Gov. Bob Ferguson on Wednesday, April 16, signed a bill sponsored by state Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Centralia, that will extend the work of a government team dedicated to streamlining infrastructure development.
Under the new law created by House Bill 1064, the Interagency Multijurisdictional System Improvement Team, which was first set to dissolve in 2021 and then in 2025, will become a permanent fixture in the Washington state government.
“Infrastructure is one of the most critical investments we can make in the long-term success of our communities,” Abbarno said. “This legislation helps ensure that public dollars are spent wisely, projects are completed more efficiently, and rural and underserved areas have better access to the services they need.”
The team, which is also known as SYNC, was first created in 2017 to improve systems in the state for investing in infrastructure. Their work includes optimizing federal and private funding for state projects, minimizing project costs and evaluating necessary design, finance and building needs for communities to meet long-term demands.
Members of the team represent state infrastructure programs that fund vital services for drinking water, wastewater, stormwater and broadband programs. Among them are the Public Works Board, the Department of Ecology, Department of Health and Department of Commerce. As part of the new law, the group is now required to submit reports to the Washington state Legislature every two years starting in 2026.
The legislation was first presented to the House Capital Budget Committee at the end of January, where Abbarno, who also serves on the committee, presented the bill and stressed the importance of the SYNC team, which often works closely with the Capital Budget Committee, and its help in coordinating infrastructure improvements.
“Anybody who has worked in local government has seen a sidewalk or street ripped up and then sewer lines put down and then two years later the streets ripped up and then water lines are put down, and then two years later the streets ripped up and then we put broadband in,” Abbarno said. “SYNC tries to look at these projects and work together with the other agencies to make sure we’re doing it efficiently.”
An online dashboard of projects and funding involving the Interagency Multijurisdictional System Improvement Team shows the team distributed nearly $779 million in funding to 516 projects in the 2023 fiscal year.
Visit the SYNC project dashboard to look at funded projects all around the state at https://tinyurl.com/36uadjhm.
