BILL REQ. #:  S-1738.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/21/03.   

     AN ACT Relating to creating eastern and western Washington water commissioners; amending RCW 29.15.030, 29.21.070, 29.30.020, 29.30.085, 29.81.220, 42.17.020, 43.01.010, 43.01.020, 43.03.010, and 43.17.320; and adding a new chapter to Title 90 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that there is a critical need to provide for two regional elective officers, an eastern Washington water commissioner and a western Washington water commissioner, to administer Washington's water resource laws.
     The legislature further finds that there is a growing necessity to provide for the increasing needs of the state and its citizens for water for industrial, agricultural, residential, social, economic, recreational, environmental, and other needs and to plan, coordinate, restore, and regulate the use of our water resources.
     The offices of eastern Washington water commissioner and western Washington water commissioner created by this chapter must initially be funded entirely from appropriations made to the department of ecology for carrying out the powers, functions, and duties that are transferred to the commissioners pursuant to section 5 of this act.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Commissioners" means the eastern Washington water commissioner and the western Washington water commissioner, or, when used in the singular, either the eastern Washington water commissioner or the western Washington water commissioner.
     (2) "Public interest" means all uses of the water resources of the state and its impact on the state of Washington and its citizens, including use of water for domestic, industrial, commercial, agricultural, irrigation, hydroelectric power production, mining, thermal power production, recreation, and preservation of environmental values and all other uses compatible with enjoyment of the public waters of the state.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   There are created two offices of state government to be known as the eastern Washington water commissioner and the western Washington water commissioner. Each commissioner has the following powers, duties, and functions concerning water resources within the region that the commissioner serves:
     (1) Supervising public waters and their appropriation, diversion, and use, and the various officers and employees of the state connected therewith;
     (2) Supervising the construction and inspection of all water works to reasonably secure safety to life and property;
     (3) Determining the discharge of streams and springs and other sources of water supply, and the capacities of lakes and of reservoirs whose waters are being or may be utilized for beneficial purposes;
     (4) Providing assistance to applicants for a water right in obtaining or developing an adequate and appropriate supply of water consistent with the land use permitted for the area in which the water is to be used and the population forecast for the area under RCW 43.62.035;
     (5) Maintaining records necessary for the recording of financial transactions and related statistical data;
     (6) Making written reports of their work to the governor and the legislature with recommendations for legislation the commissioners deem advisable;
     (7) Exercising all the powers and duties prescribed by law with respect to flood control;
     (8) Adopting rules for the administration of Washington water resource laws;
     (9) Supervising Washington water resource laws to ensure that the administration of the laws and the use and conservation of water resources benefits the public interest; and
     (10) Performing other duties as may be prescribed by law.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   (1) Each commissioner created in section 3 of this act must be a registered voter and resident of the region that the commissioner serves. Each commissioner must be elected at the time and in the manner that other state officers are elected.
     (2) The eastern Washington water commissioner must be elected from and serve that region of the state encompassing Adams, Asotin, Benton, Chelan, Columbia, Douglas, Ferry, Franklin, Garfield, Grant, Kittitas, Klickitat, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Stevens, Walla Walla, Whitman, and Yakima Counties.
     (3) The western Washington water commissioner must be elected from and serve that region of the state encompassing Clallam, Clark, Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Island, Jefferson, King, Kitsap, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Pierce, San Juan, Skagit, Skamania, Snohomish, Thurston, Wahkiakum, and Whatcom Counties.
     (4) Each commissioner shall serve four-year terms commencing on the Wednesday after the second Monday of January following their election.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   (1) All powers, duties, and functions of the department of ecology pertaining to those powers and duties set out in section 3 of this act are transferred to the eastern Washington water commissioner and western Washington water commissioner. All references to the director or the department of ecology in the Revised Code of Washington shall be construed to mean the commissioners when referring to the functions transferred in this section.
     (2)(a) All reports, documents, surveys, books, records, files, papers, or written material in the possession of the department of ecology pertaining to the powers, functions, and duties transferred shall be delivered to the custody of the commissioners. All cabinets, furniture, office equipment, motor vehicles, and other tangible property employed by the department of ecology in carrying out the powers, functions, and duties transferred shall be made available to the commissioners. All funds, credits, or other assets held in connection with the powers, functions, and duties transferred shall be assigned to the commissioners.
