H-4324              _______________________________________________

                                          SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1363

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1988 Regular Session

By House Committee on Energy & Utilities (originally sponsored by Representatives Nelson, Jacobsen, Barnes and Unsoeld)

Read first time 1/20/88 and passed to Committee on Rules.

AN ACT Relating to the undivided ownership of electrical transmission facilities and generating plants; and amending RCW 54.44.020.

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

        Sec. 1.  Section 2, chapter 159, Laws of 1967 as last amended by section 2, chapter 72, Laws of 1975-'76 2nd ex. sess. and RCW 54.44.020 are each amended to read as follows:

          In addition to the powers heretofore conferred upon cities of the first class, public utility districts organized under chapter  54.08 RCW, and joint operating agencies organized under chapter 43.52 RCW, any such cities and public utility districts which operate electric generating facilities or distribution systems and any joint operating agency shall have power and authority to participate and enter into agreements with each other and with electrical companies which are subject to the jurisdiction of the Washington utilities and transportation commission or the ((public utility commissioner of Oregon,)) regulatory commission of any other state hereinafter called "regulated utilities((", and))," with rural electric cooperatives, including generation and transmission cooperatives, with municipal corporations in any state, and with any agency of the United States  authorized to construct or operate facilities to generate or transmit electrical energy for the undivided ownership of any type of electric generating plants and facilities, including, but not limited to nuclear and other thermal power generating plants and facilities and transmission facilities including, but not limited to, related transmission facilities, hereinafter called "common facilities((",))," whether located inside or outside the state and for the planning, financing, acquisition, construction, operation and maintenance thereof.  It shall be provided in such agreements that each city, public utility district, or joint operating agency shall own a percentage of any common facility equal to the percentage of the money furnished or the value of property supplied by it for the acquisition and construction thereof and shall own and control a like percentage of the electrical output thereof.

          Each participant shall defray its own interest and other payments required to be made or deposited in connection with any financing undertaken by it to pay its percentage of the money furnished or value of property supplied by it for the planning, acquisition and construction of any common facility, or any additions or betterments thereto.  The agreement shall provide a uniform method of determining and allocating operation and maintenance expenses of the common facility.

          Each city, public utility district, joint operating agency, regulated utility, and cooperatives participating in the ownership or operation of a common facility shall pay all taxes chargeable to its share of the common facility and the electric energy generated thereby under applicable statutes as now or hereafter in effect, and may make payments during preliminary work and construction for any increased financial burden suffered by any county or other existing taxing district in the county in which the common facility is located, pursuant to agreement with such county or taxing district.

Any two or more cities, public utility districts, or joint operating agencies acting jointly under this section, by mutual agreement, shall not acquire any electric utility distribution properties in any other public utility district without the consent of such district and shall not exercise the power to condemn any properties owned or operated by regulated utilities, or any public utility owned by a municipality.