BILL REQ. #:  S-0964.1 

Read first time 01/29/2007.   Referred to Committee on Judiciary.

     AN ACT Relating to the dissolution of a special taxing district; and amending RCW 35.95A.120.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 35.95A.120 and 2003 c 147 s 14 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the city transportation authority may be dissolved by a vote of the people residing within the boundaries of the authority if the authority is faced with significant financial problems. However, the authority may covenant with holders of its bonds that it may not be dissolved and shall continue to exist solely for the purpose of continuing to levy and collect any taxes or assessments levied by it and pledged to the repayment of debt and to take other actions, including the appointment of a trustee, as necessary to allow it to repay any remaining debt. No such debt may be incurred by the authority on a project until thirty days after a final environmental impact statement on that project has been issued as required by chapter 43.21C RCW. The amount of the authority's initial bond issue is limited to the amount of the project costs in the subsequent two years as documented by a certified engineer or by submitted bids, plus any reimbursable capital expenses already incurred at the time of the bond issue. The authority may size the first bond issue consistent with the internal revenue service five-year spend down schedule if an independent financial advisor recommends such an approach is financially advisable. Any referendum petition to dissolve the city transportation authority must be filed with the city council and contain provisions for dissolution of the authority. Within seven days, the city prosecutor must review the validity of the petition and submit its report to the petitioner and city council. If the petitioner's claims are deemed valid by the city prosecutor, within ten days of the petitioner's filing, the city council will confer with the petitioner concerning the form and style of the petition, issue an identification number for the petition, and write a ballot title for the measure. The ballot title must be posed as a question and an affirmative vote on the measure results in authority retention and a negative vote on the measure results in the authority's dissolution. The petitioner will be notified of the identification number and ballot title within this ten-day period.
     After this notification, the petitioner has ninety days in which to secure on petition forms, the signatures of not less than fifteen percent of the registered voters in the authority area and to file the signed petitions with the filing officer. Each petition form must contain the ballot title and the full text of the measure to be referred. The filing officer will verify the sufficiency of the signatures on the petitions. If sufficient valid signatures are properly submitted, the filing officer shall submit the initiative to the authority area voters at a general or special election held on one of the dates provided in RCW ((29.13.010)) 29A.04.321 as determined by the city council, which election will not take place later than one hundred twenty days after the signed petition has been filed with the filing officer.
     (2) A city transportation authority is dissolved and terminated if all of the following events occur before or after the effective date of this section:
     (a) A majority of the qualified electors voting at a regular or special election determine that new public monorail transportation facilities must not be built;
     (b) The governing body of the authority adopts a resolution and publishes a notice of the proposed dissolution at least once every week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation published in the authority area. The resolution and notice must:
     (i) Describe information that must be included in a notice of claim against the authority including, but not limited to, any claims for refunds of special motor vehicle excise tax levied under RCW 39.95A.080 and collected by or on behalf of the authority;
     (ii) Provide a mailing address where a notice of claim may be sent;
     (iii) State the deadline, which must be at least ninety days from the date of the third publication, by which the authority must receive a notice of claim; and
     (iv) State that a claim will be barred if a notice of claim is not received by the deadline;
     (c) The authority resolves all claims timely made under (b) of this subsection; and
     (d) The governing body adopts a resolution (i) finding that the conditions of (a) through (c) of this subsection have been met and (ii) dissolving and terminating the authority.
     (3) A claim against a city transportation authority is barred if (a) a claimant does not deliver a notice of claim to the authority by the deadline stated in subsection (2)(b)(i) of this section or (b) a claimant whose claim was rejected by the authority does not commence a proceeding to enforce the claim within sixty days from receipt of the rejection notice. For purposes of this subsection, "claim" includes, but is not limited to, any right to payment, whether liquidated, unliquidated, fixed, contingent, matured, unmatured, disputed, undisputed, legal, equitable, secured, or unsecured, or the right to an equitable remedy for breach of performance if the breach gives rise to a right to payment, whether or not the right to an equitable remedy is fixed, contingent, matured, unmatured, disputed, undisputed, secured, or unsecured, including, but not limited to, any claim for a refund of special motor vehicle excise tax levied under RCW 35.95A.080 and collected by or on behalf of the authority.
     (4) The governing body of the authority may transfer any net assets to one or more other political subdivisions with instructions as to their use or disposition. The governing body shall authorize this transfer in the resolution that dissolves and terminates the authority under subsection (2)(d) of this section.
     (5) Upon the dissolution and termination of the authority, the former officers, directors, employees, and agents of the authority shall be immune from personal liability in connection with any claims brought against them arising from or relating to their service to the authority, and any claim brought against any of them is barred.