S-1092.1  _______________________________________________

                         SENATE BILL 5788

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      56th Legislature     1999 Regular Session

By Senators Rasmussen, Hochstatter, Haugen, Patterson, Eide, Zarelli, Goings, Bauer and Brown

Read first time 02/08/1999.  Referred to Committee on Education.

Authorizing special elections to determine school district boundaries in areas with master planned communities.

    AN ACT Relating to school district organization; amending RCW 28A.315.020; and adding a new section to chapter 28A.315 RCW.

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

    Sec. 1.  RCW 28A.315.020 and 1990 c 33 s 293 are each amended to read as follows:

    As used in this chapter:

    (1) "Change in the organization and extent of school districts" means the formation and establishment of new school districts, the dissolution of existing school districts, the alteration of the boundaries of existing school districts, or all of them.

    (2) "Regional committee" means the regional committee on school district organization created by this chapter.

    (3) "State board" means the state board of education.

    (4) "School district" means the territory under the jurisdiction of a single governing board designated and referred to as the board of directors.

    (5) "Educational service district superintendent" means the educational service district superintendent as provided for in RCW 28A.310.170 or his or her designee.

(6) "Master planned community" means a development that was or is to be developed after January 1, 1985, pursuant to an integrated commercial and residential development plan with over one thousand five hundred dwelling units.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 28A.315 RCW to read as follows:

    (1) The governing body of a city, town, or county that includes a master planned community, and where the master planned community is served by two school districts, may call for a special election to be held.  No person is entitled to vote at such election unless that person is a qualified voter under the laws in effect at the time of the election and has resided within the master planned community for at least thirty days preceding the date of the election.

    (2) The special election shall be held on a special election date specified under RCW 29.13.020.

    (3) The ballot proposition shall be in substantially the following form:

"TRANSFER OF TERRITORY(IES) WITHIN A MASTER PLANNED COMMUNITY

Shall the territory(ies) described below and located within . . . . . . Master Planned Community be transferred from . . . . . . School District No. . . .  to . . . . . . School District No. . . .?

(Provide description(s) of territory(ies) at issue)

9 YES              9 NO"

    (4) If the ballot proposition is approved by a majority of at least three-fifths of the voters voting in the election, the territory shall be transferred from one school district to the other school district named in the ballot proposition.

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