Brief Description: Regarding air pollution control authority boards.

Sponsors: Senate Committee on Water, Energy & Environment (originally sponsored by Senator Brown).

Senate Committee on Water, Energy & Environment
House Committee on Local Government

Background: Local air pollution control authorities (authorities) are established by the Washington Clean Air Act. Each authority is a municipal corporation that is responsible for carrying out specified duties relating to the prevention and control of air pollution. Each of Washington's 39 counties has an authority created within it; however, some county authorities are inactive and are served by the Department of Ecology's Air Quality Program.

Each authority is governed by a board of directors (board). In the case of an authority comprised of one county, the board shall be comprised of two appointees of a city selection committee, at least one of whom shall represent the city having the most population in the county, and two representatives to be designated by the board of county commissioners. These members then elect an additional member who is either a member of the governing body of one of the towns, cities, or counties comprising the authority, or a private citizen residing in the authority. The city selection committee for each county is composed of the mayor of each incorporated city and town within the county.

Summary: Boards governing a single-county authority, with a population of 400,000 or more people, are comprised of: (1) three appointees of cities, one each from the two cities with the most population in the county and one appointee of the city selection committee representing the other cities; and (2) one representative designated by the board of county commissioners. These members then elect an additional citizen member who is a county resident and who has significant professional experience in the field of public health, air quality protection, or meteorology.

The membership of the city selection committee, for a single county, consists of the mayor of each incorporated city and town within the county, except for the mayors of the cities with the most population who have already designated appointees to the board.

Votes on Final Passage:

Senate      36   5
House      98   0

Effective: June 7, 2006