Washington State

House of Representatives

Office of Program Research

BILL

ANALYSIS

Local Government Committee

HB 1269

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

Background:

Diking and Related Districts.

Diking and various other special purpose districts provide diking, drainage, and flood control facilities and services. Among other powers, these "special districts," are authorized to engage in flood control activities, and to operate and maintain improvements and facilities necessary to prevent inundation or flooding from rivers, streams, tidal waters, or other waters.

"Special district," for purpose of these diking-related districts, is defined to mean: (1) a diking district; (2) a drainage district; (3) a diking, drainage, and/or sewerage improvement district; (4) an intercounty diking and drainage district; (5) a consolidated diking district, drainage district, diking improvement district, and/or drainage improvement district; or (6) a flood control district.

While separate statutory provisions continue to apply to these special districts and their actions, in 1985 the Legislature adopted standardized provisions governing their creation and operation, including provisions governing their elections.

Voting.

Natural persons, corporations or partnerships, and governmental entities are generally eligible to vote in elections for special districts, provided they own land within the district. Lists of presumed eligible voters must be prepared and maintained by the district and provided to the applicable county auditor in accordance with specified requirements.

With limited exceptions, the owner of land located within a special district who is a qualified voter of the special district must receive two votes at any election. If the land owner is a corporation, partnership, or governmental entity, the entity must designate a natural person to cast its two votes, or two natural persons to each cast one of its votes.

Several terms pertaining to voting provisions in special districts are established in statute. Examples include:

"special district general election" means the election of a special district regularly held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in February in each even-numbered year at which a member of the special district governing body is regularly elected; and

"qualified voter of a special district" means a person who is either: (1) A natural person who is a voter under general state election laws, registered to vote in the state for a period of not less than 30 days before the election, and the owner of land located in the special district for a period of not less than 30 days before the election; (2) a corporation or partnership that has owned land located in the special district for a period of not less than 60 days before the election; or (3) the state, its agencies or political subdivisions that own land in the special district or lands proposed to be annexed into the special district.

Summary of Bill:

Voting provisions for diking and related "special districts" are modified. A "qualified voter of a special district" is a person or legal entity that has owned land in the district for 30 or more days before the election. This person or legal entity must also be:

a natural person who is a voter under general state election laws and registered to vote in the state for 30 or more days before the election;
a natural person who is a registered voter under the general state election laws and registered with the district by a legal owner as the person authorized to cast the entity's votes;
the state, its agencies, or political subdivisions that own land in the special district or lands proposed to be annexed into the special district; or
a natural person who is a registered voter under the general state election laws and is an executor, administrator, or guardian for an owner of land within the special district.

Legal entities, including but not limited to all forms of corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, associations, trusts, estates, and representatives of deceased persons, or governmental entities must designate, by registering with the diking district in advance of the first day of November preceding the special district general election, the natural person who will cast its two votes or the two natural persons to each cast one of its votes.

The list of presumed eligible voters maintained by the special district must include the natural person or persons designated to cast the votes for a legal entity.