S-4487               _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 6769

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1990 Regular Session

By Senators Patrick, McCaslin and Hansen

Read first time 1/24/90 and referred to Committee on  Law & Justice.

AN ACT Relating to invalidated local laws; adding a new section to chapter 35.21 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 35A.21 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 36.01 RCW; and prescribing penalties.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 35.21 RCW to read as follows:

          (1) When a local law has been invalidated by judicial decision, the legislative authority shall not pass or seek to pass a revised law without making sufficient changes that are reasonably calculated to cure the legal defect that resulted in invalidation of the previous law.

          (2) In any legal action brought to challenge the validity of a revised local law, the revised law shall not be presumed valid.  The legislative authority shall have the burden of establishing that a good faith effort has been made to incorporate changes in the revised law sufficient to cure the defects in the previously invalidated law.

          If the court is unable to establish that a good faith effort was made to cure the defect, each member of the legislative authority who voted for the revised law, as well as the chief administrative officer who had the power but failed to veto the revised law, shall be personally liable for actual damages, costs and attorneys' fees in addition to a civil fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 35A.21 RCW to read as follows:

          (1) When a local law has been invalidated by judicial decision, the legislative authority shall not pass or seek to pass a revised law without making sufficient changes that are reasonably calculated to cure the legal defect that resulted in invalidation of the previous law.

          (2) In any legal action brought to challenge the validity of a revised local law, the revised law shall not be presumed valid.  The legislative authority shall have the burden of establishing that a good faith effort has been made to incorporate changes in the revised law sufficient to cure the defects in the previously invalidated law.

          If the court is unable to establish that a good faith effort was made to cure the defect, each member of the legislative authority who voted for the revised law, as well as the chief administrative officer who had the power but failed to veto the revised law, shall be personally liable for actual damages, costs and attorneys' fees in addition to a civil fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.  A new section is added to chapter 36.01 RCW to read as follows:

          (1) When a local law has been invalidated by judicial decision, the legislative authority shall not pass or seek to pass a revised law without making sufficient changes that are reasonably calculated to cure the legal defect that resulted in invalidation of the previous law.

          (2) In any legal action brought to challenge the validity of a revised local law, the revised law shall not be presumed valid.  The legislative authority shall have the burden of establishing that a good faith effort has been made to incorporate changes in the revised law sufficient to cure the defects in the previously invalidated law.

          If the court is unable to establish that a good faith effort was made to cure the defect, each member of the legislative authority who voted for the revised law, as well as the chief administrative officer who had the power but failed to veto the revised law, shall be personally liable for actual damages, costs and attorneys' fees in addition to a civil fine not to exceed ten thousand dollars.