H-194                _______________________________________________

                                                     HOUSE BILL NO. 45

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1985 Regular Session

By Representatives Haugen, Tilly, Walk, Ballard, Lewis, Brough, May, Patrick, Rayburn, Bristow, Kremen, Schoon, S. Wilson, Braddock and Fisch

Read first time 1/17/85 and referred to Committee on Local Government.

AN ACT Relating to the office of county sheriff; adding new sections to chapter 36.28 RCW; creating a new section; and repealing RCW 36.28.025.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     The legislature finds that over the past century the field of county law enforcement has become increasingly complex and many new technical and social resources have been developed.  Legal requirements, both statutory and constitutional, protecting the individual and imposing responsibilities and legal liabilities on law enforcement officers and the governments which they represent, require an increased level of training and experience in the field of enforcement.  The legislature therefore finds that it is in the public interest to require certain candidates for the office of county sheriff to have certain minimum requirements.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     A person seeking election or appointment to the office of sheriff is not eligible to be a candidate for that office unless the following requirements are met:

          (1) The person is a citizen of the United States.

          (2) The person has been a registered voter of the county in which he or she seeks the office of sheriff immediately preceding the date of the election for sheriff.

          (3) The person has obtained a high school diploma or general equivalency diploma.

          (4) The person has obtained at least a two-year associate degree from a state or nationally accredited institution of higher learning.  Law enforcement experience may be substituted for this requirement on the basis of three years of law enforcement experience equaling one year of college education.  For purposes of this subsection, the term "law enforcement experience" means full-time, commissioned employment with a law enforcement agency.

          (5) The person has not been convicted of a felony offense or gross misdemeanor under the laws of this state, another state, or the United States.

          (6) The person has at least four years of regular and commissioned law enforcement employment involving general enforcement responsibilities with a law enforcement agency.

          (7) The person has been certified as a regular and commissioned law enforcement officer through compliance with this state's basic training requirement or the requirement of any other state, or the person achieves a passing score in an examination for sheriff candidacy developed and administered by the Washington state criminal justice training commission for this purpose.

          A person seeking election or appointment to the office of sheriff shall provide a sworn statement under penalty of perjury to the auditor of the county in which the person seeks office that the person meets the requirements of this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     In the case of a vacancy in the office of sheriff, all requirements and procedures of section 2 of this act shall be met before the submission of a candidate's name to the appointing authority.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.     Only the requirements of section 2(5) of this act apply to an incumbent sheriff who seeks reelection or reappointment to the same office.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5.     Effective January 1, 1987, every newly elected sheriff in his or her first term shall complete a training session of not less than two weeks' duration to be conducted by the criminal justice training commission, or in lieu thereof, a training program deemed by the criminal justice training commission to be the equivalent of that session.  A newly elected sheriff shall complete this training during the first calendar year of the first term of his or her term of office.  A newly elected sheriff who does not fulfill the requirements of this section shall lose his or her power of arrest and the superior court shall declare the office vacant.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6.     No incumbent sheriff is eligible to continue in the office of sheriff unless he or she attends a minimum of twenty hours of training annually, as conducted or approved by the criminal justice training commission.  A sheriff who does not fulfill this requirement shall lose his or her power of arrest and the superior court shall declare the office vacant.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7.     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.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8.     Sections 2 through 6 of this act are each added to chapter 36.28 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9.     Section 6, chapter 153, Laws of 1979 ex. sess. and RCW 36.28.025 are each repealed.