H-0250

AN ACT Relating to water and sewer districts; amending RCW 43.09.240, 56.08.100, 56.08.140, 57.08.100, and 57.08.120; reenacting and amending RCW 57.08.010; adding a new section to chapter 57.08 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 56.16 RCW; and adding a new section to chapter 57.20 RCW.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 43.09.240 and 1965 c 8 s 43.09.240 are each amended to read as follows:

Every public officer and employee shall keep all accounts of his office in the form prescribed and make all reports required by the state auditor. Any public officer or employee who refuses or willfully neglects to perform such duties shall be subject to removal from office in an appropriate proceeding for that purpose brought by the attorney general or by any prosecuting attorney.

Every public officer and employee, whose duty it is to collect or receive payments due or for the use of the public shall deposit such moneys collected or received by him with the treasurer of the taxing district once every twenty-four consecutive hours, except that moneys collected by water and sewer districts may be deposited ten working days after receipt.

In case a public officer or employee collects or receives funds for the account of a taxing district of which he is an officer or employee, he shall, on Saturday of each week, pay to the proper officer of the taxing district for the account of which the collection was made or payment received, the full amount collected or received during the current week for the account of the district.

Sec. 2. RCW 56.08.100 and 1981 c 190 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:

A sewer district, by a majority vote of its board of commissioners, may enter into contracts to provide health care services and/or group insurance and/or term life insurance and/or social security insurance for the benefit of its employees and may pay all or any part of the cost thereof. Any two or more sewer districts or one or more sewer districts and one or more water districts, by a majority vote of their respective boards of commissioners, may, if deemed expedient, join in the procuring of such health care services and/or group insurance and/or term life insurance, and the board of commissioners of each participating sewer and/or water district may by appropriate resolution authorize their respective district to pay all or any portion of the cost thereof.

A sewer district with five thousand or more customers providing health, group, or life insurance to its employees may provide its commissioners with the same coverage.

Sec. 3. RCW 56.08.140 and 1967 c 178 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

No such lease shall be made unless secured by a bond conditioned on the performance of the terms of the lease, with surety satisfactory to the commissioners, in a penalty of not less than one-sixth of the term of the lease or for one year's rental, whichever is greater; and no such lease shall be made for a term longer than twenty-five years. However, the board of commissioners may require a reasonable security deposit in lieu of a bond on leased real property owned by the water or sewer district.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 56.16 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The holder of a certificate of delinquency for general taxes, before commencing any action to foreclose the lien of such certificate, shall pay in full all sewer district service charges that are a lien against the property or any portion of the property, or the holder may elect to proceed to acquire title to the property subject to the sewer district service charges that are a lien on the property. If the holder so elects, the complaint, decree of foreclosure, order of sale, sale, certificate of sale, and deed shall state that the title acquired is subject to the sewer district service lien.

(2) Whenever property struck off to or bid in by a county at a sale for general taxes is subsequently sold by the county, the proceeds of the sale shall first be applied to (a) discharge in full the lien or liens for general taxes for which property was sold, (b) then to sewer district service liens, and (c) the surplus, if any, to be distributed among the proper county funds.

Sec. 5. RCW 57.08.010 and 1989 c 389 s 9 and 1989 c 308 s 2 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

(1) (a) A water district may acquire by purchase or condemnation, or both, all property and property rights and all water and water rights, both within and without the district, necessary for its purposes.

(b) A water district may lease real or personal property necessary for its purposes for a term of years for which such leased property may reasonably be needed where in the opinion of the board of water commissioners such property may not be needed permanently or substantial savings to the district can be effected thereby.

(c) The right of eminent domain shall be exercised in the same manner and by the same procedure as provided for cities of the third class, insofar as consistent with the provisions of this title, except that all assessment rolls to be prepared and filed by eminent domain commissioners or commissioners appointed by the court shall be prepared and filed by the water district, and the duties devolving upon the city treasurer are hereby imposed upon the county treasurer.

(d) A water district may construct, condemn and purchase, purchase, add to, maintain, and supply waterworks to furnish the district and inhabitants thereof, and any city or town therein and any other persons, both within and without the district, with an ample supply of water for all uses and purposes public and private with full authority to regulate and control the use, content, distribution, and price thereof in such a manner as is not in conflict with general law and may construct, acquire, or own buildings and other necessary district facilities.

(e) A water district contiguous to Canada may contract with a Canadian corporation for the purchase of water and for the construction, purchase, maintenance, and supply of waterworks to furnish the district and inhabitants thereof and residents of Canada with an ample supply of water under terms approved by the board of commissioners. Such waterworks may include facilities which result in combined water supply and electric generation, provided that the electricity generated thereby is a byproduct of the water supply system.

(f) Such electricity may be used by the water district or sold to any entity authorized by law to distribute electricity. Such electricity is a byproduct when the electrical generation is subordinate to the primary purpose of water supply.

(g) For such purposes, a water district may take, condemn and purchase, purchase, acquire, and retain water from any public or navigable lake, river, or watercourse, or any underflowing water and, by means of aqueducts or pipe line conduct the same throughout such water district and any city or town therein and carry it along and upon public highways, roads, and streets, within and without such district.

(h) For the purpose of constructing or laying aqueducts or pipe lines, dams, or waterworks or other necessary structures in storing and retaining water or for any other lawful purpose such water district may occupy the beds and shores up to the high water mark of any such lake, river, or other watercourse, and may acquire by purchase or condemnation such property or property rights or privileges as may be necessary to protect its water supply from pollution.

(i) For the purposes of waterworks which include facilities for the generation of electricity as a byproduct, nothing in this section may be construed to authorize a water district to condemn electric generating, transmission, or distribution rights or facilities of entities authorized by law to distribute electricity, or to acquire such rights or facilities without the consent of the owner.

