Irrigation dist. directors

AN ACT Relating to irrigation district director beneficial 1
interests in contracts; amending RCW 42.23.030; and creating a new 2
section. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that the current 5
statute pertaining to municipal officers' beneficial interest in 6
contracts has resulted in inadvertent impacts especially in rural 7
communities, by reaching too far and inadvertently precluding 8
otherwise qualified individuals from serving as irrigation district 9
directors.10
Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to clarify the 11
statutes pertaining to irrigation district directors and contracts to 12
ensure reasonable protections against inappropriate conflicts of 13
interest exist, while acknowledging the challenges such laws may 14
present in small rural communities. 15
Sec. 2. RCW 42.23.030 and 2023 c 153 s 1 are each amended to 16
read as follows: 17
No municipal officer shall be beneficially interested, directly 18
or indirectly, in any contract which may be made by, through or under 19
the supervision of such officer, in whole or in part, or which may be 20
S-3551.1
SENATE BILL 5930
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Senators Goehner and Chapman
Prefiled 12/22/25.
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made for the benefit of his or her office, or accept, directly or 1
indirectly, any compensation, gratuity or reward in connection with 2
such contract from any other person beneficially interested therein. 3
This section shall not apply in the following cases:4
(1) The furnishing of electrical, water or other utility services 5
by a municipality engaged in the business of furnishing such 6
services, at the same rates and on the same terms as are available to 7
the public generally; 8
(2) The designation of public depositaries for municipal funds;9
(3) The publication of legal notices required by law to be 10
published by any municipality, upon competitive bidding or at rates 11
not higher than prescribed by law for members of the general public;12
(4) The designation of a school director as clerk or as both 13
clerk and purchasing agent of a school district; 14
(5) The employment of any person by a municipality for unskilled 15
day labor at wages not exceeding $1,000 in any calendar month. The 16
exception provided in this subsection does not apply to a county with 17
a population of 125,000 or more, a city with a population of more 18
than 1,500, an irrigation district encompassing more than 50,000 19
acres, or a first-class school district; 20
(6)(a) The letting of any other contract in which the total 21
amount received under the contract or contracts by the municipal 22
officer or the municipal officer's business does not exceed $3,000 in 23
any calendar month. 24
(b) However, in the case of a particular officer of a second-25
class city or town, or a noncharter optional code city, or a member 26
of any county fair board in a county which has not established a 27
county purchasing department pursuant to RCW 36.32.240, the total 28
amount of such contract or contracts authorized in this subsection 29
(6) may exceed $3,000 in any calendar month but shall not exceed 30
$36,000 in any calendar year. 31
(c)(i) In the case of a particular officer of a rural public 32
hospital district, as defined in RCW 70.44.460, the total amount of 33
such contract or contracts authorized in this subsection (6) may 34
exceed $1,500 in any calendar month, but shall not exceed $24,000 in 35
any calendar year. 36
(ii) At the beginning of each calendar year, beginning with the 37
2006 calendar year, the legislative authority of the rural public 38
hospital district shall increase the calendar year limitation 39
described in this subsection (6)(c) by an amount equal to the dollar 40
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amount for the previous calendar year multiplied by the change in the 1
consumer price index as of the close of the 12-month period ending 2
December 31st of that previous calendar year. If the new dollar 3
amount established under this subsection is not a multiple of $10, 4
the increase shall be rounded to the next lowest multiple of $10. As 5
used in this subsection, "consumer price index" means the consumer 6
price index compiled by the bureau of labor statistics, United States 7
department of labor for the state of Washington. If the bureau of 8
labor statistics develops more than one consumer price index for 9
areas within the state, the index covering the greatest number of 10
people, covering areas exclusively within the boundaries of the 11
state, and including all items shall be used. 12
(d) The exceptions provided in this subsection (6) do not apply 13
to: 14
(i) A sale or lease by the municipality as the seller or lessor;15
(ii) The letting of any contract by a county with a population of 16
125,000 or more, a city with a population of 5,000 or more, or an 17
irrigation district encompassing more than 50,000 acres; or18
(iii) Contracts for legal services, except for reimbursement of 19
expenditures. 20
(e) The municipality shall maintain a list of all contracts that 21
are awarded under this subsection (6). The list must be made 22
available for public inspection and copying; 23
(7) The leasing by a port district as lessor of port district 24
property to a municipal officer or to a contracting party in which a 25
municipal officer may be beneficially interested, if in addition to 26
all other legal requirements, a board of three disinterested 27
appraisers and the superior court in the county where the property is 28
situated finds that all terms and conditions of such lease are fair 29
to the port district and are in the public interest. The appraisers 30
must be appointed from members of the American Institute of Real 31
Estate Appraisers by the presiding judge of the superior court;32
(8) The letting of any employment contract for the driving of a 33
school bus in a second-class school district if the terms of such 34
contract are commensurate with the pay plan or collective bargaining 35
agreement operating in the district; 36
(9) The letting of an employment contract as a substitute teacher 37
or substitute educational aide to an officer of a second-class school 38
district that has 300 or fewer full-time equivalent students, if the 39
terms of the contract are commensurate with the pay plan or 40
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collective bargaining agreement operating in the district and the 1
board of directors has found, consistent with the written policy 2
under RCW 28A.330.240, that there is a shortage of substitute 3
teachers in the school district; 4
(10) The letting of any employment contract to the spouse of an 5
officer of a school district, when such contract is solely for 6
employment as a substitute teacher for the school district. This 7
exception applies only if the terms of the contract are commensurate 8
with the pay plan or collective bargaining agreement applicable to 9
all district employees and the board of directors has found, 10
consistent with the written policy under RCW 28A.330.240, that there 11
is a shortage of substitute teachers in the school district;12
(11) The letting of any employment contract to the spouse of an 13
officer of a school district if the spouse was under contract as a 14
certificated or classified employee with the school district before 15
the date in which the officer assumes office and the terms of the 16
contract are commensurate with the pay plan or collective bargaining 17
agreement operating in the district. However, in a second-class 18
school district that has less than 200 full-time equivalent students 19
enrolled at the start of the school year as defined in RCW 20
28A.150.203, the spouse is not required to be under contract as a 21
certificated or classified employee before the date on which the 22
officer assumes office; 23
(12) The authorization, approval, or ratification of any 24
employment contract with the spouse of a public hospital district 25
commissioner or an irrigation district director if: (a) The spouse 26
was employed by the public hospital or irrigation district before the 27
date the commissioner or director was initially elected; (b) the 28
terms of the contract are commensurate with the pay plan or 29
collective bargaining agreement operating in the district for similar 30
employees; (c) the interest of the commissioner or director is 31
disclosed to the board of commissioners or directors and noted in the 32
official minutes or similar records of the public hospital or 33
irrigation district prior to the letting or continuation of the 34
contract; and (d) and the commissioner or director does not vote on 35
the authorization, approval, or ratification of the contract or any 36
conditions in the contract. 37
A municipal officer may not vote in the authorization, approval, 38
or ratification of a contract in which he or she is beneficially 39
interested even though one of the exemptions allowing the awarding of 40
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such a contract applies. The interest of the municipal officer must 1
be disclosed to the governing body of the municipality and noted in 2
the official minutes or similar records of the municipality before 3
the formation of the contract. 4
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