AN ACT Relating to the election of public utility district commissioners; amending RCW 54.12.010, 54.40.010, 54.40.050, and 54.40.070; and repealing RCW 54.40.060.

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

Sec. 1. Section 4, chapter 1, Laws of 1931 as last amended by section 37, chapter 126, Laws of 1979 ex. sess. and RCW 54.12.010 are each amended to read as follows:

Within ten days after such election, the county canvassing board shall canvass the returns, and if at such election a majority of the voters voting upon such proposition shall vote in favor of the formation of such district, the canvassing board shall so ((~~declare in its canvass of the returns of such election, and such~~)) certify to the county legislative authority which shall adopt a resolution creating the public utility district ((~~shall then be and~~)). The public utility district then shall become a municipal corporation of the state of Washington, and the name of such public utility district shall be Public Utility District No. ..... of .......... County.

The powers of the public utility district shall be exercised through a commission consisting of three members in three commissioner districts, and five members in five commissioner districts. When the public utility district is coextensive with the limits of such county, then, at the first election of commissioners and until any change shall have been made in the boundaries of public utility district commissioner districts, one public utility district commissioner shall be chosen from each of the three county commissioner districts of the county in which the public utility district is located if the county is not operating under a "Home Rule" charter. When the public utility district comprises only a portion of the county, with boundaries established in accordance with chapter 54.08 RCW, or when the public utility district is located in a county operating under a "Home Rule" charter, three public utility district commissioner districts, numbered consecutively, having approximately equal population and boundaries, following ward and precinct lines, as far as practicable, shall be described in the petition for the formation of the public utility district, which shall be subject to appropriate change by the county legislative authority if and when they change the boundaries of the proposed public utility district, and one commissioner shall be elected from each of said public utility district commissioner districts. In all five commissioner districts, the public utility district additionally shall be divided by the board of commissioners into two commissioner districts having approximately equal population, and designated commissioner districts A and B. In each five commissioner districts, an additional commissioner ((~~at large~~)) shall be ((~~chosen from each of the two at large districts~~)) nominated at a primary election from commissioner districts A and B, and elected on a public utility district-wide basis. No person shall be eligible to be elected to the office of public utility district commissioner for a particular district commissioner district unless he or she is a registered voter of the public utility district commissioner district ((~~or at large district~~)) from which he or she is elected.

Except as otherwise provided, the term of office of each public utility district commissioner other than the commissioners ((~~at large~~)) elected from commissioner districts A and B shall be six years, and the terms of ((~~each~~)) the commissioners ((~~at large~~)) elected from commissioner districts A and B shall be four years. Each term shall be computed in accordance with RCW 29.04.170 following the commissioner's election. One commissioner ((~~at large~~)) from commissioner district A or B and one commissioner from ((a)) one of the regular commissioner districts shall be elected at each general election held in an even-numbered year for the term of four years and six years respectively. All candidates for a commissioner position shall be voted upon by only the voters of the commission district at the primary election, but shall be voted upon by the voters of the entire public utility district at the general election.

When a public utility district is formed, three public utility district commissioners shall be elected without a primary election at the same election at which the proposition is submitted to the voters as to whether such public utility district shall be formed. If the general election adopting the proposition to create the public utility district was held in an even-numbered year, the commissioner residing in commissioner district number one shall hold office for the term of six years; the commissioner residing in commissioner district number two shall hold office for the term of four years; and the commissioner residing in commissioner district number three shall hold office for the term of two years. If the general election adopting the proposition to create the public utility district was held in an odd-numbered year, the commissioner residing in commissioner district number one shall hold office for the term of five years, the commissioner in district two shall hold office for the term of three years, and the commissioner in district three shall hold office for the term of one year. The commissioners first to be elected as above provided shall hold office from the first day of the month following the commissioners' election and their respective terms of office shall be computed from the first day of January next following the election.

All public utility district commissioners shall hold office until their successors shall have been elected and have qualified and assume office in accordance with RCW 29.04.170. A filing for ((~~nomination for~~)) public utility district commissioner shall be ((accompanied by a petition signed by one hundred registered voters of the public utility district, which shall be certified by the county auditor to contain the required number of registered voters, and shall otherwise be filed)) made in accord with the requirements of RCW 29.21.060. At the time of filing such nominating petition, the person so nominated shall execute and file a declaration of candidacy subject to the provisions of RCW 29.21.060, as now or hereafter amended. The petition and each page of the petition shall state whether the nomination is for a commissioner from a particular commissioner district or for a commissioner at large and shall state the districts; otherwise it shall be void.

A vacancy in the office of public utility district commissioner shall occur by death, resignation, removal, conviction of a felony, nonattendance at meetings of the public utility district commission for a period of sixty days unless excused by the public utility district commission, by any statutory disqualification, or by any permanent disability preventing the proper discharge of his duty. In the event of a vacancy in said office, such vacancy shall be filled at the next general election held in an even-numbered year, the vacancy in the interim to be filled by appointment by the remaining commissioners. Where all the commissioner positions are vacant, the county legislative authority of the county in which all, or the major portion, of the district is located, shall fill one of the vacancies, with the remaining vacancies filled by action of the public utility district board of commissioners. If more than one vacancy exists at the same time in a three commissioner district, or more than two in a five commissioner district, a special election shall be called by the county ((~~canvassing board upon the request of the remainder, or, that failing, by the county election board, such election to~~)) legislative authority to elect persons to fill these recently vacant positions for the remainder of the term, except where the next special election is the primary or general election at which the recently vacant position would normally be filled for a new term, in which instance the person who is elected for the new term also shall fill the remainder of the vacant term. No primary election shall be held to fill these vacancies, except for the person elected to fill both the remainder of the term and the new term. A person elected to fill a vacancy shall take office immediately when elected and qualified. The special election at which a vacancy is filled shall be held at the next special election date specified in RCW 29.13.020 not ((~~more~~)) less than forty-five days after the occurring of such vacancies.