     (b) Any appropriations made to the department of ecology for carrying out the powers, functions, and duties transferred shall, on the effective date of this section, be transferred and credited to the commissioners.
     (c) Whenever any question arises as to the transfer of any personnel, funds, books, documents, records, papers, files, equipment, or other tangible property used or held in the exercise of the powers and the performance of the duties and functions transferred, the director of financial management shall make a determination as to the proper allocation and certify the same to the state agencies concerned.
     (3) All employees of the department of ecology engaged in performing the powers, functions, and duties transferred are transferred to the jurisdiction of the commissioners. All employees classified under chapter 41.06 RCW, the state civil service law, are assigned to the commissioners to perform their usual duties upon the same terms as formerly, without any loss of rights, subject to any action that may be appropriate thereafter in accordance with the laws and rules governing state civil service.
     (4) All rules and all pending business before the department of ecology pertaining to the powers, functions, and duties transferred shall be continued and acted upon by the commissioners. All existing contracts and obligations shall remain in full force and shall be performed by the commissioners.
     (5) The transfer of the powers, duties, functions, and personnel of the department of ecology shall not affect the validity of any act performed before the effective date of this section.
     (6) If apportionments of budgeted funds are required because of the transfers directed by this section, the director of financial management shall certify the apportionments to the agencies affected, the state auditor, and the state treasurer. Each of these shall make the appropriate transfer and adjustments in funds and appropriation accounts and equipment records in accordance with the certification.
     (7) Nothing contained in this section may be construed to alter any existing collective bargaining unit or the provisions of any existing collective bargaining agreement until the agreement has expired or until the bargaining unit has been modified by action of the personnel resources board as provided by law.

Sec. 6   RCW 29.15.030 and 2002 c 140 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     Declarations of candidacy shall be filed with the following filing officers:
     (1) The secretary of state for declarations of candidacy for statewide offices, United States senate, and United States house of representatives;
     (2) The secretary of state for declarations of candidacy for eastern Washington water commissioner, western Washington water commissioner, the state legislature, the court of appeals, and the superior court when voters from a district comprising more than one county vote upon the candidates;
     (3) The county auditor for all other offices. For any nonpartisan office, other than eastern Washington water commissioner, western Washington water commissioner, judicial offices, and school director in joint districts, where voters from a district comprising more than one county vote upon the candidates, a declaration of candidacy shall be filed with the county auditor of the county in which a majority of the registered voters of the district reside. For school directors in joint school districts, the declaration of candidacy shall be filed with the county auditor of the county designated by the state board of education as the county to which the joint school district is considered as belonging under RCW 28A.323.040.
     Each official with whom declarations of candidacy are filed under this section, within one business day following the closing of the applicable filing period, shall transmit to the public disclosure commission the information required in RCW 29.15.010 (1) through (4) for each declaration of candidacy filed in his or her office during such filing period or a list containing the name of each candidate who files such a declaration in his or her office during such filing period together with a precise identification of the position sought by each such candidate and the date on which each such declaration was filed. Such official, within three days following his or her receipt of any letter withdrawing a person's name as a candidate, shall also forward a copy of such withdrawal letter to the public disclosure commission.

Sec. 7   RCW 29.21.070 and 1990 c 59 s 91 are each amended to read as follows:
     The offices of superintendent of public instruction, eastern Washington water commissioner, western Washington water commissioner, justice of the supreme court, judge of the court of appeals, judge of the superior court, and judge of the district court shall be nonpartisan and the candidates therefor shall be nominated and elected as such.
     All city, town, and special purpose district elective offices shall be nonpartisan and the candidates therefor shall be nominated and elected as such.

Sec. 8   RCW 29.30.020 and 2001 c 30 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The positions or offices on a primary ballot shall be arranged in substantially the following order: United States senator; United States representative; governor; lieutenant governor; secretary of state; state treasurer; state auditor; attorney general; commissioner of public lands; superintendent of public instruction; insurance commissioner; eastern Washington water commissioner, western Washington water commissioner; state senator; state representative; county officers; justices of the supreme court; judges of the court of appeals; judges of the superior court; and judges of the district court. For all other jurisdictions on the primary ballot, the offices in each jurisdiction shall be grouped together and be in the order of the position numbers assigned to those offices, if any.
