H-1716

AN ACT Relating to public hospital district elections; amending RCW 70.44.040, 70.44.042, and 70.44.053; adding new sections to chapter 70.44 RCW; and declaring an emergency.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 70.44.040 and 1994 c 223 s 78 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The provisions of Title 29 RCW relating to elections shall govern public hospital districts, except as provided in this chapter.

A public hospital district shall be created when the ballot proposition authorizing the creation of the district is approved by a simple majority vote of the voters of the proposed district voting on the proposition and the total vote cast upon the proposition exceeds forty percent of the total number of votes cast in the proposed district at the preceding state general election.

A public hospital district initially may be created with three, five, or seven commissioner districts. At the election at which the proposition is submitted to the voters as to whether a district shall be formed, three, five, or seven commissioners shall be elected from either three, five, or seven commissioner districts, or at-large positions, or both, as determined by resolution of the county commissioners of the county or counties in which the proposed public hospital district is located, all in accordance with section 4 of this act. The election of the initial commissioners shall be null and void if the district is not authorized to be created.

No primary shall be held. A special filing period shall be opened as provided in RCW 29.15.170 and 29.15.180. The person receiving the greatest number of votes for the commissioner of each commissioner district or at-large position shall be elected as the commissioner of that district. The terms of office of the initial public hospital district commissioners shall be staggered, with the length of the terms assigned so that the person or persons who are elected receiving the greater number of votes being assigned a longer term or terms of office and each term of an initial commissioner running until a successor assumes office who is elected at one of the next three following district general elections the first of which occurs at least one hundred twenty days after the date of the election where voters approved the ballot proposition creating the district, as follows:

(a) ((The person who is elected receiving the greatest number of votes shall be elected to a six-year term of office if the election is held in an odd-numbered year or a five-year term of office if the election is held in an even-numbered year; (b) the person who is elected receiving the next greatest number of votes shall be elected to a four-year term of office if the election is held in an odd-numbered year or a three-year term of office if the election is held in an even-numbered year; and (c) the other person who is elected shall be elected to a two-year term of office if the election is held in an odd-numbered year or a one-year term of office if the election is held in an even-numbered year)) If the public hospital district will have three commissioners, the successor to one initial commissioner shall be elected at such first following district general election, the successor to one initial commissioner shall be elected at the second following district general election, and the successor to one initial commissioner shall be elected at the third following district general election;

(b) If the public hospital district will have five commissioners, the successor to one initial commissioner shall be elected at such first following district general election, the successors to two initial commissioners shall be elected at the second following district general election, and the successors to two initial commissioners shall be elected at the third following district general election;

(c) If the public hospital district will have seven commissioners, the successors to two initial commissioners shall be elected at such first following district general election, the successors to three initial commissioners shall be elected at the second following district general election, and the successors to three initial commissioners shall be elected at the third following district general election.

The initial commissioners shall take office immediately when they are elected and qualified((~~, but the length of such terms shall be computed from the first day of January in the year following this election~~)). The term of office of each successor shall be six years. Each commissioner shall serve until a successor is elected and qualified and assumes office in accordance with RCW 29.04.170.

(2) ((~~Commissioner districts shall be used as follows: (a)~~)) Only a registered voter who resides in a commissioner district may be a candidate for, or hold office as, a commissioner of the commissioner district((~~; and (b) only voters of a commissioner district may vote at a primary to nominate candidates for a commissioner of the commissioner district~~)). Voters of the entire public hospital district may vote at a primary or general election to elect a person as a commissioner of the commissioner district.

If the proposed public hospital district initially will have three commissioner districts and the public hospital district is county-wide, and if the county has three county legislative authority districts, the county legislative authority districts shall be used as public hospital district commissioner districts. In all other instances the county auditor of the county in which all or the largest portion of the proposed public hospital district is located shall draw the initial ((~~three~~)) public hospital district commissioner districts((~~, each of which shall constitute as nearly as possible one-third of the total population of the proposed public hospital district and number the districts one, two, and three~~)) and designate at-large positions, if appropriate, as provided in section 4 of this act. Each of the ((~~three~~)) commissioner positions shall be numbered ((~~one through three~~)) consecutively and associated with the commissioner district or at-large position of the same number.

((The public hospital district commissioners may redraw commissioner districts, if the public hospital district has boundaries that are not coterminous with the boundaries of a county with three county legislative authority districts, so that each district comprises as nearly as possible one-third of the total population of the public hospital district.)) The commissioners of a public hospital district that is not coterminous with the boundaries of a county that has three county legislative authority districts shall at the times required in chapter 29.70 RCW and may from time to time redraw ((~~hospital district~~)) commissioner district boundaries ((~~as provided~~)) in a manner consistent with chapter 29.70 RCW.

Sec. 2. RCW 70.44.042 and 1967 c 227 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

Notwithstanding any provision in RCW 70.44.040 to the contrary, any board of public hospital district commissioners may, by resolution, abolish commissioner districts and permit candidates for any position on the board to reside anywhere in the public hospital district.

At any general or special election which may be called for that purpose, the board of public hospital district commissioners may, or on petition of ten percent of the voters based on the total vote cast in the last district general election in the public hospital district shall, by resolution, submit to the voters of the district the proposition to reestablish commissioner districts.

Sec. 3. RCW 70.44.053 and 1994 c 223 s 80 are each amended to read as follows:

At any general or special election which may be called for that purpose the board of public hospital district commissioners may, or on petition of ten percent of the voters based on the total vote cast in the last district general election in the public hospital district shall, by resolution, submit to the voters of the district the proposition increasing the number of commissioners to either five or seven members. The petition or resolution shall specify whether it is proposed to increase the number of commissioners to either five or seven members.

