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SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1385
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C 041 L 86
State of Washington 49th Legislature 1986 Regular Session
By House Committee on Local Government (originally sponsored by Representatives Haugen, G. Nelson, Brough, Allen, Winsley, Ebersole and Fisher)
Read first time 1/21/86 and passed to Committee on Rules.
AN ACT Relating to water and sewer district commissioner elections; amending RCW 56.12.030; and adding a new section to chapter 57.12 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. Section 8, chapter 210, Laws of 1941 as last amended by section 3, chapter 141, Laws of 1985 and RCW 56.12.030 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Nominations for the first board of commissioners to be elected at the election for the formation of the sewer district shall be by petition of fifty qualified electors or ten percent of the qualified electors of the district, whichever is the smaller. The petition shall be filed in the auditor's office of the county in which the district is located at least thirty days before the election. Thereafter candidates for the office of sewer commissioner shall file declarations of candidacy and their election shall be conducted as provided by the general elections laws. A vacancy or vacancies shall be filled by appointment by the remaining commissioner or commissioners until the next regular election for commissioners: PROVIDED, That if there are two vacancies on the board, one vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the remaining commissioner and the one remaining vacancy shall be filled by appointment by the then two commissioners and said appointed commissioners shall serve until the next regular election for commissioners. If the vacancy or vacancies remain unfilled within six months of its or their occurrence, the county legislative authority in which the district is located shall make the necessary appointment or appointments. If there is a vacancy of the entire board a new board may be appointed by the board of county commissioners. Any person residing in the district who is at the time of election a qualified voter may vote at any election held in the sewer district.
(2) Subsection (1) of this section notwithstanding, the board of commissioners may provide by majority vote that subsequent commissioners be elected from commissioner districts within the district. If the board exercises this option, it shall divide the district into three commissioner districts of approximately equal population following current precinct and district boundaries. Thereafter, candidates shall be nominated and one candidate shall be elected from each commissioner district by the electors of the commissioner district.
(3) All expense of elections for the formation or reorganization of a sewer district shall be paid by the county in which the election is held and the expenditure is hereby declared to be for a county purpose, and the money paid for that purpose shall be repaid to the county by the district if formed or reorganized.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 57.12 RCW to read as follows:
Notwithstanding RCW 57.12.020 and 57.12.030, the board of commissioners may provide by majority vote that subsequent commissioners be elected from commissioner districts within the district. If the board exercises this option, it shall divide the district into three commissioner districts of approximately equal population following current precinct and district boundaries. Thereafter, candidates shall be nominated and one candidate shall be elected from each commissioner district by the electors of the commissioner district.