     (2) The order of the positions or offices on an election ballot shall be substantially the same as on a primary ballot except that the offices of president and vice president of the United States shall precede all other offices on a presidential election ballot. State ballot issues shall be placed before all offices on an election ballot. The positions on a ballot to be assigned to ballot measures regarding local units of government shall be established by the secretary of state by rule.
     (3) The political party or independent candidacy of each candidate for partisan office shall be indicated next to the name of the candidate on the primary and election ballot. A candidate shall file a written notice with the filing officer within three business days after the close of the filing period designating the political party to be indicated next to the candidate's name on the ballot if either: (a) The candidate has been nominated by two or more minor political parties or independent conventions; or (b) the candidate has both filed a declaration of candidacy declaring an affiliation with a major political party and been nominated by a minor political party or independent convention. If no written notice is filed the filing officer shall give effect to the party designation shown upon the first document filed. A candidate may be deemed nominated by a minor party or independent convention only if all documentation required by chapter 29.24 RCW has been timely filed.

Sec. 9   RCW 29.30.085 and 1992 c 181 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except as provided in RCW 29.30.086 and in subsection (2) of this section, on the ballot at the general election for a nonpartisan office for which a primary was held, only the names of the candidate who received the greatest number of votes and the candidate who received the next greatest number of votes for that office shall appear under the title of that office, and the names shall appear in that order. If a primary was conducted, no candidate's name may be printed on the subsequent general election ballot unless he or she receives at least one percent of the total votes cast for that office at the preceding primary. On the ballot at the general election for any other nonpartisan office for which no primary was held, the names of the candidates shall be listed in the order determined under RCW 29.30.025.
     (2) On the ballot at the general election for the office of justice of the supreme court, judge of the court of appeals, judge of the superior court, ((or)) state superintendent of public instruction, eastern Washington water commissioner, or western Washington water commissioner, if a candidate in a contested primary receives a majority of all the votes cast for that office or position, only the name of that candidate may be printed under the title of the office for that position.

Sec. 10   RCW 29.81.220 and 1999 c 260 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     The voters' pamphlet must contain:
     (1) Information about each ballot measure initiated by or referred to the voters for their approval or rejection as required by RCW 29.81.250;
     (2) In even-numbered years, statements, if submitted, advocating the candidacies of nominees for the office of president and vice-president of the United States, United States senator, United States representative, governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, state auditor, attorney general, commissioner of public lands, superintendent of public instruction, insurance commissioner, eastern Washington water commissioner, western Washington water commissioner, state senator, state representative, justice of the supreme court, judge of the court of appeals, or judge of the superior court. Candidates may also submit a campaign mailing address and telephone number and a photograph not more than five years old and of a size and quality that the secretary of state determines to be suitable for reproduction in the voters' pamphlet;
     (3) In odd-numbered years, if any office voted upon statewide appears on the ballot due to a vacancy, then statements and photographs for candidates for any vacant office listed in subsection (2) of this section must appear;
     (4) In even-numbered years, a section explaining how voters may participate in the election campaign process; the address and telephone number of the public disclosure commission established under RCW 42.17.350; and a summary of the disclosure requirements that apply when contributions are made to candidates and political committees;
     (5) In even-numbered years the name, address, and telephone number of each political party with nominees listed in the pamphlet, if filed with the secretary of state by the state committee of a major political party or the presiding officer of the convention of a minor political party;
     (6) In each odd-numbered year immediately before a year in which a president of the United States is to be nominated and elected, information explaining the precinct caucus and convention process used by each major political party to elect delegates to its national presidential candidate nominating convention. The pamphlet must also provide a description of the statutory procedures by which minor political parties are formed and the statutory methods used by the parties to nominate candidates for president;
     (7) In even-numbered years, a description of the office of precinct committee officer and its duties;
     (8) An application form for an absentee ballot;
     (9) A brief statement explaining the deletion and addition of language for proposed measures under RCW 29.81.260;
     (10) Any additional information pertaining to elections as may be required by law or in the judgment of the secretary of state is deemed informative to the voters.