((If the voters of the district approve the ballot proposition authorizing the increase in the number of commissioners to either five or seven members, the board of commissioners shall redistrict the public hospital district into the appropriate number of commissioner districts. The additional commissioners shall be elected from commissioner districts in which no existing commissioner resides at the next state general election occurring one hundred twenty days or more after the date of the election at which the voters of the district approved the ballot proposition authorizing the increase in the number of commissioners. If needed, special filing periods shall be authorized as provided in RCW 29.15.170 and 29.15.180 for qualified persons to file for the vacant office. A primary shall be held to nominate candidates if sufficient time exists to hold a primary and more than two candidates file for the vacant office. Otherwise, a primary shall not be held and the candidate receiving the greatest number of votes for each position shall be elected. Except for the initial terms of office, persons elected to each of these additional commissioner positions shall be elected to a six-year term.

Where the number of commissioners is increased from three to five, the initial terms of the two new commissioners shall be staggered so that the person who is elected receiving the greatest number of votes shall be elected to a six-year term of office if the election is held in an odd-numbered year or a five-year term if the election is held in an even-numbered year, and the other person elected shall be elected to a four-year term of office if the election is held in an odd-numbered year or a three-year term if the election is held in an even-numbered year. The newly elected commissioners shall assume office as provided in RCW 29.04.170.

Where the number of commissioners is increased from three or five to seven, the county auditor of the county in which all or the largest portion of the hospital district is located shall cause the initial terms of office of the additional commissioners to be staggered over the next three district general elections so that two commissioners would normally be elected at the first district general election following the election where the additional commissioners are elected, two commissioners are normally elected at the second district general election after the election of the additional commissioners, and three commissioners are normally elected at the third district general election following the election of the additional commissioners. The newly elected commissioners shall assume office as provided in RCW 29.04.170.))

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 70.44 RCW to read as follows:

If the voters of the district approve the ballot proposition authorizing the increase in the number of commissioners to either five or seven members, the additional commissioners shall be elected at large from the entire district; provided that, the board of commissioners of the district may by resolution redistrict the public hospital district into five commissioner districts if the district has five commissioners or seven commissioner districts if the district has seven commissioners. The board of commissioners shall draw the boundaries of each commissioner district to include as nearly as possible equal portions of the total population of the public hospital district.

If the board of commissioners increases the number of commissioner districts as provided in this section, one commissioner shall be elected from each commissioner district, and no commissioner may be elected from a commissioner district in which another commissioner resides.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 70.44 RCW to read as follows:

In all existing public hospital districts in which an increase in the number of district commissioners is proposed, the additional commissioner positions shall be deemed to be vacant and the board of commissioners of the public hospital district shall appoint qualified persons to fill those vacancies in accordance with RCW 42.12.070.

Each person who is appointed shall serve until a qualified person is elected at the next general election of the district occurring one hundred twenty days or more after the date of the election at which the voters of the district approved the ballot proposition authorizing the increase in the number of commissioners. If needed, special filing periods shall be authorized as provided in RCW 29.15.170 and 29.15.180 for qualified persons to file for the vacant office. A primary shall be held to nominate candidates if sufficient time exists to hold a primary and more than two candidates file for the vacant office. Otherwise, no primary shall be held and the candidate receiving the greatest number of votes for each position shall be elected. Except for the initial terms of office, persons elected to each of these additional commissioner positions shall be elected to a six-year term. The newly elected commissioners shall assume office as provided in RCW 29.04.170.

The initial terms of the new commissioners shall be staggered as follows: (1) When the number of commissioners is increased from three to five, the person elected receiving the greatest number of votes shall be elected to a six-year term of office, and the other person shall be elected to a four-year term; (2) when the number of commissioners is increased from three or five to seven, the terms of the new commissioners shall be staggered over the next three district general elections so that two commissioners will be elected at the first district general election following the election where the additional commissioners are elected, two commissioners will be at the second district general election after the election of the additional commissioners, and three commissioners will be elected at the third district general election following the election of the additional commissioners, with the persons elected receiving the greatest number of votes elected to serve the longest terms.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 70.44 RCW to read as follows:

If, as the result of redrawing the boundaries of commissioner districts as permitted or required under the provisions of this chapter, chapter 29.70 RCW, or any other statute, more than the correct number of commissioners who are associated with commissioner districts reside in the same commissioner district, a commissioner or commissioners residing in that redrawn commissioner district equal in number to the number of commissioners in excess of the correct number shall be assigned to the drawn commissioner district or districts in which less than the correct number of commissioners associated with commissioner districts reside. The commissioner or commissioners who are so assigned shall be those with the shortest unexpired term or terms of office, but if the number of such commissioners with the same terms of office exceeds the number that are to be assigned, the board of commissioners shall select by lot from those commissioners which one or ones are assigned. A commissioner who is so assigned shall be deemed to be a resident of the commissioner district to which he or she is assigned for purposes of determining whether a position is vacant.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. A new section is added to chapter 70.44 RCW to read as follows:

No appointment to fill a vacant position on or election to the board of commissioners of any public hospital district made after June 9, 1994, and before the effective date of this act is deemed to be invalid solely due to the public hospital district's failure to redraw its commissioner district boundaries if necessary to comply with chapter 223, Laws of 1994.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.