HomeMy WebLinkAboutReg 2017-02-21 Item 6 - Discussion - Legislative House Bill 1999 Relating to Port of Seattle's Board of CommissionersCOUNCIL AGENDA SYNOPSIS
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Council review
02/21/17
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SPONSOR Council EMayor HR DCD Finance Fire TS P&R Police PIF Court
SPONSOR'S Representative Mia Gregerson approached the City's lobbyist asking for City support for
SUMMARY House Bill (HB) 1999, currently being considered in the State House of Representatives.
HB 1999 concerns the makeup and composition of the Port of Seattle's Board of
Commissioners. The Bill would expand the number of Port Commissioners from five to nine
and create districts for each of the nine Port Commissioners to represent.
REVIEWED BY 11 C.O.W. Mtg. ID CDN Comm
1:1 Trans &Infrastructure Arts Comm.
DATE: N/A
Finance
Comm. 1111 Public Safety Comm.
Comm. El Planning Comm.
CHAIR: N/A
ITEM INFORMATION
ITEM No.
6
225
STAFF SPONSOR: RACHEL BIANCHI
ORIGINAL AGENDA DATE: 02/21/17
AGENDA ITEM TITLE State Legislative Update: House Bill 1999
CATEGORY Discussion
02/21/17
U
Motion
Date
0 Resolution
Mtg Date
Ordinance
Mtg Date
Bid Award
Meg Date
0 Public Hearing
Meg Date
El Other
Mtg Date
Mtg Date
Meg
SPONSOR Council EMayor HR DCD Finance Fire TS P&R Police PIF Court
SPONSOR'S Representative Mia Gregerson approached the City's lobbyist asking for City support for
SUMMARY House Bill (HB) 1999, currently being considered in the State House of Representatives.
HB 1999 concerns the makeup and composition of the Port of Seattle's Board of
Commissioners. The Bill would expand the number of Port Commissioners from five to nine
and create districts for each of the nine Port Commissioners to represent.
REVIEWED BY 11 C.O.W. Mtg. ID CDN Comm
1:1 Trans &Infrastructure Arts Comm.
DATE: N/A
Finance
Comm. 1111 Public Safety Comm.
Comm. El Planning Comm.
CHAIR: N/A
I Parks
COMMITTEE
RECOMMENDATIONS:
SPONSOR/ADMIN.
CommrrrEE
Staff is recommending that the City take no position on HB 1999.
COST IMPACT / FUND SOURCE
EXPENDITURI:, REQUIRED AMOUNT BUDGETED APPROPRIATION REQUIRED
$N/A $N/A $N/A
Fund Source: N/A
Comments: N/A
MTG. DATE
RECORD OF COUNCIL ACTION
02/21/17
MTG. DATE
ATTACHMENTS
02/21/17
Informational Memorandum dated 2/14/17
Proposed House Bill 1999
House Bill 1999 Digest
225
226
City of Tukwila
Allan Ekberg, Mayor
INFORMATIONAL MEMORANDUM
TO: City Council
FROM: Rachel Bianchi, Government Affairs and Communications Manager
BY: Brandon Miles, Business Relations Manager
CC: Mayor Ekberg
DATE: February 14, 2017
SUBJECT: State Legislative Update: House Bill 1999
ISSUE
Should the City take a position on House Bill (HB) 1999?
BACKGROUND
Representative Mia Gregerson approached the City's lobbyist asking for City support for HB
1999, currently being considered in the State House of Representatives. HB 1999 concerns the
makeup and composition of the Port of Seattle's Board of Commissioners.
Currently, the Port's Commission consists of five commission members elected at large in King
County. HB 1999 proposes to restructure the Port Commission to resemble the composition of
the King County Council. The number of Port Commissioners would increase to nine and each
commissioner would represent a specific district. The nine Port Commission districts would have
the same boundaries as the King County Council districts. Under this legislation,
Commissioners must reside in the district he or she represents. Voting is similarly limited by
districts and all at-large positions are eliminated.
If passed by both chambers of the legislature and signed by the Governor, HB 1999 would go
into effect in 2019. There currently is no companion bill in the State Senate and it's unclear if
such legislation could pass the Senate.
DISCUSSION
HB 1999 has several pros and cons the City should consider before taking a position on the Bill:
Pros:
1. Proponents argue the Bill would expand representation for King County residents and
possibility allow for greater access.
2. Airport communities (Tukwila, Federal Way, SeaTac, Burien, Normandy Park, and Des
Moines) would be ensured of at least three Commission members, who live in or around
the communities.
3. Commission members might lobby more effectively for projects by the Port that benefit
their districts.
4. The City would be supporting legislation sponsored by south King County House
Representatives.
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INFORMATIONAL MEMO
Page 2
Cons:
1. Increase cost to taxpayers, for salaries of additional Port Commission members.
Additional costs would be incurred for staff to support the added commission members
and the larger Port Commission.
2. A majority of the Port Commission members would come from outside the airport
communities. Six of the nine Commission members would come from Seattle, north King
County, and the eastside. Commission members from these areas may not be
concerned with the needs of airport communities, since their voters do not reside near
Sea-Tac Airport.
3. Airport communities, which are significantly impacted by Sea-Tac Airport operations,
may find it difficult to obtain mitigation funding since the Port funds would likely be
proportioned between the nine districts.
4. The City could hurt existing relationships with Port Commission members by supporting
HB 1999. Port Commissioners have expressed concern, particularly because of the
unique nature of the Port, which oversees multi-billion business entities.
RECOMMENDATION
Staff is recommending that the City take no position on HB 1999.