Sec. 11   RCW 42.17.020 and 2002 c 75 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) "Agency" includes all state agencies and all local agencies. "State agency" includes every state office, department, division, bureau, board, commission, or other state agency. "Local agency" includes every county, city, town, municipal corporation, quasi-municipal corporation, or special purpose district, or any office, department, division, bureau, board, commission, or agency thereof, or other local public agency.
     (2) "Authorized committee" means the political committee authorized by a candidate, or by the public official against whom recall charges have been filed, to accept contributions or make expenditures on behalf of the candidate or public official.
     (3) "Ballot proposition" means any "measure" as defined by RCW 29.01.110, or any initiative, recall, or referendum proposition proposed to be submitted to the voters of the state or any municipal corporation, political subdivision, or other voting constituency from and after the time when the proposition has been initially filed with the appropriate election officer of that constituency prior to its circulation for signatures.
     (4) "Benefit" means a commercial, proprietary, financial, economic, or monetary advantage, or the avoidance of a commercial, proprietary, financial, economic, or monetary disadvantage.
     (5) "Bona fide political party" means:
     (a) An organization that has filed a valid certificate of nomination with the secretary of state under chapter 29.24 RCW;
     (b) The governing body of the state organization of a major political party, as defined in RCW 29.01.090, that is the body authorized by the charter or bylaws of the party to exercise authority on behalf of the state party; or
     (c) The county central committee or legislative district committee of a major political party. There may be only one legislative district committee for each party in each legislative district.
     (6) "Depository" means a bank designated by a candidate or political committee pursuant to RCW 42.17.050.
     (7) "Treasurer" and "deputy treasurer" mean the individuals appointed by a candidate or political committee, pursuant to RCW 42.17.050, to perform the duties specified in that section.
     (8) "Candidate" means any individual who seeks nomination for election or election to public office. An individual seeks nomination or election when he or she first:
     (a) Receives contributions or makes expenditures or reserves space or facilities with intent to promote his or her candidacy for office;
     (b) Announces publicly or files for office;
     (c) Purchases commercial advertising space or broadcast time to promote his or her candidacy; or
     (d) Gives his or her consent to another person to take on behalf of the individual any of the actions in (a) or (c) of this subsection.
     (9) "Caucus political committee" means a political committee organized and maintained by the members of a major political party in the state senate or state house of representatives.
     (10) "Commercial advertiser" means any person who sells the service of communicating messages or producing printed material for broadcast or distribution to the general public or segments of the general public whether through the use of newspapers, magazines, television and radio stations, billboard companies, direct mail advertising companies, printing companies, or otherwise.
     (11) "Commission" means the agency established under RCW 42.17.350.
     (12) "Compensation" unless the context requires a narrower meaning, includes payment in any form for real or personal property or services of any kind: PROVIDED, That for the purpose of compliance with RCW 42.17.241, the term "compensation" shall not include per diem allowances or other payments made by a governmental entity to reimburse a public official for expenses incurred while the official is engaged in the official business of the governmental entity.
     (13) "Continuing political committee" means a political committee that is an organization of continuing existence not established in anticipation of any particular election campaign.
     (14)(a) "Contribution" includes:
     (i) A loan, gift, deposit, subscription, forgiveness of indebtedness, donation, advance, pledge, payment, transfer of funds between political committees, or anything of value, including personal and professional services for less than full consideration;
     (ii) An expenditure made by a person in cooperation, consultation, or concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, a candidate, a political committee, or their agents;
     (iii) The financing by a person of the dissemination, distribution, or republication, in whole or in part, of broadcast, written, graphic, or other form of political advertising prepared by a candidate, a political committee, or its authorized agent;
     (iv) Sums paid for tickets to fund-raising events such as dinners and parties, except for the actual cost of the consumables furnished at the event.
