Recent Regulations of Interest to City, Town, County, and Special District Officials From the Washington State Register

The following items from recent issues of the state register may be of interest to you. (This is not a complete list of all new regulations that affect cities, towns, counties, or special purpose districts in Washington State, but a selection of highlights.) You may also search the complete text of recent issues of the Washington State Register (1997 - present) or use the index to the Register.

Proposed Regulations    

1. WSR 07-22-048 (WAC 136-170-040): the County Road Administration Board proposes a rule that would require a county to make a formal written request to the board where it plans to combine two or more adjacent RATA funded projects into a single construction contract, or prior to commencing construction should any of the projects be scheduled for completion by day labor.
2. WSR 08-02-082 (Ch. 212-12 WAC): the Washington State Patrol proposes amendments to the fire marshal standards to correspond with the 2006 building and fire codes and to most accurately reflect the state fire marshal's procedures. 
3. WSR 08-06-051 (Ch. 136-400 WAC): the Country Road Administration Board proposes amendments to the rules for the county ferry capital improvement program.
4. WSR 08-06-094 (WAC 458-20-145): the Department of Revenue proposes amendments to the rule addressing the local sales and use tax collection responsibilities of persons making retail sales in Washington. 
5. WSR 08-08-060 (Ch. 434-662 WAC): the Secretary of State proposes rules to establish procedures for use of the Washington State digital archives for storage of electronic public records.
6. WSR 08-08-090 (Ch. 246-290 WAC): the Department of Ecology proposes amendments to the Group A public water supplies regulations, chapter 246-290 WAC, to be consistent with RCW 70.119A.180, which addresses water use efficiency requirements.
    

Regulations Proposed for Expedited Adoption 

Permanent Regulations 

1. WSR 07-20-074 (Chs. 434-220, 434-230, 434-235, 434-250, 434-253, 434-262, 434-264, 434-335 WAC): the Secretary of State adopts rules to implement legislation passed by the 2007 legislature that address a variety of topics, including ballots, voting centers, military service and overseas voters, manual recounts, and local multicounty races and measures.
2. WSR 07-21-013 (Ch. 173-900 WAC): the Department of Ecology adopts amendments to the rules regarding electronic product recycling.
3. WSR 07-21-035 (Chs. 463-28, 463-47, 463-66 WAC): the Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council adopts, among other things, rule amendments to expedite the siting of energy facilities where a project is found to be inconsistent with local land use plans and zoning ordinances.
4. WSR 07-21-057 (WAC 468-100-102): the Department of Transportation adopts amendments to the uniform relocation assistance and real property acquisition program to reflect regulatory changes made by the Federal Highway Administration to the Federal Regulations in 49 C.F.R. Part 24, Section 24 that became effective on February 3, 2005.
5. WSR 07-21-097 (Ch. 458-30 WAC): the Department of Revenue amends the rules regarding open space taxation, including withdrawal or removal from classification, to incorporate recent statutory changes.
6. WSR 07-24-044 (Chs. 434-219, 434-230, 434-250, 434-253, 434-261, 434-324, 434-335 WAC): the Secretary of State adopts rules related to the presidential primary, voter registration, the provisional and absentee ballot affidavit, and voting systems.
7. WSR 08-01-101 (Ch. 51-54 WAC): the Building Code Council adopts amendments to the 2006 edition of the International Fire Code.
8. WSR 08-01-102 (Ch. 51-51 WAC): the Building Code Council adopts amendments to the 2006 edition of the International Residential Code.
9. WSR 08-01-110 (Ch. 51-50 WAC): the Building Code Council adopts amendments to the 2006 edition of the International Building Code.
10. WSR 08-03-061 (Ch. 246-290 WAC): the Department of Health adopts rules to incorporate the municipal water law passed by the Washington state legislature and the federal rule Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule into chapter 246-290 WAC.
11. WSR 08-04-021 (WAC 390-05-225): the Public Disclosure Commission adopts rule to provide guidance to county auditors and provide uniformity in calculating the count of registered voters for the purposes under chapter 42.17 RCW.
12. WSR 08-04-050 (Ch. 458-30 WAC): the Department of Revenue adopts amendments to provide information about the rate of inflation that is used by county officials to calculate interest on deferred special benefit assessments when farm and agricultural or timber land is removed or withdrawn from classification under chapter 84.34 RCW, the open space program.
13. WSR 08-04-051 (Ch. 458-30 WAC): the Department of Revenue adopts amendments to provide county assessors with the rate of interest and property tax component used in valuing farm and agricultural land classified under chapter 84.34 RCW (the open space program).
14. WSR 08-05-029 (Ch. 448-15 WAC): the State Toxicologist adopts a rule amendment to add the Alcosensor FST to the list of approved breath alcohol screening devices, and to clarify the purposes for which the screening devices are to be used and the steps that must be followed to ensure a valid test.
15. WSR 08-05-120 (Chs. 434-250, 434-253, 434-262, 434-263, 434-335, 434-369, 434-381 WAC): the Secretary of State adopts rule amendments (Cycle 5 Rules of 2007) governing elections and dealing with matters such as forwarding ballots, redistricting, the voters' pamphlet, the HAVA complaint process, and logic and accuracy tests. 

Emergency Regulations 

1. WSR 07-24-096 (WAC 458-30-262): effective December 5, 2007, the Department of Revenue amends the rule is to provide county assessors with the rate of interest and property tax component used in valuing farm and agricultural land classified under chapter 84.34 RCW, the open space program. The rule is amended to update the interest rate and property tax component used to value farm and agricultural land classified under chapter 84.34 RCW. The amendment provides information that local taxing officials need to value classified farm and agricultural land during assessment year 2008.
2. WSR 07-24-097 (WAC 458-30-590): effective December 5, 2007, the Department of Revenue amends the rule is to provide information about the rate of inflation that is used by county officials to calculate interest on deferred special benefit assessments when farm and agricultural or timber land is removed or withdrawn from classification under chapter 84.34 RCW, the open space program.
3. WSR 08-09-001 (WAC 51-54-0400): the Building Code Council adopts, effective April 2, amendments to the 2006 International Fire Code for consistency with chapter 406, Laws of 2007, which requires that school districts have an updated plan in place by September 1, 2008, to include drills for sheltering-in-place and lockdown in addition to fire drills.
   

Miscellaneous 

1. WSR 07-22-079 (CrR 3.1, JuCR 9.2, and CrRLJ 3.1): the state supreme court proposes court rule amendments to provide minimal standards to be satisfied before a judicial officer may appoint an attorney to render services to an indigent person. These standards are contained in the Standards for Indigent Defense Services as endorsed by the Washington State Bar Association.
2. WSR 07-24-022: As per RCW 49.46.020, the Department of Labor and Industries has calculated the adjusted minimum wage rate to be $8.07, effective January 1, 2008.
3. WSR 08-02-092: the Department of Ecology is reissuing, effective February 16, 2008, a general permit to cover the control of aquatic noxious weeds and quarantine-listed weeds in and around surface waters of the state.  The title of the revised permit is "Aquatic Noxious Weed Control National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System and State Waste Discharge General Permit." This revokes and replaces the aquatic noxious weed control general permit that expired on June 14, 2007.
4. WSR 08-09-009 (CrRLJ 2.1, IRLJ 2.1): the state supreme court proposes court rule amendments regarding standardized citation forms.