BILL REQ. #:  H-1033.1 

Read first time 01/24/2007.   Referred to Committee on Local Government.

     BE IT RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON, IN LEGISLATIVE SESSION ASSEMBLED:
     THAT, At the next general election to be held in this state the secretary of state shall submit to the qualified voters of the state for their approval and ratification, or rejection, an amendment to Article XI, section 5 of the Constitution of the state of Washington to read as follows:

     Article XI, section 5. (1) The legislature, by general and uniform laws, shall provide for the election in the several counties of boards of county commissioners, sheriffs, county clerks, treasurers, prosecuting attorneys, and other county, township, or precinct and district officers, as public convenience may require, and shall prescribe their duties, and fix their terms of office: Provided, That the legislature may, by general laws, classify the counties by population and provide for the election in certain classes of counties certain officers who shall exercise the powers and perform the duties of two or more officers. It shall regulate the compensation of all such officers, in proportion to their duties, and for that purpose may classify the counties by population: Provided, That it may delegate to the legislative authority of the counties the right to prescribe the salaries of its own members and the salaries of other county officers. And it shall provide for the strict accountability of such officers for all fees which may be collected by them and for all public moneys which may be paid to them, or officially come into their possession.
     (2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of this section or of section 3 or 4 of this Article, the legislature, by general laws, shall provide greater flexibility for noncharter county governance by allowing county voters to approve ballot propositions altering the governance of their county. A ballot proposition altering the governance of a county may only be submitted to the voters of that county at a general election or primary election by action of the county legislative authority or by a petition of voters proposing the change that has been signed by registered voters of that county equal in number to at least ten (10) percent of the number of voters of the county who voted at the last general election. The general laws shall allow:
     (a) A county to operate under either: (i) An elected executive/council plan of government with either five or seven councilmembers; or (ii) a council manager plan of government with either five or seven councilmembers who appoint the county manager. Either of these alternative plans of government may provide for other county elected officials, but may not affect the election, powers, or duties of the prosecuting attorney, superior court judges, or inferior court judges. The general legislation implementing this subsection (2)(a) shall designate the county office or offices that are vested with the powers, authority, and duties granted to and imposed by general law on each elected county office designated under subsection (1) of this section that is not retained. A ballot proposition may authorize a county operating under one of these alternative plans of government to return operating under subsection (1) of this section.
     (b) Two or more adjacently located noncharter counties may have a single official act as the official for these counties performing the duties of any county elected official or officials provided for under (a) of this subsection. This subsection (2)(b) shall not affect members of a county legislative authority, superior court judges, or inferior court judges. If a single official is authorized to act as the prosecuting attorney for the counties, that official shall be elected from a single district constituting all of these counties by the voters of these counties. Any other official may be appointed by joint action of the county legislative authorities or elected from a single district constituting all of these counties by the voters of these counties. A change provided under this subsection (2)(b), or a return to separately electing these officials in each county, is authorized only if voters of each county approve the ballot proposition.

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the secretary of state shall cause notice of this constitutional amendment to be published at least four times during the four weeks next preceding the election in every legal newspaper in the state.