S-3705               _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 4598

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1986 Regular Session

By Senator Williams

Read first time 1/17/86 and referred to Committee on Energy & Utilities.

AN ACT Relating to municipal utilities; and reenacting and amending RCW 35.92.070.

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

        Sec. 1.  Section 35.92.070, chapter 7, Laws of 1965 as amended by section 3, chapter 444, Laws of 1985 and by section 11, chapter 445, Laws of 1985 and RCW 35.92.070 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

          When the governing body of a city or town deems it advisable that the city or town purchase, acquire, or construct any such public utility, or make extensions thereof which would expand the previous service capacity by fifty percent or more((,)) and where an amount of such increased service capacity equal to at least fifty percent of the previous service capacity is financed by the issuance of councilmanic general obligation bonds, it shall provide therefor by ordinance, which shall specify and adopt the system or plan proposed, and declare the estimated cost thereof, as near as may be, and the ordinance shall be submitted for ratification or rejection by majority vote of the voters of the city or town at a general or special election((, except in the following cases where)):

(1) No submission shall be necessary:

          (((1))) (a) When in the charter of a city a provision has been adopted authorizing the corporate authorities thereof to provide by ordinance for acquiring, opening, or operating any of such public utilities; or

          (((2))) (b) When in the judgment of the corporate authority, the public health is being endangered by the discharge of raw or untreated sewage into any body of water and the danger to the public health may be abated by the construction and maintenance of a sewage disposal plant.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, submission to the voters shall be necessary if:

(a) The project or work may produce electricity for sale in excess of present or future needs of the water system;

(b) The city or town does not own or operate an electric utility system;

(c) The work involves an ownership greater than twenty-five percent in a new water supply project combined with an electric generation facility; and

(d) The combined facility has an installed capacity in excess of five megawatts.

(3) Thirty days' notice of the election shall be given in the newspaper doing the city or town printing, by publication at least once each week in the paper during such time.

(4) When a proposition has been adopted, or in the cases where no submission is necessary, the corporate authorities of the city or town may proceed forthwith to purchase, construct, and acquire the public utility or make additions, betterments, and extensions thereto and to make payment therefor.