H-3759

AN ACT Relating to metropolitan municipal corporations; amending RCW 35.58.140; adding new sections to chapter 35.58 RCW; creating a new section; repealing RCW 35.58.120 and 35.58.150; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The purposes of this act are to reduce the size of metropolitan councils and to restructure the composition of metropolitan councils to provide more effective representation to the citizens of a metropolitan area.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A metropolitan municipal corporation shall be governed by a metropolitan council consisting of the following members:

(1) One member who is the elected county executive of the central county, or, if there is no elected county executive, one member appointed by, and from, the board of commissioners or council of the central county.

(2) Six members appointed by the county commissioners or county councilmembers of the central county, which members may include any or all of the county commissioners or councilmembers.

(3) One member who is the elected mayor of the central city, or, if there is no elected mayor, one member appointed by, and from, the mayor and city council of the central city.

(4) Six members appointed by the council of the central city, which members may include any or all of the city councilmembers.

(5)(a) Six members appointed by and from the mayors and councilmembers of the component cities, other than the central city, that have populations of fifteen thousand or more. The appointment process must give due consideration to the number of citizens residing within each city to facilitate, as much as practicable, proportionate representation.

(b) Subject to (c) of this subsection, the members shall be selected in the following manner:

(i) The mayors and councilmembers of all selecting component cities shall meet prior to July 1 of each even-numbered year at a date, time, and place to be fixed by resolution of the metropolitan council.

(ii) The chairperson of the metropolitan council shall preside.

(iii) After nominations are made, successive ballots shall be taken until six candidates each receive a majority of all votes cast.

(c) In the event the selecting component cities are members of a duly established association of cities within the metropolitan area whose charter or rules delegate to the association the appointment of members to the metropolitan council, then the appointment of the six members shall be conducted as provided by the association's charter or rules and the results certified to the chairperson of the metropolitan council.

(6) One member representing all component cities that have a population of less than fifteen thousand each, who is selected by and from the mayors of these cities in the following manner:

(a) The mayors of the cities shall meet prior to July 1 of each even-numbered year at a time and place to be fixed by the metropolitan council.

(b) The chairperson of the metropolitan council shall preside.

(c) After nominations are made, successive ballots shall be taken until one candidate receives a majority of all votes cast.

(7) Three members who are nominated and elected at large from the metropolitan area to four-year staggered terms as provided in section 3 of this act. The election shall be held in conformance with the provisions of Title 29 RCW.

(8) For any metropolitan municipal corporation that is authorized to perform the function of metropolitan water pollution abatement, one additional member who is a commissioner of a sewer district or a water district that operates a sewer system and is a component part of the metropolitan municipal corporation, who shall participate only in those council actions that relate to the performance of the function of metropolitan water pollution abatement. The commissioners of all the sewer districts and water districts that are component parts of the metropolitan municipal corporation shall meet on the second Tuesday of June of each even-numbered year at seven o'clock p.m. at the office of the board of county commissioners or county council of the central county. After electing a chairperson, the commissioners shall make nominations to select a member to serve on the metropolitan council and successive ballots taken for each nomination until one candidate receives a majority of votes cast.

(9) One member shall be chairperson of the metropolitan council who is selected by the other members of the council. The chairperson may not hold public office of or be an employee of any component city or component county of the metropolitan municipal corporation. The chairperson shall hold office until the second Tuesday in July of each even-numbered year and may, if reelected, serve more than one term.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) The three directly elected members shall have staggered terms where the two members who receive the greatest numbers of votes shall be elected to four-year terms and the other two members shall be elected to two-year terms of office. The length of these terms run from the first day of January in the year following the election. The initial directly elected members shall take office immediately after they are qualified as defined in RCW 29.01.135. Each subsequent directly elected member shall be elected to a four-year term of office that continues until a successor is elected, qualified, and assumes office in accordance with RCW 29.04.170.

(2) The initial directly elected members shall be elected at the next general election occurring at least ninety days after the effective date of this act. Eight candidates shall be nominated at the regular primary election and the four directly elected members shall be elected at the general election.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A vacancy in the office of a member of the metropolitan council shall be filled in the same manner as provided for the original appointed member except as provided by this section. The meetings to fill a vacancy of the member selected under section 2 (5) and (6) of this act or of commissioners to fill a vacancy of the member selected under section 2(8) of this act shall be held at a time and place as designated by the chairperson of the metropolitan council after ten days' written notice mailed to the mayors and councilmembers of each of the cities participating under section 2(5) of this act, to the mayors of each of the cities participating under section 2(6) of this act, or to the commissioners of the districts participating under section 2(8) of this act, whichever is applicable. In the event of a vacancy of one of the members elected under section 2(7) of this act, the remaining members elected under that provision shall appoint a person to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term.

Sec. 5. RCW 35.58.140 and 1971 ex.s. c 303 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

Each member of a metropolitan council except those ((~~selected under the provisions of RCW 35.58.120(1)(a), (5), (7), and (8)~~)) elected under section 2(7) of this act, shall hold office at the pleasure of the body ((~~which selected him~~)) that appointed the member. Each member, ((~~who~~)) except those elected under section 2(7) of this act, shall hold office ex officio((,)) and may not hold office after ((he)) the member ceases to hold the position of elected county executive, mayor, commissioner, or councilman. The ((~~chairman~~)) chairperson shall hold office until the second Tuesday in July of each even-numbered year and may, if reelected, serve more than one term. Each member appointed to office shall hold office until ((~~his~~)) a successor has been ((~~selected~~)) appointed as provided in this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:

(1) RCW 35.58.120 and 1983 c 92 s 1, 1981 c 190 s 3, 1974 ex.s. c 70 s 5, 1971 ex.s. c 303 s 5, 1969 ex.s. c 135 s 1, 1967 c 105 s 3, & 1965 c 7 s 35.58.120; and

(2) RCW 35.58.150 and 1984 c 44 s 1, 1967 c 105 s 5, & 1965 c 7 s 35.58.150.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. Sections 2 through 4 of this act are each added to chapter 35.58 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.