[atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to private owners of public water systems not regulated as public utilities; and adding a new chapter to Title 19 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The owner of a public water system, as defined in RCW 70.119A.020, that is not subject to regulation or jurisdiction under chapter 80.04 RCW and that is not a municipal corporation or special purpose district, must provide potable water to every connection indicated in the approved subdivision, short subdivision, or other applicable land use regulation in which the public water system was indicated as the means of meeting requirements to provide potable water supplies.

(2) The owner of property that is harmed by the failure of an owner of a public water system to provide potable water supply under subsection (1) of this section may bring a civil action in the superior court for either injunctive relief or to recover the actual damages sustained, or both, together with the cost of the suit, including reasonable attorneys' fees.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) The owner of a public water system, as defined in RCW 70.119A.020, that is not subject to regulation or jurisdiction under chapter 80.04 RCW and that is not a municipal corporation or special purpose district, must comply with all requirements imposed under chapters 43.20, 70.116, 70.119, and 70.119A RCW.

(2) The owner of property that is harmed by the failure of an owner of a public water system to comply with the requirements of subsection (1) of this section may bring a civil action in the superior court for either injunctive relief or to recover the actual damages sustained, or both, together with the cost of the suit, including reasonable attorneys' fees.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. All moneys paid to the owner of a public water system, as defined in RCW 70.119A.020, that is not subject to regulation or jurisdiction under chapter 80.04 RCW and that is not a municipal corporation or special purpose district for providing potable water supply or for construction or maintenance of the public water system must promptly be deposited by the owner in a trust account, maintained for the purpose of holding the moneys, in a bank, savings and loan association, mutual savings bank, or licensed escrow agent located in Washington. Any interest paid to the trust account accrues to the account. The owner must provide a written receipt for the moneys and provide written notice of the name, address, and location of the depository and any subsequent change thereof. If ownership of the public water system is transferred to another, any moneys in the trust account affected by the transfer are simultaneously transferred to an equivalent trust account of the successor owner, and the successor owner must promptly provide notice of the transfer and the name, address, and location of the new depository. The claim of the customers of the public water system to any moneys paid under this section shall be prior to that of any creditor of the owner, including a trustee in bankruptcy or receiver, even if the moneys are commingled.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(a) "Notice" means a writing signed by sixty percent of the customers of the public water system indicating that they desire to participate in the purchase of the public water system and that they are contractually bound to the other signators of the notice to participate by virtue of an ownership interest in property that is served or is entitled to be served by the public water system.

(b) "Qualified customers' organization" means a formal organization of owners of property served or entitled to be served by the public water system in question, organized for the purpose of purchasing the public water system.

(2) If a qualified customers' organization gives written notice to the owner of a public water system, as defined in RCW 70.119A.020, that is not subject to regulation or jurisdiction under chapter 80.04 RCW and that is not a municipal corporation or special purpose district, that the organization has a present and continuing desire to purchase the public water system, the public water system must be sold to the qualified customers' organization for fair market value, unless otherwise agreed in writing, and except as provided in subsections (3) and (4) of this section.

(3) If notice of a desire to purchase has been given under subsection (2) of this section, a public water system owner must notify the qualified customers' organization if any agreement to purchase and sell has been reached and the terms of the agreement, before closing a sale with another person or entity. If, within thirty days after the actual notice has been received, the qualified customers' organization tenders to the public water system owner an amount equal to two percent of the agreed purchase price, together with a fully executed purchase and sale agreement at least as favorable to the public water system owner as the original agreement, the public water system owner must sell the public water system to the qualified customers' organization. The qualified customers' organization must then close the sale on the same terms as outlined in the original agreement between the public water system owner and the prospective purchaser.

(4) Prior to acting under this section, a qualified customers' organization may enter into an agreement with a satellite system management agency approved pursuant to RCW 70.116.134 to transfer ownership of the public water system from the qualified customers' organization to the satellite system management agency, and the satellite system management agency may act on behalf of the qualified customers' organization under this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The remedies provided under this chapter are cumulative and are in addition to any other remedies provided by law.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. Every duty under this chapter and every act that must be performed as a condition precedent to the exercise of a right or remedy under this chapter imposes an obligation of good faith in its performance or enforcement.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. Sections 1 through 6 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 19 RCW.