AN
ACT Relating to the administration of irrigation districts; amending RCW
87.03.051, 87.03.435, and 87.03.560; and adding a new section to chapter 87.03
RCW.
BE IT
ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec.
1. RCW
87.03.051 and 1985 c 66 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
In
districts with less than two hundred thousand acres, a person eighteen years
old, being a citizen of the United States and a resident of the state and who
holds title or evidence of title to assessable land in the district or proposed
district shall be entitled to vote therein, and to be recognized as an
elector. A ((domestic)) corporation, general partnership, limited
partnership, limited liability company, or other legal entity formed pursuant
to the laws of the state of Washington or qualified to do business in the state
of Washington owning land in the district shall be recognized as an
elector. As used in this section, "entity" means a corporation,
general partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, or other
legal entity formed pursuant to the laws of the state of Washington or
qualified to do business in the state of Washington. "Ownership"
shall mean the aggregate of all assessable acres owned by an elector,
individually or jointly, within one district. Voting rights shall be allocated
as follows: Two votes for each five acres of assessable land or fraction
thereof. No one ownership may accumulate more than forty-nine percent of the
votes in one district. If assessments are on the basis of shares instead of
acres, an elector shall be entitled to two votes for each five shares or
fraction thereof. The ballots cast for each ownership of land or shares shall
be exercised by common agreement between electors or when land is held as
community property, the accumulated votes may be divided equally between
husband and wife. Except for community property ownership, in the absence of
the submission of the common agreement to the secretary of the district at
least twenty-four hours before the opening of the polls, the election board
shall recognize the first elector to appear on election day as the elector having
the authority to cast the ballots for that parcel of land for which there is
more than one ownership interest. A majority of the directors shall be
residents of the county or counties in which the district is situated and all
shall be electors of the district. If more than one elector residing outside
the county or counties is voted for as director, only that one who receives the
highest number of votes shall be considered in ascertaining the result of the
election. An agent of ((a domestic corporation)) an entity
owning land in the district, duly authorized in writing, may vote on behalf of
the ((corporation)) entity by filing with the election officers
his or her instrument of authority. An elector resident in the district
shall vote in the precinct in which he or she resides, all others shall
vote in the precinct nearest their residence. No director shall be qualified
to take or retain office unless ((he)) the director holds title
or evidence of title to land within the district.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 2. A
new section is added to chapter 87.03 RCW to read as follows:
No
irrigation district, its directors, officers, employees, or agents operating
and maintaining irrigation works for any purpose authorized by law, including
the production of food for human consumption and other agricultural and
domestic purposes, is liable for damages to persons or property arising from
the disposal of sewage and waste discharged by others into the irrigation works
pursuant to federal or state statutes, rules, or regulations permitting the
discharge.
Sec.
3. RCW
87.03.435 and 1990 c 39 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
((Any person to whom a contract may have been awarded for the construction
of a canal or any of the works of the district, or any portion thereof, or for
the furnishing of labor or material, shall enter into a bond with good and
sufficient sureties, to be approved by the board of directors, payable to the
district for its use, for at least twenty-five percent of the amount of the
contract price, conditioned for the faithful performance of said contract, and
with such further conditions as may be required by law in the case of contracts
for public work, and as may be required by resolution of the board. All works
shall be done under the direction and to the satisfaction of the engineer of
the district, and be approved by the board.)) Except as provided in
subsections (2) and (3) of this section and RCW 87.03.436, whenever in the
construction of the district canal or canals, or other works, or the furnishing
of materials therefor, the board of directors shall determine to let a contract
or contracts for the doing of the work or the furnishing of the materials, a
notice calling for sealed proposals shall be published. The notice shall be
published in a newspaper in the county in which the office of the board is
situated, and in any other newspaper which may be designated by the board, and
for such length of time, not less than once each week for two weeks, as may be
