AN ACT Relating to recall of public officials; and adding a new chapter to Title 42 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. This chapter shall be known and cited as the public officials accountability act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. For the purpose of this chapter:

(1) "Political subdivision" means a local government unit including, but not limited to, a county, city, town, or school district.

(2) "State-district" means a public service commission district, a legislative representative or senatorial district, or a judicial district.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The qualified electors of the state, or of any county, or of any congressional, judicial, school, or legislative district may petition for the recall of any person holding a public office of, or in the state, or any of its political subdivisions, either by election or appointment. A public officer holding an elective office may be recalled by the qualified electors entitled to vote for his successor. A public officer holding an appointive office may be recalled by the qualified electors entitled to vote for the successor or successors of the elective officer or officers who have the authority to appoint a person to that position.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Every person who is a qualified elector of this state may sign a petition for recall of a state officer. Every person who is a qualified elector of a district of the state from which a state-district officer is elected may sign a petition for recall of a state-district officer of that district. Every person who is a qualified elector of a political subdivision of the state may sign a petition for recall of an officer of that political subdivision.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. Recall petitions for elected or appointed state officers shall contain the signatures of qualified electors equaling at least fifty percent of the number of persons registered to vote at the preceding state general election. A petition for the recall of a state-district officer must contain the signatures of qualified electors equaling at least fifty percent of the number of persons registered to vote in the last preceding election in that district. Recall petitions for elected or appointed officers of a political subdivision shall contain the signatures of qualified electors equaling at least fifty percent of the number of persons registered to vote at the preceding election for the office in question.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. Recall petitions for elected officers shall be filed with the official who is provided by law to accept the declaration of nomination or petition for nomination for such office. Recall petitions for appointed state officers shall be filed with the secretary of state. Recall petitions for appointed county or municipal officers shall be filed with the county election administrator. Recall petitions for appointed officers from other political subdivisions shall be filed with the county election administrator if the boundaries of the political subdivisions lie wholly within one county, or otherwise with the secretary of state.

Such petition shall contain a general statement, in not more than two hundred words, of the ground or grounds on which such recall is sought, which statement is intended for the information of the electors, and the electors shall be the sole and exclusive judges of the legality, reasonableness, and sufficiency of such ground or grounds assigned for such recall, and said ground or grounds shall not be open to review.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. Upon filing the petition, the official with whom it is filed shall immediately give written notice to the officer named in the petition. The notice shall state that a recall petition has been filed, shall set forth the reasons contained therein, and shall notify the officer named in the recall petition that the officer has the right to prepare and have printed on the ballot a statement containing not more than two hundred words giving reasons why he or she should not be recalled. The officer named in the recall petition shall continue to perform the duties of the office until he or she resigns or the results of the recall election are officially declared.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. If the officer being recalled resigns the office within five days after notice from the secretary of state in the case of state officers, the clerk of the superior court for county officers, and the chief clerk of the municipality for municipal officers, the resignation shall be accepted and the resignation will take effect on the day it is offered, and the vacancy shall be filled as provided by law. If the officer being recalled does not resign the office within five days after notice from the secretary of state or appropriate official, a special election shall be ordered by the secretary of state or the county or municipal election administrator. The special election must be held within not less than thirty days and not more than forty-five days, and the date of the special election shall be specified in the order.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. On the ballots for the election shall be printed the reasons as set forth in the petition for demanding the officer's recall, and, in not more than two hundred words, the officer's justification of his or her conduct. The form of the ballot shall conform as nearly as practicable to the ballot prescribed for general elections. On such ballots there shall also be printed the names of those persons who have been nominated as candidates to succeed the person sought to be recalled. If a majority of those voting on said question of the recall of any incumbent from office shall vote "no," said incumbent shall continue in said office. If a majority shall vote "yes," such incumbent shall thereupon be deemed removed from such office upon the qualification of his successor. If the vote had in such recall elections shall recall the officer then the candidate who has received the highest number of votes for the office thereby vacated shall be declared elected for the remainder of the term.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. Laws may be enacted to facilitate its operation, but no law shall be enacted to hamper, restrict, or impair the right of recall.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. Sections 1 through 10 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 42 RCW.