     (b) "Contribution" does not include:
     (i) Standard interest on money deposited in a political committee's account;
     (ii) Ordinary home hospitality;
     (iii) A contribution received by a candidate or political committee that is returned to the contributor within five business days of the date on which it is received by the candidate or political committee;
     (iv) A news item, feature, commentary, or editorial in a regularly scheduled news medium that is of primary interest to the general public, that is in a news medium controlled by a person whose business is that news medium, and that is not controlled by a candidate or a political committee;
     (v) An internal political communication primarily limited to the members of or contributors to a political party organization or political committee, or to the officers, management staff, or stockholders of a corporation or similar enterprise, or to the members of a labor organization or other membership organization;
     (vi) The rendering of personal services of the sort commonly performed by volunteer campaign workers, or incidental expenses personally incurred by volunteer campaign workers not in excess of fifty dollars personally paid for by the worker. "Volunteer services," for the purposes of this section, means services or labor for which the individual is not compensated by any person;
     (vii) Messages in the form of reader boards, banners, or yard or window signs displayed on a person's own property or property occupied by a person. However, a facility used for such political advertising for which a rental charge is normally made must be reported as an in-kind contribution and counts towards any applicable contribution limit of the person providing the facility;
     (viii) Legal or accounting services rendered to or on behalf of:
     (A) A political party or caucus political committee if the person paying for the services is the regular employer of the person rendering such services; or
     (B) A candidate or an authorized committee if the person paying for the services is the regular employer of the individual rendering the services and if the services are solely for the purpose of ensuring compliance with state election or public disclosure laws.
     (c) Contributions other than money or its equivalent are deemed to have a monetary value equivalent to the fair market value of the contribution. Services or property or rights furnished at less than their fair market value for the purpose of assisting any candidate or political committee are deemed a contribution. Such a contribution must be reported as an in-kind contribution at its fair market value and counts towards any applicable contribution limit of the provider.
     (15) "Elected official" means any person elected at a general or special election to any public office, and any person appointed to fill a vacancy in any such office.
     (16) "Election" includes any primary, general, or special election for public office and any election in which a ballot proposition is submitted to the voters: PROVIDED, That an election in which the qualifications for voting include other than those requirements set forth in Article VI, section 1 (Amendment 63) of the Constitution of the state of Washington shall not be considered an election for purposes of this chapter.
     (17) "Election campaign" means any campaign in support of or in opposition to a candidate for election to public office and any campaign in support of, or in opposition to, a ballot proposition.
     (18) "Election cycle" means the period beginning on the first day of December after the date of the last previous general election for the office that the candidate seeks and ending on November 30th after the next election for the office. In the case of a special election to fill a vacancy in an office, "election cycle" means the period beginning on the day the vacancy occurs and ending on November 30th after the special election.
     (19) "Expenditure" includes a payment, contribution, subscription, distribution, loan, advance, deposit, or gift of money or anything of value, and includes a contract, promise, or agreement, whether or not legally enforceable, to make an expenditure. The term "expenditure" also includes a promise to pay, a payment, or a transfer of anything of value in exchange for goods, services, property, facilities, or anything of value for the purpose of assisting, benefiting, or honoring any public official or candidate, or assisting in furthering or opposing any election campaign. For the purposes of this chapter, agreements to make expenditures, contracts, and promises to pay may be reported as estimated obligations until actual payment is made. The term "expenditure" shall not include the partial or complete repayment by a candidate or political committee of the principal of a loan, the receipt of which loan has been properly reported.
     (20) "Final report" means the report described as a final report in RCW 42.17.080(2).
     (21) "General election" for the purposes of RCW 42.17.640 means the election that results in the election of a person to a state office. It does not include a primary.
     (22) "Gift," is as defined in RCW 42.52.010.
     (23) "Immediate family" includes the spouse, dependent children, and other dependent relatives, if living in the household. For the purposes of RCW 42.17.640 through 42.17.790, "immediate family" means an individual's spouse, and child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, brother, half brother, sister, or half sister of the individual and the spouse of any such person and a child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, brother, half brother, sister, or half sister of the individual's spouse and the spouse of any such person.
