S-3179.1  _______________________________________________

                         SENATE BILL 6550

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington   57th Legislature        2002 Regular Session

By Senators Honeyford, Sheahan, Hargrove, Hochstatter, Morton and McCaslin

Read first time 01/21/2002.  Referred to Committee on State & Local Government.

Prohibiting removal of a county seat when the courthouse is a historical building.

    AN ACT Relating to removal of county seats; and amending RCW 36.12.010.

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

    Sec. 1.  RCW 36.12.010 and 1985 c 145 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Whenever the inhabitants of ((any)) a county, the courthouse of which is not listed on the Washington state register of historic places or the national register of historic places, desire to remove the county seat of the county from the place where it is fixed by law or otherwise, they shall present a petition to the board of county commissioners of their county praying such removal, and that an election be held to determine to what place such removal must be made.  The petition shall set forth the names of the towns or cities to which the county seat is proposed to be removed and shall be filed at least six months before the election.  The county shall issue a statement analyzing the financial impact of the proposed removal at least sixty days before the election.  The financial impact statement shall include, but not be limited to, an analysis of the:  (((1))) (a) Probable costs to the county government involved in relocating the county seat; (((2))) (b) probable costs to county employees as a result of relocating the county seat; and (((3))) (c) probable impact on the city or town from which the county seat is proposed to be removed, and on the city or town where the county seat is proposed to be relocated.

(2) The county seat of a county, the courthouse of which is listed on the Washington state register of historic places or the national register of historic places, is not subject to removal.

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