HOUSE BILL REPORT

ESHJR 4220

BYHouse Committee on Capital Facilities & Financing (originally sponsored by Representatives Braddock, Belcher, H. Sommers, Jacobsen, Valle, Grant, Locke, Silver, May, McLean, Youngsman, Brekke, Cantwell, Cole, Basich, Anderson, Betrozoff, Schoon, Rector, Vekich, Nelson, Dorn, Inslee, Leonard and Sprenkle)

Authorizing the legislature to designate state office locations outside Olympia.

House Committe on Capital Facilities & Financing

Majority Report:  The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass.  (11)

      Signed by Representatives H. Sommers, Chair; Rasmussen, Vice Chair; Schoon, Ranking Republican Member; Beck, Betrozoff, Bowman, Braddock, Jacobsen, Peery, Wang and Winsley.

Minority Report:  Do not pass.  (1)

      Signed by Representative Fraser.

House Staff:Bill Robinson (786-7136)

AS PASSED HOUSE MARCH 15, 1989

BACKGROUND:

The Washington Territory Act of 1853, adopted by Congress, provided that the first Legislative assembly should be held at a place selected by the governor.  Isaac I. Stevens was appointed governor in March, 1853 and he called for the first Legislative assembly to be held in Olympia on February 27, 1854.  In 1855, a federal appropriation of $5,000 was given to Washington to erect government buildings and the Legislature used that money to build a temporary capitol in Olympia.  Olympia was designated as the temporary capital because the governor and the Legislature had no power to select a permanent location for the seat of government. The location of the seat of government can only be determined by a vote of the people.  On July 8, 1861 Olympia was selected as the permanent capital by the voters in a general election.  There were four attempts during the period of 1861 and 1905 to move the seat of government from Olympia to other parts of the state, but all four attempts failed.

The controversy over the location of the seat of government has come up twice in recent history. In 1954, the Washington State Supreme Court ruled that state executive offices must be located in the seat of government.  This ruling resulted from a case in which a state agency and the office of its director were located in Seattle.  In 1987, the Department of General Administration was requested to acquire a new office building to house a state agency and its director's office in the city of Lacey or Tumwater. The department requested an Attorney General Opinion on the matter. The Attorney General Opinion reaffirmed that all state executive offices must be located "at" the seat of government, i.e., in, within, near, or in close proximity to the city of Olympia as it existed in 1890.  While the agency head must be "at" Olympia, the Attorney General allowed branch offices to be located away from the seat of government. The opinion also allowed an agency head and core administrative offices to be located outside of the seat of government on a temporary basis.

The history on the seat of government and the recent legal opinions do not provide an exact definition of which state functions must be located at the seat of government.  Nor do they provide a practical definition for the location of the seat of government.  These questions remain unanswered and are subject to legal challenge.

SUMMARY:

A constitutional amendment will be submitted to the voters for approval at the next general election.  The amendment will remove outdated language describing the process for selecting a permanent location of the seat of government. The city limits of Olympia are defined as the seat of government and the Legislature, governor, and Supreme Court shall remain in the seat of government.  However, state agencies not directly administered by a state-wide elected official may be located in Thurston County.  Such state agencies may be located outside of Thurston County only if the following conditions are met:  (1) the location is requested by the governor; (2) the location is adopted by law; and (3) the state function to be located elsewhere cannot be adequately administered from the seat of government or Thurston County because of insufficient public access,  an inability to hire or maintain qualified personnel, or significant cost inefficiencies.  The amendment also confirms the current practice of locating branch offices of state agencies outside of Olympia.

Fiscal Note:      Not Requested.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    None Presented.

House Committee - Testified Against:      Holly Gadbaw, Mayor of Olympia; Linda Buckner, Olympia Chamber of Commerce; John Drebick, Drebick Real Estate; Steve Doland, Tumwater Chamber of Commerce; Charles Hodde; Buck Harman; Dick Hemstead.

House Committee - Testimony For:    None Presented

House Committee - Testimony Against:      Allowing state agencies to move away form Olympia would spread out the administrative functions of state government causing inefficiencies and fragmentation.  In the long run, such movements would become politically motivated and poor public policy.  Consolidation of state functions in Olympia promotes a stable economy for the community and improved public service.