BILL REQ. #:  H-0132.3 

Read first time 01/14/11.   Referred to Committee on Local Government.

     AN ACT Relating to the growth management hearings board; amending RCW 36.70A.250, 36.70A.260, and 36.70A.280; and reenacting and amending RCW 36.70A.270.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 36.70A.250 and 2010 c 211 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) A growth management hearings board for the state of Washington is created. The board shall consist of seven members ((qualified by experience or training in matters pertaining to land use law or land use planning and who have experience in the practical application of those matters. All seven board members shall be appointed by the governor, two each residing respectively in the central Puget Sound, eastern Washington, and western Washington regions, plus one board member residing within the state of Washington. At least three members of the board shall be admitted to practice law in this state, one each residing respectively in the central Puget Sound, eastern Washington, and western Washington regions. At least three members of the board shall have been a city or county elected official, one each residing respectively in the central Puget Sound, eastern Washington, and western Washington regions. After expiration of the terms of board members on the previously existing three growth management hearings boards, no more than four members of the seven-member board may be members of the same major political party. No more than two members at the time of their appointment or during their term may reside in the same county)) representing specified areas. The members shall hold seats for the represented areas as follows:
     (a) Seat 1: Whatcom, Skagit, San Juan, Island, and Snohomish counties;
     (b) Seat 2: King, Pierce, Thurston, Kitsap, and Mason counties;
     (c) Seat 3: Clallam, Jefferson, Grays Harbor, Pacific, Lewis, Wahkiakum, Cowlitz, and Clark counties;
     (d) Seat 4: Okanogan, Chelan, Douglas, Adams, and Grant counties;
     (e) Seat 5: Kittitas, Yakima, Benton, Klickitat, and Skamania counties;
     (f) Seat 6: Franklin, Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield, Whitman, and Asotin counties; and
     (g) Seat 7: Ferry, Stevens, Pend Oreille, Lincoln, and Spokane counties.
     (2) Board members shall be appointed by the county commissioners within the jurisdictional boundary of the seat they represent. The county commissioners of the counties to be represented by the board member shall convene in a joint public meeting to select the board member. The appointment shall occur through a majority vote of the county commissioners. Each county individually must have the quorum required to pass an ordinance in the county in order for the appointment vote to be official. Proxy voting is not allowed.
     (((2))) (3) Each member of the board shall be appointed for a term of six years and may not serve more than two terms. A vacancy shall be filled ((by appointment by the governor for the unexpired portion of the term in which the vacancy occurs. Members of the previously existing three growth management hearings boards appointed before July 1, 2010, shall complete their staggered, six-year terms as members of the growth management hearings board created under subsection (1) of this section. The reduction from nine board members on the previously existing three growth management hearings boards to seven total members on the growth management hearings board shall be made through attrition, voluntary resignation, or retirement)) in accordance with subsection (2) of this section.

Sec. 2   RCW 36.70A.260 and 2010 c 211 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Each petition for review that is filed with the growth management hearings board shall be heard and decided by the full board or a regional panel of growth management hearings board members. Regional panels shall be constituted as follows:
     (((a) Central Puget Sound region. A three-member central Puget Sound panel shall be selected to hear matters pertaining to cities and counties located within the region comprised of King, Pierce, Snohomish, and Kitsap counties.
     (b) Eastern Washington region. A three-member eastern Washington panel shall be selected to hear matters pertaining to cities and counties that are required or choose to plan under RCW 36.70A.040 and are located east of the crest of the Cascade mountains.
     (c) Western Washington region. A three-member western Washington panel shall be selected to hear matters pertaining to cities and counties that are required or choose to plan under RCW 36.70A.040, are located west of the crest of the Cascade mountains, and are not included in the central Puget Sound region. Skamania county, if it is required or chooses to plan under RCW 36.70A.040, may elect to be included within either the western Washington region or the eastern Washington region.
     (2)(a) Each regional panel selected to hear and decide cases shall consist of three board members, at least a majority of whom shall reside within the region in which the case arose, unless such)) Three members of the growth management hearings board with one member being from the county where the matter in question occurred and one member being from a county located on the same side of the state where the matter occurred as determined by the crest of the Cascade mountain range. The presiding officer shall be from the district where the matter in question occurred unless there is a disqualification, then it shall be a member from a district abutting the district where the matter in question occurred.
     (2) If members cannot sit on a particular case because of recusal or disqualification, or unless the board administrative officer determines that there is an emergency including, but not limited to, the unavailability of a board member due to illness, absence, vacancy, or significant workload imbalance((. The presiding officer of each case shall reside within the region in which the case arose, unless the board administrative officer determines that there is an emergency.
     (b) Except as provided otherwise in this subsection (2)(b), each regional panel must: (i) Include one member admitted to practice law in this state; (ii) include one member who has been a city or county elected official; and (iii) reflect the political composition of the board. The requirements of this subsection (2)(b) may be waived by the board administrative officer due to member unavailability, significant workload imbalances, or other reasons)), the next available board member must be chosen as follows in descending order: (a) A board member from a district whose boundaries abut that of the district where the matter in questioned occurred; (b) a board member from the same side of the state as determined by the Cascade mountain range; or (c) a board member chosen by the board administrative officer.

