FINAL BILL REPORT

                 SHB 1848

                         C 306 L 99

                     Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description:  Clarifying the authority of port districts.

Sponsors:  By House Committee on Local Government (Originally sponsored by Representatives Grant, Mastin and Dunn).

  House Committee on Local Government

Senate Committee on State & Local Government

Background:

Port District Powers.  Port districts are authorized to acquire, construct, maintain, operate, develop and regulate harbor improvements, rail or motor vehicle transfer and terminal facilities, water and air transfer and terminal facilities, or any combination of these facilities within the district.  A port district may also, through its commission, spend money and conduct promotions of resources and facilities within the district or general area through advertising, publicizing, or marketing.

Port District Interlocal Cooperation Agreements.  Port districts may jointly exercise powers with any other port district to jointly acquire lands, property, property rights, leases, or easements necessary for port district purposes, either within or without the county(s) where the districts are located.  A district may also enter into a contract with the United States or any state, county, or municipal corporation for carrying out any agreed duties.

The Washington Constitution expressly states that the use of public funds by port districts for industrial development or trade promotion is deemed a public use for a public purpose.

Summary:

Port districts located in a county with contiguous borders with another state and a population between 50,000 and 70,000 are authorized to exercise industrial development or trade promotion powers outside district or state boundaries or joint authority with another port district or in cooperation with other public agencies through an interlocal cooperation agreement.

This authority may be exercised only after a notice of public hearing has been published at least 10 days in advance in a newspaper within the district, and pursuant to findings and a resolution of the port district commissioners.  The finding must state that:

$the district's participation will substantially benefit the district and the state; and

$the district's share of the cost will not exceed an amount calculated by dividing the total cost of the undertaking by the number of participants.

Votes on Final Passage:

House  96 0

Senate 48 1 (Senate amended)

House  92 5 (House concurred)

Effective: July 25, 1999