AN ACT Relating to general obligation bonds for handicapped facilities; adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW; and providing for submission of this act to a vote of the people.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The physical and mental health of the people of the state directly affects the achievement of economic progress and full employment. The establishment of a system of regional and community facilities for the care, training, and rehabilitation of persons with sensory, physical, or mental handicaps will provide the improved and convenient services needed for an efficient work force and a healthy and secure people.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. For the purpose of financing the planning, acquisition, construction, renovation, improvement, and equipping of regional and community facilities for the care, training, and rehabilitation of persons with sensory, physical, or mental handicaps, and to provide for the administrative cost of such projects, including costs of bond issuance and retirement, salaries and related costs of officials and employees of the state, costs of credit enhancement agreements, and other expenses incidental to the administration of capital projects, the state finance committee is authorized to issue general obligation bonds of the state of Washington in the sum of twenty-five million dollars, or so much thereof as may be required, to finance these projects and all costs incidental thereto.

Bonds authorized in this section shall be sold in such manner, at such time or times, in such amounts, and at such price as the state finance committee shall determine. No such bonds may be offered for sale without prior legislative appropriation of the net proceeds of the sale of the bonds. The state finance committee may obtain insurance or letters of credit and may authorize the execution and delivery of agreements, promissory notes, and other obligations for the purpose of insuring the payment or enhancing the marketability of bonds authorized in this section. Promissory notes or other obligations issued pursuant to this section shall not constitute a debt or the contracting of indebtedness under any constitutional or statutory indebtedness limitation if their payment is conditioned upon the failure of the state to pay the principal of or interest on the bonds with respect to which the same relate.

Bonds authorized under this section shall be sold in accordance with chapter 39.42 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. As used in sections 1 through 8 of this act, the following terms have the meanings indicated unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) "Facilities for the care, training, and rehabilitation of persons with sensory, physical, or mental handicaps" means real property and any interest therein, equipment, buildings, structures, mobile units, parking facilities, utilities, landscaping, and all incidental improvements and appurtenances thereto, developed and owned by any public body within the state for purposes of the care, training, and rehabilitation of persons with sensory, physical, or mental handicaps when used in the following limited programs as designated by the department of social and health services: Nonprofit group training homes, community centers, close to home living units, sheltered workshops, vocational rehabilitation centers, developmental disability training centers, and community homes for the mentally ill.

(2) "Public body" means the state of Washington, or any agency, political subdivision, taxing district, or municipal corporation thereof.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The proceeds from the sale of the bonds authorized in section 2 of this act shall be deposited in the handicapped facilities construction account hereby created in the state treasury and shall be used exclusively for the purposes specified in section 2 of this act and for the payment of expenses incurred in the issuance and sale of the bonds. These proceeds shall be administered by the department of social and health services, subject to legislative appropriation.

In carrying out the purposes of sections 1 through 8 of this act, all counties of the state shall be eligible to participate in the distribution of the bond proceeds. The share coming to each county shall be determined by a division among all counties according to the relation which the population of each county, as shown by the last federal or official state census, whichever is the later, bears to the total combined population of all counties, as shown by such census; except that, each sixth, seventh, or eighth class county shall receive an aggregate amount of up to seventy-five thousand dollars if, through a procedure established in rule, the department has determined there is a demonstrated need and the share determined for such county is less than seventy-five thousand dollars. No single project in a class AA county shall be eligible for more than fifteen percent of such county's total distribution of bond proceeds.

In carrying out the purposes specified in sections 1 through 8 of this act, the department may use or permit the use of the proceeds by direct expenditures, grants, or loans to any public body, including but not limited to grants to a public body as matching funds in any case where federal, local, or other funds are made available on a matching basis for purposes specified in this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) No expenditure of funds is allowed for facilities for the care, training, and rehabilitation of persons with sensory, physical, or mental handicaps which have not been submitted to the legislature in a budget document or schedule as specified in RCW 43.88.030(3), and have been approved through a capital appropriation; except that, the fiscal committees of the legislature may approve such facilities which have been, not later than December 1, 1988, verified by the department of social and health services as meeting the assessed need of a county and being ready to proceed.

(2) In order to assure compliance with section 4 of this act, such document or schedule shall indicate the population of each county, all requests submitted from each county for participation in the distribution of the bond proceeds, the requests which are proposed to be accepted, and the basis for acceptance.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. Both principal of and interest on the bonds authorized by section 2 of this act shall be payable from the state general obligation bond retirement fund. The state finance committee may provide that a special account be created in such fund to facilitate payment of such principal and interest.

The state finance committee shall, on or before June 30th of each year, certify to the state treasurer the amount required for principal and interest on such bonds in accordance with the provisions of the bond proceedings. The state treasurer shall withdraw from any general state revenues received in the state treasury and deposit in the state general obligation bond retirement fund, or a special account in such fund, such amounts and at such times as are required by the bond proceedings.

Bonds issued under section 2 of this act shall state that they are a general obligation of the state of Washington, shall pledge the full faith and credit of the state to the payment of the principal thereof and the interest thereon, and shall contain an unconditional promise to pay the principal and interest as the same shall become due.

The owner and holder of each of the bonds or the trustee for the owner and holder of any of the bonds may by mandamus or other appropriate proceeding require the transfer and payment of funds as directed in this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. The legislature may provide additional means for raising moneys for the payment of the principal of and interest on the bonds authorized in section 2 of this act, and section 6 of this act shall not be deemed to provide an exclusive method for the payment.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. The bonds authorized in section 2 of this act shall be a legal investment for all state funds or funds under state control and for all funds of any other public body.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. Sections 1 through 8 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. This act shall be submitted to the people for their adoption and ratification, or rejection, at the next succeeding general election to be held in this state, in accordance with Article VIII, section 3 of the state Constitution as amended, and the laws adopted to facilitate the operation thereof.