H-0856.1 _______________________________________________
HOUSE BILL 1695
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State of Washington 55th Legislature 1997 Regular Session
By Representatives D. Sommers, Sheahan, Sterk and Crouse
Read first time 02/05/97. Referred to Committee on Government Administration.
AN ACT Relating to the appointment of county auditors; amending RCW 36.16.030; and adding a new section to chapter 36.22 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 36.16.030 and 1996 c 108 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Except as provided elsewhere in this section, in every county there shall be elected from among the qualified voters of the county a county assessor, a county auditor, a county clerk, a county coroner, three county commissioners, a county prosecuting attorney, a county sheriff and a county treasurer, except that in each county with a population of less than forty thousand no coroner shall be elected and the prosecuting attorney shall be ex officio coroner. Whenever the population of a county increases to forty thousand or more, the prosecuting attorney shall continue as ex officio coroner until a coroner is elected, at the next general election at which the office of prosecuting attorney normally would be elected, and assumes office as provided in RCW 29.04.170. In any county where the population has once attained forty thousand people and a current coroner is in office and a subsequent census indicates less than forty thousand people, the county legislative authority may maintain the office of coroner by resolution or ordinance. If the county legislative authority has not passed a resolution or enacted an ordinance to maintain the office of coroner, the elected coroner shall remain in office for the remainder of the term for which he or she was elected, but no coroner shall be elected at the next election at which that office would otherwise be filled and the prosecuting attorney shall be the ex officio coroner. In a county with a population of two hundred fifty thousand or more, the county legislative authority may replace the office of coroner with a medical examiner system and appoint a medical examiner as specified in RCW 36.24.190.
(2) A noncharter county may have five county commissioners as provided in RCW 36.32.010 and 36.32.055 through 36.32.0558.
(3) In a county with a population of two hundred thousand or more, the county legislative authority may appoint a county auditor as specified in section 2 of this act.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 36.22 RCW to read as follows:
In a county with a population of two hundred thousand or more, the county legislative authority may, upon majority vote at an election called by the county legislative authority, adopt a system under which a county auditor may be appointed. The county legislative authority must adopt a resolution or ordinance that appoints a county auditor at least thirty days before the first day of filing for the primary election for county offices. If a county adopts such a resolution or ordinance, the resolution or ordinance must be referred to the voters for confirmation or rejection at the next date for a special election that is more than forty-five days from the date the resolution or ordinance was adopted. If the resolution or ordinance is approved by majority vote, an election is not to be held for the position of county auditor unless a resolution or ordinance reinstating an election is approved by the voters.
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