimbursements for utility relocation, to the extent permitted by federal program terms and applicable federal regulations. Affected entities named in the text include the Washington State Department of Transportation, utility owners, the Legislature, the Office of Financial Management, and relevant federal grant programs. The extracted text does not provide a specific new section number, formal definitions for key terms (for example “utility owners,” “fish barrier removal projects,” or “multimodal transportation account”), an effective date, specific deadlines for the encouraged report, or detailed standards for how to “maximize” federal funding or what constitutes feasibility for the one-year notice. Bill identifier: Second Substitute Senate Bill 5690, 69th Legislature, 2026 Regular Session.

If enacted, the Department of Transportation would be required to adopt policies to give utility owners advance information about planned state highway fish barrier removal projects—aiming for at least one year’s notice when feasible—and to pursue federal grant money that can cover utility relocation costs. Practically, that means utility companies should get earlier warning to schedule and budget relocations and may see more of those relocation costs paid by federal grants routed through the department or utilities, while the department will need to spend staff time coordinating notifications and actively applying for and managing federal funding. The bill also pushes the department to deposit eligible federal awards into the multimodal transportation account and to report to the Legislature and Office of Financial Management with recommendations to improve receipt of federal reimbursements, which could lead to future changes that make federal funds easier to use for relocations. Important details are missing—such as precise definitions, what “whenever feasible” means for the one‑year notice, how the department must “maximize” federal funding, reporting deadlines, and the effective date—so the timing, scope, and enforceability of these practical effects are uncertain.