After sitting in committee since early January, the senate version of a bill changing the formation of public facilities districts finally moved out of committee just before the policy deadline.

SB 5053 was voted out of the Senate Local Government Committee unanimously with amendments. Those amendments include:

• A requirement that public facilities districts formed under the law must expire by December 31, 2060;
• A limitation that only counties with a population of less than 50,000 located along the eastern crest of the Cascade mountains may form a public facilities district that does not include the entire county; and
• A provision that the boundary of the public facilities district must correspond with existing boundaries of cities, towns, and school districts.

With these changes, only jurisdictions in Kittitas County could form a public facilities district that covers just part of the county. The committee said this limitation is necessary to study the effects of the proposed updates before allowing the changes statewide.

The House companion to the senate bill, HB 1037, is still alive and well in the House. As the House bill currently stands, it does not include the same geographical limitations that the Senate bill adopted. With the bills now taking two different approaches, we will need to wait and see which bill will be the eventual vehicle for changing current public facilities district statutes.

Dates to remember

HB 1037 is scheduled for a public hearing in the House Finance Committee on Monday, February 24 at 8 am.

Public facilities districts bill moves forward with minor changes

January 31, 2025

The House version of a bill updating how public facilities districts are developed and managed in communities moved out of committee with a small amendment.

HB 1037 was voted unanimously out of the House Local Government Committee. The committee did adopt a small amendment that requires the boundaries of the public facilities district that includes counties and cities to align with existing town or city boundaries.

A big thank you to Matthew Lundh, Mayor of the City of Cle Elum, for testifying in favor of the bill.

Public facilities districts could see new changes for the first time in years

January 13, 2025

Both the House and the Senate are running legislation to change how public facilities districts are developed and managed in communities.

Currently, cities in counties with a population under one million have the authority to create a public facilities district to develop, improve, and operate regional centers that cost at least $10 million and serve a regional population. Regional centers include buildings like convention, conference, or special events centers.

HB 1037, sponsored by Reps. Tom Dent (R-Moses Lake) and Alex Ybarra (R–-Quincy), and companion bill SB 5053, sponsored by Sen. Judy Warnick (R–Moses Lake), make four distinct changes to how public facilities districts are formed and managed:

1. The bill now allows for only a portion of an unincorporated county to be included within the district. Under current law, the entire county must participate in the district.
2. Establishes a process for creating a board of directors for a public facilities district that may include only a portion of an unincorporated county.
3. Makes the treasurer of the largest county participating in the public facilities district the ex officio treasurer. However, the board of directors of the public facilities district retains the ability to designate a city or town treasurer to the role or another qualified individual.
4. Clarifies that state law does not prohibit a county from participating in the creation or operation of a public facilities district.

The proposed changes in the bill would more easily allow the county to take part in a public facilities district which in turn could help with the creation and administration of the district. The City of Cle Elum worked with their state elected officials to submit the proposed updates covered in the bills.

Dates to remember

HB 1037 is scheduled for public hearing in the House Local Government Committee on Friday, January 17 at 10:30 am.

SB 5053 is scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Local Government Committee on Thursday, January 16 at 1:30 pm.