HOUSE BILL REPORT

ESB 5764

As Amended by the House

BYSenators Talmadge, McCaslin, Zimmerman and Halsan

Adopting the Washington sunrise act.

House Committe on State Government

Majority Report:  Do pass with amendments.  (8)

      Signed by Representatives H. Sommers, Chair; Peery, Vice Chair; Baugher, Chandler, Hankins, O'Brien, Sayan and Taylor.

House Staff:Pam Madson (786-7135)

AS PASSED HOUSE APRIL 14, 1987

BACKGROUND:

Presently, the state of Washington lacks a uniform and coordinated procedure for determining the need for new boards and commissions and new types of special purpose districts.

SUMMARY:

The Office of Financial Management (OFM) and the Department of Community Development (DCD), in cooperation with the legislature, shall establish a procedure for providing sunrise notes.

Sunrise notes explain the expected impact of legislation authorizing new boards, commissions, and new types of special purpose districts.

OFM shall prepare sunrise notes for new boards and commissions, and DCD shall prepare them for new types of special purpose districts. "Special purpose district" excludes cities, towns, counties, and school districts.  "Board" is defined to include commissions, councils, committees, and task forces.

All executive and agency request bills creating these new governmental units shall have a sunrise note prepared.  A legislative committee may request a sunrise note.

Sunrise notes shall be filed with the committee of assignment in the house of origin, the House and Senate Ways and Means committees and the Senate Governmental Operations and House State Government committees.  Legislative committees shall notify the appropriate house's Ways and Means Committee and Senate Governmental and House State Government Committee when a bill that has or should have a sunrise note passes out of committee.

The lack of a sunrise note or errors in a sunrise note shall not affect the validity of any measure passed by the Legislature.  The Washington Sunrise Act shall expire on June 30, 1992.

Fiscal Note:      Attached.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Senator Phil Talmadge, prime sponsor of original bill; and Chuck Sauvage, Common Cause.

House Committee - Testified Against:      None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:    The sunrise note process is calculated to give the legislature greater information about circumstances under which boards, commissions and special districts of local government are created.  The process will help reduce instances of duplication of function and overlapping jurisdictions.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      None Presented.