5469-S2

AN ACT Relating to the establishment of the office of county ombudsperson or people's advocate; amending RCW 29.21.070; and adding a new chapter to Title 36 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislative authority of any county may establish the office of county ombudsperson or office of people's advocate in accordance with the terms and provisions of this chapter. The office shall be nonpartisan. Candidates for the position of ombudsperson or people's advocate shall be nominated at the next even-year primary that follows the date on which the county legislative authority adopted the resolution establishing the office by ninety days. The laws governing the nomination and election of nonpartisan officials shall apply to the nomination and election of county ombudsperson or people's advocate.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The term of office of the county ombudsperson or people's advocate shall be four years and until his or her successor is elected and qualified and assumes office in accordance with RCW 29.04.170.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. To qualify and serve as county ombudsperson or people's advocate, a person shall be a member of the Washington state bar association, in good standing.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A county ombudsperson or people's advocate shall:

(1) At such times as the inquiries, requests, and complaints received by the ombudsperson or people's advocate exceed the capacity of the office of county ombudsperson or people's advocate to administer in a competent and timely manner, accept only those new inquiries, requests, and complaints that concern the property rights of owners of single-family residences, including but not limited to family farms, and the property rights of owners of unimproved property if no parcel exceeds a parcel size of five acres and the aggregate of all unimproved property under single ownership does not exceed ten acres;

(2) Be available to receive inquiries, requests, and complaints and to counsel the individual residents of the county for which he or she is elected concerning any actions or refusals to act by the officers or employees of the county government;

(3) Respond to any inquiries or requests as appropriate. If the county ombudsperson or people's advocate determines that a complaint is without merit or that he or she does not have the authority to act on the complaint, the county ombudsperson or people's advocate shall advise the complainant and close the matter;

(4) If the county ombudsperson or people's advocate determines that a complaint does have merit and is within his or her jurisdiction as ombudsperson or people's advocate, take the following actions:

(a) Notify the complainant in writing of the determination of merit;

(b) Advise the appropriate county officer or employee of the nature of the complaint and request a response;

(c) Based upon the complaint of the citizen and any response received from the county officer or employee, propose a resolution to the complaint and, if necessary, negotiate with the county officer or employee;

(d) If the ombudsperson or people's advocate reaches agreement with the county officer or employee on resolution of the complaint that the ombudsperson or people's advocate believes is fair, memorialize the agreement in writing, provide a copy of the agreement to the complaining citizen, and when the county officer or employee has complied with the terms of the agreement, close the matter; and

(e) If the ombudsperson or people's advocate is unable to reach agreement with the county officer or employee on a resolution of the complaint, and if, in his or her sole discretion, he or she finds that the county officer or employee is acting in violation of the law, bring an action in the superior court for an injunction or writ of mandamus, as appropriate, to resolve the dispute; and

(5) Employ and dismiss such staff as the ombudsperson or people's advocate finds is necessary to provide secretarial, investigative, and professional legal support for the operation of the office.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) The jurisdiction of the ombudsperson or people's advocate shall not extend to:

(a) Any criminal proceeding or traffic infraction; or

(b) Any matter pending before a court of this state or of the United States at the time the citizen complaint is received.

(2) The ombudsperson or people's advocate may decline jurisdiction over any matter that, at the time the complaint is received, is pending for investigation, review, hearing, or disposition before any other review board, commission, or body, including, but not limited to, the state human rights commission, the federal equal employment opportunity commission, any local civil service or personnel review board, any union grievance review body, or any state or federal regulatory body.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. Neither the ombudsperson or people's advocate personally, nor the county that employs him or her shall have any liability to any person for any claim based on the ombudsperson's or people's advocate's decisions, actions, or failures to act in his or her official capacity.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. In matters where the ombudsperson or people's advocate pursues equitable relief in the courts on behalf of a complainant, all rights and remedies otherwise available to the complainant, including any right to seek money damages, are not eliminated or in any way waived thereby.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. Any county that establishes the office of county ombudsperson or people's advocate pursuant to this chapter may impose a charge on each civil filing in the superior court for that county and county district court. The county may exempt or modify the charges imposed under this section for specified categories of civil actions. Any moneys collected by a charge imposed under this section shall not be included with any moneys received pursuant to RCW 36.18.020 for purposes of calculating moneys paid to the state pursuant to RCW 36.18.025, but shall be dedicated exclusively to pay the costs of salary and operation of the office of the county ombudsperson or people's advocate.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. Two or more contiguous counties, by interlocal agreement, may establish a joint office of county ombudsperson or people's advocate to serve all of the participating counties as provided in this chapter. The interlocal agreement shall specify how the costs of operation of the office shall be allocated among the counties, where office facilities shall be located, and how the time and resources of the office shall be allocated.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. If a county ombudsperson or people's advocate is to be elected to serve more than one county, a declaration of candidacy may be filed with the county auditor of any of the participating counties; a candidate must be a registered voter in one of the participating counties; and the votes in all participating counties shall be aggregated to determine who has been nominated and elected.

Sec. 11. RCW 29.21.070 and 1990 c 59 s 91 are each amended to read as follows:

The offices of superintendent of public instruction, justice of the supreme court, judge of the court of appeals, judge of the superior court, and judge of the district court shall be nonpartisan and the candidates therefor shall be nominated and elected as such.

The office of county ombudsperson or office of people's advocate, unless otherwise provided for by home rule charter, shall be nonpartisan and the candidates therefor shall be nominated and elected as such.

All city, town, and special purpose district elective offices shall be nonpartisan and the candidates therefor shall be nominated and elected as such.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. Sections 1 through 10 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 36 RCW.