(2) A water district may purchase and take water from any municipal corporation.

(3) A water district may fix rates and charges for water supplied and may charge property owners seeking to connect to the district's water supply system, as a condition to granting the right to so connect, in addition to the cost of such connection, such reasonable connection charge as the board of commissioners shall determine to be proper in order that such property owners shall bear their equitable share of the cost of such system.

(a) For purposes of calculating a connection charge, the board of commissioners shall determine the pro rata share of the cost of existing facilities and facilities planned for construction within the next ten years and contained in an adopted comprehensive plan and other costs borne by the district which are directly attributable to the improvements required by property owners seeking to connect to the system. The cost of existing facilities shall not include those portions of the system which have been donated or which have been paid for by grants.

(b) The connection charge may include interest charges applied from the date of construction of the water system until the connection, or for a period not to exceed ten years, whichever is shorter, at a rate commensurate with the rate of interest applicable to the district at the time of construction or major rehabilitation of the water system, or at the time of installation of the water lines to which the property owner is seeking to connect.

(4) (a) A district may permit payment of the cost of connection and the reasonable connection charge to be paid with interest in installments over a period not exceeding fifteen years. The county treasurer may charge and collect a fee of three dollars for each year for the treasurer's services. Such fees shall be a charge to be included as part of each annual installment, and shall be credited to the county current expense fund by the county treasurer.

(b) Revenues from connection charges excluding permit fees are to be considered payments in aid of construction as defined by department of revenue rule.

Sec. 6. RCW 57.08.100 and 1981 c 190 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

A water district, by a majority vote of its board of commissioners, may enter into contracts to provide health care services and/or group insurance and/or term life insurance and/or social security insurance for the benefit of its employees and may pay all or any part of the cost thereof. Any two or more water districts or any one or more water districts and one or more sewer districts, by a majority vote of their respective boards of commissioners, may, if deemed expedient, join in the procuring of such health care services and/or group insurance and/or term life insurance, and the board of commissioners of each participating sewer and/or water district may by appropriate resolution authorize their respective district to pay all or any portion of the cost thereof.

A water district with five thousand or more customers providing health, group, or life insurance to its employees may provide its commissioners with the same coverage.

Sec. 7. RCW 57.08.120 and 1967 ex.s. c 135 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

A water district may lease out real property which it owns or in which it has an interest and which is not immediately necessary for its purposes upon such terms as the board of water commissioners deems proper: PROVIDED, That no such lease shall be made until the water district has first caused notice thereof to be published twice in a newspaper in general circulation in the water district, the first publication to be at least fifteen days and the second at least seven days prior to the making of such lease, which notice shall describe the property proposed to be leased out, to whom, for what purpose, and the rental to be charged therefor. A hearing shall be held pursuant to the terms of the said notice, at which time any and all persons who may be interested shall have the right to appear and to be heard.

No such lease shall be for a period longer than twenty-five years, and each lease of real property shall be secured by a bond conditioned to perform the terms of such lease with surety satisfactory to the commissioners, in a penalty not less than the rental for one-sixth of the term: PROVIDED, That the penalty shall not be less than the rental for one year where the term is one year or more. In a lease, the term of which exceeds five years, and when at the option of the commissioners, it is so stipulated in the lease, the commission shall accept, with surety satisfactory to it, a bond conditioned to perform the terms of the lease for some part of the term, in no event less than five years (unless the remainder of the unexpired term is less than five years, in which case for the full remainder) and in every such case the commissioners shall require of the lessee, another or other like bond to be delivered within two years, and not less than one year prior to the expiration of the period covered by the existing bond, covering an additional part of the term in accordance with the foregoing provisions in respect to the original bond, and so on until the end of the term so that there will always be in force a bond securing the performance of the lease, and the penalty in each bond shall be not less than the rental for one-half the period covered thereby, but no bond shall be construed to secure the furnishing of any other bond. However, the board of commissioners may require a reasonable security deposit in lieu of a bond on leased real property owned by a water district.

The commissioners may accept as surety on any bond required by this section, either an approved surety company or one or more persons satisfactory to the commissioners, or in lieu of such bond may accept a deposit as security of such property or collateral or the giving of such other form of security as may be satisfactory to the commissioners.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. A new section is added to chapter 57.08 RCW to read as follows:

A water district may adopt a water conservation plan and emergency water use restrictions. The district may enforce a water conservation plan and emergency water use restrictions by imposing a fine as provided by resolution for failure to comply with any such plan or restrictions. The commissioners may provide by resolution that if a fine for failure to comply with the water conservation plan or emergency water use restrictions is delinquent for a specified period of time, the district shall certify the delinquency to the treasurer of the county in which the real property is located and serve notice of the delinquency on the party failing to comply, and the fine is then a lien against the property of the party failing to comply with the water conservation plan or emergency water use restrictions. The district may enforce the collection of the fines in the same manner as rates and charges as provided in RCW 57.08.080 and 57.08.090.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. A new section is added to chapter 57.20 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The holder of a certificate of delinquency for general taxes, before commencing any action to foreclose the lien of such certificate, shall pay in full all water district service charges that are a lien against the property or any portion of the property, or the holder may elect to proceed to acquire title to the property subject to the water district service charges that are a lien on the property. If the holder so elects, the complaint, decree of foreclosure, order of sale, sale, certificate of sale, and deed shall state that the title acquired is subject to the water district service lien.

(2) Whenever property struck off to or bid in by a county at a sale for general taxes is subsequently sold by the county, the proceeds of the sale shall first be applied to (a) discharge in full the lien or liens for general taxes for which property was sold, (b) then to water district service liens, and (c) the surplus, if any, to be distributed among the proper county funds.