AN ACT
Relating to county research services; amending RCW 43.110.010, 43.110.030,
82.08.170, and 43.88.114; adding a new section to chapter 43.110 RCW; providing
an effective date; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec.
1. RCW
43.110.010 and 1990 c 104 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
There
shall be a state agency which shall be known as the municipal research
council. The council shall be composed of ((eighteen)) twenty-three
members. Four members shall be appointed by the president of the senate, with
equal representation from each of the two major political parties; four members
shall be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, with equal
representation from each of the two major political parties; one member shall
be appointed by the governor independently; ((and the other))
nine members, who shall be city or town officials, shall be appointed by
the governor from a list of nine nominees submitted by the board of
directors of the association of Washington cities; and five members, who
shall be county officials, shall be appointed by the governor, two of whom
shall be from a list of two nominees submitted by the board of directors of the
Washington association of county officials, and three of whom shall be from a
list of three nominees submitted by the board of directors of the Washington
state association of counties. Of the ((members appointed by the
association)) city or town officials, at least one shall be an
official of a city having a population of twenty thousand or more; at least one
shall be an official of a city having a population of one thousand five hundred
to twenty thousand; and at least one shall be an official of a town having a
population of less than one thousand five hundred.
The
terms of members shall be for two years ((and shall not)). The terms
of those members who are appointed as legislators or city, town, or county
officials shall be dependent upon continuance in legislative ((or)),
city, town, or county office. The terms of all members except
legislative members shall commence on the first day of August in every
odd-numbered year. The speaker of the house of representatives and the
president of the senate shall make their appointments on or before the third
Monday in January in each odd-numbered year, and the terms of the members thus
appointed shall commence on the third Monday of January in each odd-numbered
year.
Council
members shall receive no compensation but shall be reimbursed for travel
expenses at rates in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060 as now
existing or hereafter amended, except that members of the council who are also
members of the legislature shall be reimbursed at the rates provided by RCW
44.04.120.
Sec.
2. RCW
43.110.030 and 1990 c 104 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
The
municipal research council shall contract for the provision of municipal
research and services to cities ((and)), towns, and counties.
Contracts for municipal research and services shall be made with state
agencies, educational institutions, or private consulting firms, that in the
judgment of council members are qualified to provide such research and
services. Contracts for staff support may be made with state agencies,
educational institutions, or private consulting firms that in the judgment of
the council members are qualified to provide such support.
Municipal
research and services shall consist of: (1) Studying and researching ((municipal))
city, town, and county government and issues relating to ((municipal))
city, town, and county government; (2) acquiring, preparing, and
distributing publications related to ((municipal)) city, town, and
county government and issues relating to ((municipal)) city,
town, and county government; (3) providing educational conferences relating
to ((municipal)) city, town, and county government and issues
relating to ((municipal)) city, town, and county government; and
(4) furnishing legal, technical, consultative, and field services to cities ((and)),
towns, and counties concerning planning, public health, utility services,
fire protection, law enforcement, public works, and other issues relating to ((municipal))
city, town, and county government. Requests for legal services by
county officials shall be sent to the office of the county prosecuting
attorney. Responses by the municipal research council to county requests for
legal services shall be provided to the requesting official and the county
prosecuting attorney.
The
activities, programs, and services of the municipal research council shall be
carried on, and all expenditures shall be made, in cooperation with the cities
and towns of the state acting through the board of directors of the association
of Washington cities, which is recognized as their official agency or
instrumentality, and in cooperation with counties of the state acting
through the Washington state association of counties. Services to cities and
towns shall be based upon the moneys appropriated to the municipal research
council under RCW 82.44.160. Services to counties shall be based upon the
moneys appropriated to the municipal research council from the county research
services account under section 3 of this act.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 3. A
new section is added to chapter 43.110 RCW to read as follows:
A
special account is created in the state treasury to be known as the county
research services account. The account shall consist of all money transferred
to the account under RCW 82.08.170 or otherwise transferred or appropriated to
the account by the legislature. Moneys in the account may be spent only after
appropriation. The account is subject to the allotment process under chapter
43.88 RCW.
Moneys
in the county research services account may be expended only to finance the
costs of county research.
Sec.
4. RCW
82.08.170 and 1983 c 3 s 215 are each amended to read as follows:
((On
the first day of)) (1) During the months of January, April, July
and October of each year, the state treasurer shall make the apportionment and
distribution of all moneys in the liquor excise tax fund to the counties,
cities and towns in the following proportions: Twenty percent of the moneys in
said liquor excise tax fund shall be divided among and distributed to the
counties of the state in accordance with the provisions of RCW 66.08.200;
eighty percent of the moneys in said liquor excise tax fund shall be divided
among and distributed to the cities and towns of the state in accordance with
the provisions of RCW 66.08.210.
(2)
Each fiscal quarter and prior to making the twenty percent distribution to
counties under subsection (1) of this section, the treasurer shall transfer to
the county research services account under section 3 of this act sufficient
moneys that, when combined with any cash balance in the account, will fund the
allotments from any legislative appropriations from the county research
services account.
Sec.
5. RCW
43.88.114 and 1983 c 22 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
Appropriations
of funds to the municipal research council from motor vehicle excise
taxes shall not be subject to allotment by the office of financial management.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. This
act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or
safety, or support of the state government and its existing public
institutions, and takes effect July 1, 1997.
