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                                         HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 4200

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State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1989 Regular Session

By Representatives Haugen, Ferguson, Winsley, May, Rayburn, P. King, Cooper and Jones

Read first time 1/11/89 and referred to Committee on Local Government.

BE IT RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON, IN LEGISLATIVE SESSION ASSEMBLED:

          THAT, At the next general election to be held in this state there shall be submitted to the qualified voters of the state for their approval and ratification, or rejection, an amendment to Article XI of the Constitution of the state of Washington by adding a new section to read as follows:

Article XI, section ...           In addition to the methods of framing a county home rule charter which are contained in section 4 of this Article, a charter may be framed as provided in this section.  The legislature shall without unreasonable delay enact legislation creating and appropriating funds for a temporary county home rule commission of fifteen members.  The commission shall draft five alternative county "Home Rule" charters, a copy of which shall be submitted to the legislative authority of each county, and shall be retained by the state in its permanent records.  The commission shall exist not more than one year.  Commission members shall be appointed by the governor with at least one-third of the members to consist of members of the legislature and elected county officials.   A new county home rule commission with the same membership qualifications, which shall exist no longer than a one-year period, shall be appointed by the governor to redraft any of the alternative "Home Rule" charters whenever the legislature enacts legislation calling for the creation of a new temporary home rule commission.  As far as practical, all commissions created under this section shall be representative of major geographic areas of the state and the state's demographic distribution.

          A single alternative charter may be submitted at an election to voters of any county for their approval and ratification, or rejection, upon either:  (1) An ordinance adopted by the county legislative authority; or (2) the filing of a petition calling for an election which is signed by registered voters of the county equal in number to ten percent of the voters voting at the last preceding general election in the county.  Upon approval and ratification of a charter by the voters of the county under this section, the charter shall become the organic law of the county.

          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the secretary of state shall cause notice of the foregoing constitutional amendment to be published at least four times during the four weeks next preceding the election in every legal newspaper in the state and that the ballot title of the foregoing constitutional amendment shall be:  "Shall additional procedures be permitted to simplify the process by which a proposed county charter is placed upon the ballot?"