     (24) "Independent expenditure" means an expenditure that has each of the following elements:
     (a) It is made in support of or in opposition to a candidate for office by a person who is not (i) a candidate for that office, (ii) an authorized committee of that candidate for that office, (iii) a person who has received the candidate's encouragement or approval to make the expenditure, if the expenditure pays in whole or in part for political advertising supporting that candidate or promoting the defeat of any other candidate or candidates for that office, or (iv) a person with whom the candidate has collaborated for the purpose of making the expenditure, if the expenditure pays in whole or in part for political advertising supporting that candidate or promoting the defeat of any other candidate or candidates for that office;
     (b) The expenditure pays in whole or in part for political advertising that either specifically names the candidate supported or opposed, or clearly and beyond any doubt identifies the candidate without using the candidate's name; and
     (c) The expenditure, alone or in conjunction with another expenditure or other expenditures of the same person in support of or opposition to that candidate, has a value of five hundred dollars or more. A series of expenditures, each of which is under five hundred dollars, constitutes one independent expenditure if their cumulative value is five hundred dollars or more.
     (25)(a) "Intermediary" means an individual who transmits a contribution to a candidate or committee from another person unless the contribution is from the individual's employer, immediate family as defined for purposes of RCW 42.17.640 through 42.17.790, or an association to which the individual belongs.
     (b) A treasurer or a candidate is not an intermediary for purposes of the committee that the treasurer or candidate serves.
     (c) A professional fund-raiser is not an intermediary if the fund-raiser is compensated for fund-raising services at the usual and customary rate.
     (d) A volunteer hosting a fund-raising event at the individual's home is not an intermediary for purposes of that event.
     (26) "Legislation" means bills, resolutions, motions, amendments, nominations, and other matters pending or proposed in either house of the state legislature, and includes any other matter that may be the subject of action by either house or any committee of the legislature and all bills and resolutions that, having passed both houses, are pending approval by the governor.
     (27) "Lobby" and "lobbying" each mean attempting to influence the passage or defeat of any legislation by the legislature of the state of Washington, or the adoption or rejection of any rule, standard, rate, or other legislative enactment of any state agency under the state Administrative Procedure Act, chapter 34.05 RCW. Neither "lobby" nor "lobbying" includes an association's or other organization's act of communicating with the members of that association or organization.
     (28) "Lobbyist" includes any person who lobbies either in his or her own or another's behalf.
     (29) "Lobbyist's employer" means the person or persons by whom a lobbyist is employed and all persons by whom he or she is compensated for acting as a lobbyist.
     (30) "Person" includes an individual, partnership, joint venture, public or private corporation, association, federal, state, or local governmental entity or agency however constituted, candidate, committee, political committee, political party, executive committee thereof, or any other organization or group of persons, however organized.
     (31) "Person in interest" means the person who is the subject of a record or any representative designated by that person, except that if that person is under a legal disability, the term "person in interest" means and includes the parent or duly appointed legal representative.
     (32) "Political advertising" includes any advertising displays, newspaper ads, billboards, signs, brochures, articles, tabloids, flyers, letters, radio or television presentations, or other means of mass communication, used for the purpose of appealing, directly or indirectly, for votes or for financial or other support in any election campaign.
     (33) "Political committee" means any person (except a candidate or an individual dealing with his or her own funds or property) having the expectation of receiving contributions or making expenditures in support of, or opposition to, any candidate or any ballot proposition.
     (34) "Primary" for the purposes of RCW 42.17.640 means the procedure for nominating a candidate to state office under chapter 29.18 or 29.21 RCW or any other primary for an election that uses, in large measure, the procedures established in chapter 29.18 or 29.21 RCW.
     (35) "Public office" means any federal, state, county, city, town, school district, port district, special district, or other state political subdivision elective office.
     (36) "Public record" includes any writing containing information relating to the conduct of government or the performance of any governmental or proprietary function prepared, owned, used, or retained by any state or local agency regardless of physical form or characteristics. For the office of the secretary of the senate and the office of the chief clerk of the house of representatives, public records means legislative records as defined in RCW 40.14.100 and also means the following: All budget and financial records; personnel leave, travel, and payroll records; records of legislative sessions; reports submitted to the legislature; and any other record designated a public record by any official action of the senate or the house of representatives.
     (37) "Recall campaign" means the period of time beginning on the date of the filing of recall charges under RCW 29.82.015 and ending thirty days after the recall election.
