FINAL BILL REPORT

                  HB 1413

                         C 102 L 99

                     Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description:  Staggering the terms of the members of the Washington citizens' commission on salaries for elected officials.

Sponsors:  Representatives McMorris, Romero, Dunshee, Campbell, Haigh, D. Schmidt, Miloscia and Lambert; by request of Washington Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials.

House Committee on State Government

Senate Committee on State & Local Government

Background:

State voters approved Amendment 78 to the state constitution in 1986, providing for an independent commission to set salaries for members of the Legislature, elected officials of the executive branch of state government, and judges of the supreme court, court of appeals, superior courts, and district courts.  After the initial enactment of legislation establishing this independent salary commission, any amendment altering the composition of that commission must be approved by the favorable vote of two-thirds of the members elected to each house of the Legislature.

Legislation creating the Washington Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials provides for a 16-member commission composed of one registered voter from each of the nine congressional districts in the state, each of whom is selected at random, and seven members with personnel management experience selected jointly by the speaker of the House of Representatives and president of the Senate.  Of the persons selected by the speaker and president, one member must be selected from each of the following five sectors: private institutions of higher education; business; professional management; legal profession; and organized labor.  In addition, one member selected by the speaker and president must be a person recommended by the chair of the Washington Personnel Resources Board, and another person must be recommended by majority vote of the presidents of the state's four-year institutions of higher education.  The names of all 16 persons who are so selected are forwarded to the Governor, who appoints these persons to the commission.

All 16 members serve four year terms of office, with each term ending at the same time.

Summary:

The terms of members of the state salary commission are staggered so that every two years eight terms expire.  This staggering is accomplished by terminating the terms of members who were appointed in 1999, effective July 1, 2002.  New commission members are appointed by the Governor using the existing appointment process, and the Governor by lot selects four of the nine registered voters who are selected at random, and four of the appointees who were selected by the speaker of the House of Representatives and president of the Senate, to serve four-year terms.  The other eight appointees serve two-year terms.  Thereafter appointments are for four-year terms.

The names of persons who are selected using this process are forwarded to the Governor by no later than July 1 every two years.

Votes on Final Passage:

House970

Senate480

Effective:July 25, 1999