Sec. 3   RCW 36.70A.270 and 2010 c 211 s 6 and 2010 c 210 s 16 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     The growth management hearings board shall be governed by the following rules on conduct and procedure:
     (1) Any board member may be removed for inefficiency, malfeasance, and misfeasance in office, under specific written charges filed by the governor. The governor shall transmit such written charges to the member accused and the chief justice of the supreme court. The chief justice shall thereupon designate a tribunal composed of three judges of the superior court to hear and adjudicate the charges. Removal of any member of the board by the tribunal shall disqualify such member for reappointment.
     (2) Each board member shall receive reimbursement for travel expenses incurred in the discharge of his or her duties in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060. Each member shall receive an annual salary to be determined by the governor pursuant to RCW 43.03.040. The principal office of the board shall be located in Olympia. Any satellite offices of the board should be located within the jurisdictional boundaries of the regions where the three growth management hearings boards, in existence before July 1, 2010, were located.
     (3) Each board member shall not: (a) Be a candidate for or hold any other public office or trust; (b) engage in any occupation or business interfering with or inconsistent with his or her duty as a board member; and (c) for a period of one year after the termination of his or her board membership, act in a representative capacity before the board on any matter.
     (4) A majority of the board shall constitute a quorum for adopting rules necessary for the conduct of its powers and duties or transacting other official business, and may act even though one position of the board is vacant. ((One or more members may hold hearings and take testimony to be reported for action by the board when authorized by rule or order of the board.)) The board shall perform all the powers and duties specified in this chapter or as otherwise provided by law.
     (5) ((The board may use one or more hearing examiners to assist the board in its hearing function, to make conclusions of law and findings of fact and, if requested by the board, to make recommendations to the board for decisions in cases before the board. Such hearing examiners must have demonstrated knowledge of land use planning and law. The board shall specify in its rules of practice and procedure, as required by subsection (7) of this section, the procedure and criteria to be employed for designating hearing examiners as a presiding officer. Hearing examiners used by the board shall meet the requirements of subsection (3) of this section. The findings and conclusions of the hearing examiner shall not become final until they have been formally approved by the board. This authorization to use hearing examiners does not waive the requirement of RCW 36.70A.300 that final orders be issued within one hundred eighty days of board receipt of a petition.
     (6))) The board shall make findings of fact and prepare a written decision in each case decided by it, and such findings and decision shall be effective upon being signed by two or more members of the regional panel deciding the particular case and upon being filed at the board's principal office, and shall be open for public inspection at all reasonable times.
     (((7))) (6) All proceedings before the board((,)) or any of its members((, or a hearing examiner appointed by the board)) shall be conducted in accordance with such administrative rules of practice and procedure as the board prescribes. The board shall develop and adopt rules of practice and procedure, including rules regarding expeditious and summary disposition of appeals and the assignment of cases to regional panels. The board shall publish such rules and decisions it renders and arrange for the reasonable distribution of the rules and decisions. Except as it conflicts with specific provisions of this chapter, the administrative procedure act, chapter 34.05 RCW, and specifically including the provisions of RCW 34.05.455 governing ex parte communications, shall govern the practice and procedure of the board.
     (((8))) (7) A board member ((or hearing examiner)) is subject to disqualification under chapter 34.05 RCW. The rules of practice of the board shall establish procedures by which a party to a hearing conducted before the board may file with the board a motion to disqualify, with supporting affidavit, against a board member ((or hearing examiner)) assigned to preside at the hearing. Disqualification is to be determined by the board administrative officer, not the board member being challenged. If the board administrative officer is being challenged, the full board determines the question of disqualification.
     (((9) All members of the board shall meet on at least an annual basis with the objective of sharing information that promotes the goals and purposes of this chapter.
     (10))) (8) The board shall annually elect one of its members to be the board administrative officer. The duties and responsibilities of the administrative officer include handling day-to-day administrative, budget, and personnel matters on behalf of the board, together with making case assignments to board members in accordance with the board's rules of procedure in order to achieve a fair and balanced workload among all board members. The administrative officer of the board may carry a reduced caseload to allow time for performing the administrative work functions.

Sec. 4   RCW 36.70A.280 and 2010 c 211 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The growth management hearings board shall hear and determine only those petitions alleging either:
     (a) That, except as provided otherwise by this subsection, a state agency, county, or city planning under this chapter is not in compliance with the requirements of this chapter, chapter 90.58 RCW as it relates to the adoption of shoreline master programs or amendments thereto, or chapter 43.21C RCW as it relates to plans, development regulations, or amendments, adopted under RCW 36.70A.040 or chapter 90.58 RCW. Nothing in this subsection authorizes the board to hear petitions alleging noncompliance with RCW 36.70A.5801; or
     (b) That the twenty-year growth management planning population projections adopted by the office of financial management pursuant to RCW 43.62.035 should be adjusted.
     (2) A petition may be filed only by: (a) The state, or a county or city that plans under this chapter; (b) ((a person who has participated orally or in writing before the county or city regarding the matter on which a review is being requested)) any person who owns property within the jurisdiction of the county or city that is the subject of the matter on which a review is being requested and is impacted by the ordinance, regulation, or policy in question; (c) a person who is certified by the governor within sixty days of filing the request with the board; or (d) a person qualified pursuant to RCW 34.05.530.
     (3) For purposes of this section "person" means any individual, partnership, corporation, association, state agency, governmental subdivision or unit thereof, or public or private organization or entity of any character.
     (4) ((To establish participation standing under subsection (2)(b) of this section, a person must show that his or her participation before the county or city was reasonably related to the person's issue as presented to the board.
     (5))) When considering a possible adjustment to a growth management planning population projection prepared by the office of financial management, the board shall consider the implications of any such adjustment to the population forecast for the entire state.
     The rationale for any adjustment that is adopted by the board must be documented and filed with the office of financial management within ten working days after adoption.
     If adjusted by the board, a county growth management planning population projection shall only be used for the planning purposes set forth in this chapter and shall be known as the "board adjusted population projection." None of these changes shall affect the official state and county population forecasts prepared by the office of financial management, which shall continue to be used for state budget and planning purposes.