ATTACHMENTS
• Proposed HB 1999
• HB 1999 Digest
CAUsers\Brandon-m\AppDatalocalWicrosoft\Windows\TemPorani Internet Files\Content.Outlook2CCSQ08a1-181999.doc
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H-1444.1
HOUSE BILL 1999
State of Washington
65th Legislature 2017 Regular Session
By Representatives Gregerson, Stokesbary, Ryu, Hudgins, Cody, Pollet,
Santos, Senn, Springer, Fitzgibbon, McBride, Stanford, Kagi, and
Slatter
Read first time 02/07/17. Referred to Committee on State Govt,
Elections & IT.
1 AN ACT Relating to elections in port districts that are
2 coextensive with a county having a population of over one-half
3 million; and amending RCW 53.12.010.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
5 Sec. 1. RCW 53.12.010 and 2002 c 51 s 1 are each amended to read
6 as follows:
7 (1) The powers of the port district shall be exercised through a
8 port commission consisting of three or five members, ((when)) or as
9 otherwise permitted by this title((, fivc mcmbcrs)).
10 (a) Every port district that is not coextensive with a county
11 having a population of five hundred thousand or more shall be divided
12 into the same number of commissioner districts as there are
13 commissioner positions, each having approximately equal population,
14 unless provided otherwise under subsection (2) of this section.
15 (b) Where a port district with three commissioner positions is
16 coextensive with the boundaries of a county that has a population of
17 less than five hundred thousand and the county has three county
18 legislative authority districts, the port commissioner districts
19 shall be the county legislative authority districts.
20 (c) In other instances where a port district is divided into
21 commissioner districts, the port commission shall divide the port
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HB 1999
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1 district into commissioner districts unless the commissioner
2 districts have been described pursuant to RCW 53.04.031. The
3 commissioner districts shall be altered as provided in chapter 53.16
4 RCW.
5 (d) Commissioner districts shall be used as follows: ((4-a*)) (i)
6 Only a registered voter who resides in a commissioner district may be
7 a candidate for, or hold office as, a commissioner of the
8 commissioner district; and ((-(--)-)) (ii) only the voters of a
9 commissioner district may vote at a primary to nominate candidates
10 for a commissioner of the commissioner district. Except as provided
11 in subsection (3) of this section, voters of the entire port district
12 may vote at a general election to elect a person as a commissioner of
13 the commissioner district.
14 (2)(a) In port districts with five commissioners, two of the
15 commissioner districts may include the entire port district if
16 approved by the voters of the district either at the time of
17 formation or at a subsequent port district election at which the
18 issue is proposed pursuant to a resolution adopted by the board of
19 commissioners and delivered to the county auditor.
20 (b) In a port district with five commissioners, where two of the
21 commissioner districts include the entire port district, the port
22 district may be divided into five commissioner districts if proposed
23 pursuant to a resolution adopted by the board of commissioners or
24 pursuant to a petition by the voters and approved by the voters of
25 the district at the next general or special election occurring sixty
26 or more days after the adoption of the resolution. A petition
27 proposing such an increase must be submitted to the county auditor of
28 the county in which the port district is located and signed by voters
29 of the port district at least equal in number to ten percent of the
30 number of voters in the port district who voted at the last general
31 election.
32 Upon approval by the voters, the commissioner district boundaries
33 shall be redrawn into five districts within one hundred twenty days
34 and submitted to the county auditor pursuant to RCW 53.16.015. The
35 new commissioner districts shall be numbered one through five and the
36 three incumbent commissioners representing the three former districts
37 shall represent commissioner districts one through three. The two at
38 large incumbent commissioners shall represent commissioner districts
39 four and five. If, as a result of redrawing the district boundariesi_
40 more than one of the incumbent commissioners resides in one of the
p. 2 HB 1999
230
1 new commissioner districts, the commissioners who reside in the same
2 commissioner district shall determine by lot which of the numbered
3 commissioner districts they shall represent for the remainder of
4 their respective terms.
5 (3)(a) Beginning in 2019, any port district with five members
6 that is coextensive with a county having a population of over one and
7 one-half million, and with a legislative authority of nine members,
8 must be divided into the same commissioner districts as the county
9 legislative authority districts and include the same number of
10 commissioner positions as the county legislative authority.
11 (b) Each commissioner must reside in the district from which he
12 or she is elected, and only voters from each district may elect the
13 commissioner to fill that district's commissioner position. No
14 commissioner position may be elected at large.
15 (c) Each commissioner elected prior to 2019 with at least two
16 years remaining in his or her term may complete his or her term for
17 the new commissioner district in which he or she resides. If, as a
18 result of redrawing the district boundaries, more than one of the
19 incumbent commissioners, with at least two years remaining on each of
20 their terms, reside in one of the new commissioner districts, the
21 commissioners who reside in the same commissioner district shall
22 determine by lot which commissioner will represent the district for
23 the remainder of the term.
24 (d) The initial election under this subsection (3) will include
25 the election of positions in each of the remaining district positions
26 as follows:
27 (i) A certain number of positions elected to serve an initial
28 two-year term, which in addition to any incumbent commissioner's
29 position, as established in (c) of this subsection (3), provide a
30 total number of four positions that will expire at the end of 2021;
31 and
32 (ii) Five positions elected to serve four-year terms.
33 (e) The county auditor must select which district positions will
34 be two-year or four-year terms for the initial election, pursuant to
35 (d) of this subsection. All subsequent terms for all positions must
36 be for four-year terms.
37 (f) Each commissioner must receive the same salary as a member of
38 the state legislature, as set under RCW 43.03.013.
- END
ID- 3
HB 1999
231
HE 1999 - DIGEST
Requires a port district with five members that is
coextensive with a county having a population of over one and
one-half million and with a legislative authority of nine
members, to be divided into the same commissioner districts
as the county legislative authority districts and include the
same number of commissioner positions as the county
legislative authority.
232