fixed by the board. At the time and place appointed in the notice for the
opening of bids, the sealed proposals shall be opened in public, and as soon as
convenient thereafter, the board shall let the work or the contract for the
purchase of materials, either in portions or as a whole, to the lowest
responsible bidder, or the board may reject any or all bids and readvertise, or
may proceed to construct the work under its own superintendence. All work
shall be done under the direction and to the satisfaction of the engineer of
the district, and be approved by the board. The board of directors may require
bidders submitting bids for the construction or maintenance for any of the
works of the district, or for the furnishing of labor or material, to accompany
their bids by a deposit in cash, certified check, cashier's check, or surety
bond in an amount equal to five percent of the amount of the bid and a bid
shall not be considered unless the deposit is enclosed with it. If the
contract is let, then all the bid deposits shall be returned to the
unsuccessful bidders. The bid deposit of the successful bidder shall be
retained until a contract is entered into for the purchase of the materials or
doing of such work, and a bond given to the district in accordance with chapter
39.08 RCW for the performance of the contract. The performance bond shall be
conditioned as may be required by law and as may be required by resolution of
the board, with good and sufficient sureties satisfactory to the board, payable
to the district for its use, for at least twenty-five percent of the contract
price. If the successful bidder fails to enter into a contract and furnish the
necessary bond within twenty days from the award, exclusive of the day of the
award, the bid deposit shall be forfeited to the district and the contract may
then be awarded to the second lowest bidder.
(2)
The provisions of this section in regard to public bidding shall not apply in
cases where the board is authorized to exchange bonds of the district in
payment for labor and material.
(3)
The provisions of this section do not apply:
(a)
In the case of any contract between the district and the United States;
(b)
In the case of an emergency when the public interest or property of the
district would suffer material injury or damage by delay, upon resolution of
the board of directors or proclamation of an official designated by the board
to act for the board during such emergencies. The resolution or proclamation
shall declare the existence of the emergency and recite the facts constituting
the emergency; or
(c)
To purchases which are clearly and legitimately limited to a single source of
supply or to purchases involving special facilities, services, or market
conditions, in which instances the purchase price may be best established by
direct negotiation.
*Sec.
4.
RCW 87.03.560 and 1889-90 p 694 s 48 are each amended to read as follows:
The
holder or holders of title, or evidence of title, representing one-half or more
of any body of lands ((adjacent to the boundary of an irrigation district,
which are contiguous and which, taken together, constitute one tract of land,))
may file with the board of directors of ((said)) an irrigation
district a petition in writing, praying that the boundaries of ((said)) the
district may be so changed as to include ((therein said)) such
lands. The petition shall describe the boundaries of ((said)) the
parcel or tract of land, and shall also describe the boundaries of the several
parcels owned by the petitioners, if the petitioners be the owners respectively
of distinct parcels, but such descriptions need not be more particular than
they are required to be when such lands are entered by the county assessor in
the assessment book. Such petition must contain the assent of the petitioners
to the inclusion within ((said)) the district of the parcels or
tracts of land described in the petition, and of which ((said)) the
petition alleges they are respectively the owners; and it must be acknowledged
in the same manner that conveyances of land are required to be acknowledged.
*Sec. 4 was vetoed. See message at end of chapter.
Note:
Governor's explanation of partial veto is as follows:
"I
am returning herewith, without my approval as to section 4, Substitute House
Bill No. 1729 entitled:
"AN ACT Relating to the administration of
irrigation districts;"
Substitute House Bill No.
1729 makes several technical amendments and up-dates to the laws governing
irrigation districts. Section 4 of the bill, however would be a substantial
change in state water policy. That section would allow irrigation districts to
add lands that are not contiguous with the district's boundaries. Such a
change could allow irrigation districts to pipe water to isolated parcels of
land substantial distances from their primary locations, and could result in
"water spreading" and unanticipated expansion of the districts' water
rights. Changes such as this should not be dealt with in a piecemeal fashion,
but in context with the numerous other factors that must be considered in
allocating the state's limited water supply.
For these reasons, I have
vetoed section 4 of Substitute House Bill No. 1729.
With
the exception of section 4, I am approving Substitute House Bill No.
1729."
