SENATE BILL REPORT
ESHB 1632
BYHouse Committee on Local Government (originally sponsored by Representatives Haugen, Brough, Nutley, Doty, Cooper, Nelson, Rayburn, Zellinsky, Jacobsen, Hine, Ferguson, Moyer, May, Silver,D. Sommers, Unsoeld and Butterfield; by request of Washington State Local Governance Commission)
Providing for citizens' committees to review local governments.
House Committe on Local Government
Rereferred House Committee on Ways & Means/Appropriations
Senate Committee on Governmental Operations
Senate Hearing Date(s):
Senate Staff:Eugene Green (786-7405)
AS OF FEBRUARY 15, 1988
BACKGROUND:
The Local Governance Study Commission was established in 1986 to study local government in the state and make recommendations to the Legislature for changes in laws that were felt to be necessary. This legislation is one of the recommendations from this commission.
The Constitution provide procedures by which a charter can be: (1) approved by the voters of a city of a certain minimum population to alter the governing body and officials of the city government; (2) approved by the voters of any county to alter the governing body and officials of the county government; and (3) adopted to alter powers and governing bodies of any government or governments within the county.
SUMMARY:
This legislation partially implements HJR 4227 by establishing a process for a temporary group of voters to be elected within each county to review local governments within that county and possibly present proposals for altering local governments to the voters for their approval or rejection. An advisory group of local government elected officials would assist each of these temporary groups of local voters in their deliberations. A proposal that is submitted to voters for their approval or rejection could relate to the formation, retention, boundaries, and powers or local governments. Provision must be made for such a group of voters to be elected from, and develop proposals affecting, an area greater than a single county.
A temporary citizens' review committee can be created in any county through various procedures, but must be created in 1998 if the process was not previously invoked, or ten years after the last time a citizens' review committee was created.
A temporary citizens' review committee is composed of both persons directly elected to the committee and local government officials appointed to the committee and who act only in an advisory capacity. The size of a committee varies with the population of the county. The local government elected officials include county officials, city and town officials, and special district officials.
A temporary citizens' review committee may submit ballot propositions to voters county-wide or less than county-wide that provide for any change in local government, including the dissolution of a local government, transfer of powers between local governments, transfers of revenues between local governments, consolidation of local governments, or creation of new units of local government, except that school districts cannot be affected by any change. Ballot propositions are submitted at general elections.
Any change is approved by majority vote of the voters voting on the proposal, except that a proposal for the dissolution of a local government shall not be effective if voters within that local government disapprove the proposition by a sixty percent or larger vote.
A committee is not required to make any proposals for change, and can disband itself. The county legislative authority can dissolve a committee that has not forwarded a proposal within 365 days of the election of its members. A committee cannot exist for longer than 730 days after the election of its members.
Provision is made for the joining, in whole or in part, of two or more committees from adjacently located counties and for the submission of proposals affecting a greater than single county area.
Assistance from the department of community development shall be for: (1) grants to assist in the development of these agreements; (2) preparation of model charters that could be used by a committee; and (3) use of financial incentives included in legislation that is not drafted.
This legislation is effective only if the constitutional amendment relating to processes to alter local governments (HJR 4227) is approved by the voters.
Appropriation: none
Revenue: none
Fiscal Note: requested February 1, 1988
Effective Date:This legislation is effective only if the constitutional amendment relating to processes to alter local governments (HJR 4227) is approved by the voters.