Passed by the House February 11, 2004 Yeas 95 Nays 0 FRANK CHOPP ________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives Passed by the Senate March 3, 2004 Yeas 48 Nays 0 BRAD OWEN ________________________________________ President of the Senate		CERTIFICATE I, Richard Nafziger, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2307 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth. RICHARD NAFZIGER ________________________________________ Chief Clerk
Approved March 24, 2004. GARY F. LOCKE ________________________________________ Governor of the State of Washington		FILED March 24, 2004 - 2:19 p.m. Secretary of State State of Washington

AN ACT Relating to eligibility to serve as a commissioner of a water conservancy board; amending RCW 90.80.050; and creating a new section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 The purpose of this act is to ensure that counties have a sufficient portion of their citizenry eligible to serve as commissioners of water conservancy boards to enable the appointing legislative authorities to fill positions on the boards in both urban and rural counties.

Sec. 2   RCW 90.80.050 and 2001 c 237 s 10 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) A water conservancy board constitutes a public body corporate and politic and a separate unit of local government in the state. Each board shall consist of three commissioners appointed by the county legislative authority or authorities as applicable for six-year terms. The county legislative authority or authorities shall stagger the initial appointment of commissioners so that the first commissioners who are appointed shall serve terms of two, four, and six years, respectively, from the date of their appointment. The county legislative authority or authorities may appoint two additional commissioners, for a total of five. If the county or counties elect to appoint five commissioners, the initial terms of the additional commissioners shall be for three and five-year terms respectively. All vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term.
     (2) The county legislative authority or authorities shall consider, but are not limited in appointing, nominations to the board by people or entities petitioning or requesting the creation of the board. The county legislative authority or authorities shall ensure that at least one commissioner is an individual water right holder who diverts or withdraws water for use within the area served by the board. The county legislative authority or authorities must appoint one person who is not a water right holder, except as provided in subsection (4) of this section. If the county legislative authority or authorities choose not to appoint five commissioners, and as of May 10, 2001, there is no commissioner on an existing board who is not a water right holder, the county or counties are not required to appoint a new commissioner until the first vacancy occurs. In making appointments to the board, the county legislative authority or authorities shall choose from among persons who are residents of the county or counties or a county that is contiguous to the county that the water conservancy board is to serve.
     (3) No commissioner may participate in a record of decision of a board until he or she has successfully completed the necessary training required under RCW 90.80.040. Commissioners shall serve without compensation, but are entitled to reimbursement for necessary travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060 and costs incident to receiving training.
     (4) For the purposes determining a person's eligibility to be appointed as a commissioner who is not a water right holder under this section, a person is not considered to be a water right holder: (a) By virtue of the person's receiving water from a municipal water supplier as defined in RCW 90.03.015, or (b) if the only water right held by the person is a right to the type of residential use of water that is exempted from permit requirements by RCW 90.44.050 and that right is for water from a well located in a county with a population that is not greater than one hundred fifty thousand people.