A majority of the persons holding the office of public utility district commissioner at any time shall constitute a quorum of the commission for the transaction of business, and the concurrence of a majority of the persons holding such office at the time shall be necessary and shall be sufficient for the passage of any resolution, but no business shall be transacted, except in usual and ordinary course, unless there are in office at least a majority of the full number of commissioners fixed by law.

The boundaries of the public utility district commissioners' district may be changed only by the public utility district commission, and shall be examined every ten years to determine substantial equality of population, but said boundaries shall not be changed oftener than once in four years, and only when all members of the commission are present. The proposed change of the boundaries of the public utility district commissioners' district must be made by resolution and after public hearing. Notice of the time of a public hearing thereon shall be published for two weeks prior thereto. Upon a referendum petition signed by ten percent of the qualified voters of the public utility district being filed with the county auditor, the county legislative authority shall submit such proposed change of boundaries to the voters of the public utility district for their approval or rejection. Such petition must be filed within ninety days after the adoption of resolution of the proposed action. The validity of said petition shall be governed by the provisions of chapter 54.08 RCW.

Sec. 2. Section 2, chapter 265, Laws of 1959 as amended by section 1, chapter 36, Laws of 1977 ex. sess. and RCW 54.40.010 are each amended to read as follows:

A five commissioner public utility district is a district which shall have received the approval of the voters of the district to become a five commissioner district, and either: (1) Prior to July 1, 1986, had a license from the federal power commission to construct a hydroelectric project of an estimated cost of more than two hundred and fifty million dollars, including interest during construction((~~, and which shall have received the approval of the voters of the district to become a five commissioner district as provided herein~~)); or (2) on or after July 1, 1986, distributed electrical energy to thirty thousand or more customers. All other public utility districts shall be known as three commissioner districts.

Sec. 3. Section 6, chapter 265, Laws of 1959 as amended by section 5, chapter 36, Laws of 1977 ex. sess. and RCW 54.40.050 are each amended to read as follows:

The question of reclassification of a public utility district as a five commissioner public utility district shall be submitted to the voters only ((upon filing a petition with the county auditor of the county in which said district is located, identifying the district by number and praying that an election be held to determine whether it shall become a five commissioner district. The petition must be signed by a number of qualified voters of the district equal to at least ten percent of the number of voters in the district who voted at the last general election. In addition to the signature of the voter, the petition must indicate each signer's residence address and further indicate whether he is registered in a precinct in an unincorporated area or a precinct in an incorporated area and if the latter, give the name of the city or town wherein he is registered. Said petition shall be presented to the county auditor for verification of the validity of the signatures.

Within thirty days after receipt of the petition, the county auditor, in conjunction with the city clerks of the incorporated areas in which any signer is registered, shall determine the sufficiency of the petition. If the petition is found insufficient, the person who filed the same shall be notified by mail and he shall have an additional fifteen days from the date of mailing such notice within which to submit additional signatures, and the county auditor shall have an additional thirty days after the submission of such additional signatures to determine the validity of the entire petition. No signature may be withdrawn after the petition has been filed.

If the petition, including these additional signatures if any, is found sufficient, the county auditor shall certify such fact to the public utility district and if the commissioners of the public utility district have theretofore certified to the county auditor the eligibility of the district for reclassification as provided in this chapter, the county auditor shall submit to the voters of the district the question of whether the district shall become a five commissioner district)) after the board of commissioners holds a public hearing on the proposal and conducts a study on the costs associated with, and procedural advantages of, increasing the board of commissioners to five members. If a resolution is adopted by the commissioners requesting such an election, the county auditor shall submit to the voters of the district the question of whether the district shall become a five commissioner district. The resolution shall include certification by the commissioners of the public utility district to the county auditor that the district is eligible for reclassification as provided in this chapter. Such election shall be held on a date fixed by the county auditor which date shall be held at the next general election at least forty-five days after the date on which he or she certified the sufficiency of the petition or received the resolution. Notice of any election on the question shall be given in the manner prescribed for notice of an election on the formation of a public utility district.

Sec. 4. Section 8, chapter 265, Laws of 1959 as amended by section 7, chapter 36, Laws of 1977 ex. sess. and RCW 54.40.070 are each amended to read as follows:

((~~Within thirty days after the public utility district commission shall divide the district into two at large districts~~)) If the reclassification is approved by simple majority vote of the district voters voting on the reclassification proposition, the county legislative authority shall call a special election, to be held at the next scheduled special election ((~~called pursuant to~~)) date specified by RCW 29.13.010, ((~~or not more than ninety~~)) that is sixty or more days after ((~~such call~~)) the results of the election have been certified, at which time the initial two additional commissioners ((~~to such at large districts~~)) shall be elected((~~, the person~~)) in an at large basis. No primary election shall be held to nominate candidates. Candidates shall file for either of the two additional positions, and the candidate receiving the largest number of votes for each position shall be elected. The winning candidate receiving the largest number of votes ((to)) shall serve for a four ((~~years~~))-year term if the election is held in an even-numbered year, or a three-year term if the election is held in an odd-numbered year, and the ((~~person receiving the next largest number of votes to~~)) other winning candidate shall serve an initial term of two years if the election is held in an even-numbered year, or a one-year term if the election is held in an odd-numbered year. Terms shall be computed from the first day of January in the year after the election. These initially elected commissioners shall assume office immediately after elected and qualified. Thereafter the terms of the at large elected commissioners shall be four years.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. Section 7, chapter 265, Laws of 1959, section 6, chapter 36, Laws of 1977 ex. sess. and RCW 54.40.060 are each hereby repealed.