     (38) "State legislative office" means the office of a member of the state house of representatives or the office of a member of the state senate.
     (39) "State office" means state legislative office or the office of governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, commissioner of public lands, insurance commissioner, superintendent of public instruction, state auditor, ((or)) state treasurer, eastern Washington water commissioner, or western Washington water commissioner.
     (40) "State official" means a person who holds a state office.
     (41) "Surplus funds" mean, in the case of a political committee or candidate, the balance of contributions that remain in the possession or control of that committee or candidate subsequent to the election for which the contributions were received, and that are in excess of the amount necessary to pay remaining debts incurred by the committee or candidate prior to that election. In the case of a continuing political committee, "surplus funds" mean those contributions remaining in the possession or control of the committee that are in excess of the amount necessary to pay all remaining debts when it makes its final report under RCW 42.17.065.
     (42) "Writing" means handwriting, typewriting, printing, photostating, photographing, and every other means of recording any form of communication or representation, including, but not limited to, letters, words, pictures, sounds, or symbols, or combination thereof, and all papers, maps, magnetic or paper tapes, photographic films and prints, motion picture, film and video recordings, magnetic or punched cards, discs, drums, diskettes, sound recordings, and other documents including existing data compilations from which information may be obtained or translated.
     As used in this chapter, the singular shall take the plural and any gender, the other, as the context requires.

Sec. 12   RCW 43.01.010 and 1965 c 8 s 43.01.010 are each amended to read as follows:
     The governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, attorney general, superintendent of public instruction, commissioner of public lands, ((and)) insurance commissioner, eastern Washington water commissioner, and western Washington water commissioner, shall hold office for the term of four years, and until their successors are elected and qualified; and the term shall commence on the Wednesday after the second Monday of January following their election.

Sec. 13   RCW 43.01.020 and 1965 c 8 s 43.01.020 are each amended to read as follows:
     The governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, attorney general, superintendent of public instruction, commissioner of public lands, ((and)) insurance commissioner, eastern Washington water commissioner, and western Washington water commissioner, shall, before entering upon the duties of their respective offices, take and subscribe an oath or affirmation in substance as follows: I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution and laws of the state of Washington, and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of (name of office) to the best of my ability.
     The oath or affirmation shall be administered by one of the justices of the supreme court at the capitol. A certificate shall be affixed thereto by the person administering the oath, and the oath or affirmation so certified shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state before the officer shall be qualified to discharge any official duties: PROVIDED, That the oath of the secretary of state shall be filed in the office of the state auditor.

Sec. 14   RCW 43.03.010 and 1989 c 10 s 8 are each amended to read as follows:
     The annual salaries of the following named state elected officials shall be prescribed by the Washington citizens' commission on salaries for elected officials: Governor; lieutenant governor: PROVIDED, That in arriving at the annual salary of the lieutenant governor the commission shall prescribe a fixed amount plus a sum equal to 1/260th of the difference between the annual salary of the lieutenant governor and the annual salary of the governor for each day that the lieutenant governor is called upon to perform the duties of the governor by reason of the absence from the state, removal, resignation, death, or disability of the governor; secretary of state; state treasurer; state auditor; attorney general; superintendent of public instruction; commissioner of public lands; ((and)) state insurance commissioner; eastern Washington water commissioner, and western Washington water commissioner. Members of the legislature shall receive for their service per annum the amount prescribed by the Washington citizens' commission on salaries for elected officials; and in addition, reimbursement for mileage for travel to and from legislative sessions as provided in RCW 43.03.060.

Sec. 15   RCW 43.17.320 and 1993 c 279 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     For purposes of RCW 43.17.320 through 43.17.340, "state agency" means:
     (1) Any agency for which the executive officer is listed in RCW 42.17.2401(1); and
     (2) The office of the secretary of state; the office of the state treasurer; the office of the state auditor; the department of natural resources; the office of the insurance commissioner; ((and)) the office of the superintendent of public instruction; and the offices of the eastern Washington water commissioner and the western Washington water commissioner.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 16   Sections 1 through 5 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 90 RCW.