AN ACT Relating to metropolitan municipal corporations; amending RCW 35.58.118, 35.58.120, and 35.58.410; adding new sections to chapter 35.58 RCW; and repealing RCW 35.58.420.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. Existing law provides a very complicated formula to determine who is a member of a metropolitan council. These laws have been amended regularly to reflect the legislature's perception of the needs in a single metropolitan municipal corporation. The purpose of this act is to provide a procedure by which the voters of a metropolitan municipal corporation, that has been authorized to perform two or more functions, are given a regular and periodic opportunity to consider crafting the metropolitan council in response to local needs and circumstances.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A nine-member temporary review board shall be elected in each metropolitan municipal corporation, authorized to perform two or more functions, at the general election held in 1989, and thereafter every ten years in each year ending in a nine, to review the metropolitan council and possibly submit a ballot proposition to the voters of the metropolitan municipal corporation authorizing a modification of the metropolitan council.

Two voters of the metropolitan municipal corporation shall be nominated for each of the nine positions at the primary election held in 1989, and thereafter every ten years in each year ending in a nine.

County legislative authority districts shall be used to the maximum extent possible for the nomination and election of the same number of board members from each district, if the metropolitan council is coterminous with a county and the county has county legislative authority districts, with the remainder, if any, being nominated and elected on an at-large basis. Otherwise, all the board members shall be nominated and elected on an at-large basis.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The temporary review board shall meet initially at 1:30 p.m., on the second Monday in December, following their election, at the normal meeting place of the metropolitan council. At least ten days prior to this meeting, the metropolitan municipal corporation shall mail written notice of the meeting to each board member, and to each newspaper of general circulation, and to each local radio and television station, that has on file with the metropolitan municipal council a written request under RCW 42.30.080 to be notified of this meeting or any special meeting of the metropolitan council. The board member who received the greatest number of votes shall preside at this meeting until any one of the board members is elected to chair the meetings of the temporary review board.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The temporary review board shall meet periodically over the next one hundred eighty days and consider whether and how the metropolitan council should be modified. At any time during this period, the temporary review board may make a finding that no modification should be made to the metropolitan council and disband, or may develop and approve a proposed modification of the metropolitan council. Any decision to disband or to approve a proposed modification of the metropolitan council must be approved by at least five members of the temporary review board. However, all other actions must be approved by a simple majority vote of the members present at a regularly scheduled meeting. At least five members of the temporary review board must be present to transact business.

A proposed modification may change the number of persons on the metropolitan council, and the method or methods by which members of the metropolitan council are selected, which may include, but not be limited to, directly electing some or all of the metropolitan council members, providing for the appointment of some or all of the metropolitan council members, or designating some or all of the elected officials of any one or more of the component counties, component cities, or special districts to act in an ex officio capacity as the metropolitan council. A proposed modification shall include a procedure to select the new council members and designate when the modification shall be effective.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. Any proposal to modify a metropolitan council shall be submitted to the voters of the metropolitan municipal corporation for their approval or rejection at the next general election. The ballot proposition shall be worded substantially as follows:

@id"Shall the metropolitan council of !sc_,015 (name the metropolitan municipal corporation) be modified as proposed by the temporary review board as follows !sc_,015 (describe the proposed modification)?

!sc_,006 Yes!sc ,015 !sc_,006 No"

!ixThe description of the proposed modification shall indicate any change in the number of council members, and how the council members shall be selected, in sixty or fewer words.

If the ballot proposition is approved by a simple majority vote of the voters of the metropolitan municipal corporation voting on the proposition, the metropolitan council shall be so modified with the council members being selected and modification being effective, as provided in the proposed modification approved by the temporary review board. If the ballot proposition is not approved, the metropolitan council shall remain as otherwise constituted under RCW 35.58.120.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. All expenses of the temporary group, including notices of the initial meeting, shall be paid by the metropolitan municipal corporation, but not to exceed the greater of twenty thousand dollars or one-tenth of one percent of the total annual budget of the metropolitan municipal corporation in the year in which the members of the temporary group were elected.

Sec. 7. Section 10, chapter 105, Laws of 1967 as amended by section 4, chapter 303, Laws of 1971 ex. sess. and RCW 35.58.118 are each amended to read as follows:

The metropolitan council operating under RCW 35.58.120 and not under sections 1 through 6 of this 1989 act may at any time by resolution determine whether the metropolitan transportation function shall be performed with an appointed commission pursuant to RCW 35.58.270 or by the metropolitan council without the appointment of such a commission: PROVIDED, That any resolution to perform the metropolitan transportation function with an appointed commission pursuant to RCW 35.58.270 shall not become effective until approved by the voters residing within the boundaries of the metropolitan municipal corporation.

Sec. 8. Section 35.58.120, chapter 7, Laws of 1965 as last amended by section 1, chapter 92, Laws of 1983 and RCW 35.58.120 are each amended to read as follows:

Unless a change is made under sections 1 through 6 of this 1989 act, a metropolitan municipal corporation shall be governed by a metropolitan council composed of the following:

(1) One member (a) who shall be the elected county executive of the central county, or (b) if there shall be no elected county executive, one member who shall be selected by, and from, the board of commissioners of the central county.

(2) One additional member for each county commissioner district or county council district which shall contain fifteen thousand or more persons residing within the metropolitan municipal corporation, who shall be the county commissioner or county councilman from such district;

(3) One additional member selected by the board of commissioners or county council of each component county for each county commissioner district or county council district containing fifteen thousand or more persons residing in the unincorporated portion of such commissioner district lying within the metropolitan municipal corporation each such appointee to be a resident of such unincorporated portion;

(4) One member from each component city which shall have a population of fifteen thousand or more persons, who shall be the mayor of such city, if such city shall have the mayor-council form of government, and in other cities shall be selected by, and from, the mayor and city council of each of such cities.

(5) One member representing all component cities which have less than fifteen thousand population each, to be selected by and from the mayors of such smaller cities in the following manner: The mayors of all such cities shall meet prior to July 1 of each even-numbered year at a time and place to be fixed by the metropolitan council. The chairperson of the metropolitan council shall preside. After nominations are made, successive ballots shall be taken until one candidate receives a majority of all votes cast.

(6) One additional member selected by the city council of each component city containing a population of fifteen thousand or more for each fifty thousand population over and above the first fifteen thousand, such members to be selected from such city council until all councilmen are members and thereafter to be selected from other officers of such city.

(7) For any metropolitan municipal corporation which shall be authorized to perform the function of metropolitan water pollution abatement, two additional members who shall be commissioners of a sewer district or a water district which is operating a sewer system and is a component part of the metropolitan municipal corporation and shall participate only in those council actions which relate to the performance of the function of metropolitan water pollution abatement. The commissioners of all such sewer districts and water districts which are component parts of the metropolitan municipal corporation shall meet on the first Tuesday of the month following May 21, 1971 and thereafter on the second Tuesday of June of each even-numbered year at seven o'clock p.m. at the office of the board of county commissioners of the central county. After election of a chairman, nominations shall be made to select members to serve on the metropolitan council and successive ballots taken for each member until one candidate receives a majority of votes cast. The two members so selected shall not be from districts whose boundaries come within ten miles of each other.

(8) One member, who shall be chairman of the metropolitan council, selected by the other members of the council. The member shall not hold any public office of or be an employee of any component city or component county of the metropolitan municipal corporation.

Sec. 9. Section 35.58.410, chapter 7, Laws of 1965 and RCW 35.58.410 are each amended to read as follows:

On or before the third Monday in June of each year, each metropolitan municipal corporation shall adopt a budget for the following calendar year. Such budget shall include a separate section for each authorized metropolitan function. Expenditures shall be segregated as to operation and maintenance expenses and capital and betterment outlays. Administrative and other expense general to the corporation shall be allocated between the authorized metropolitan functions. The budget shall contain an estimate of all revenues to be collected during the following budget year((, including any surplus funds remaining unexpended from the preceding year. The remaining funds required to meet budget expenditures, if any, shall be designated as "supplemental income" and shall be obtained from the component cities and counties in the manner provided in this chapter)). The metropolitan council shall not be required to confine capital or betterment expenditures made from bond proceeds or emergency expenditures to items provided in the budget. The affirmative vote of three-fourths of all members of the metropolitan council shall be required to authorize emergency expenditures.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. Section 35.58.420, chapter 7, Laws of 1965 and RCW 35.58.420 are each repealed.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. Sections 1 through 6 of this act are added to chapter 35.58 RCW.