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The Washington State Constitution allows the creation of new counties but does not prescribe the process beyond the submission of a petition from voters living in the geographical area of the proposed new county. The drafters of the constitution anticipated that general legislation to apply to the creation of any new counties in the state would be enacted later, but such legislation has not yet been enacted.
Two major areas of concern for general legislation include
1. The legal process to create a new county; and
2. Once created, how should a new county be organized?
When Washington became a state in 1889, it had 34 counties. Five more were added by special acts of the legislature between 1898 and 1911, but no general legislation was passed at that time. No new counties have been created since 1911. In recent years there has been an upsurge in attempts to create new counties. In response to public interest, the state legislature has considered several bills to provide general legislation, but none have passed. SSB 6205, sponsored by Senator Mary Margaret Haugen, failed to pass in 1996, but it is being revised for introduction in the 1997 session.
Counties perform a variety of services for the public good, often working in conjunction with other governing agencies such as local, state, federal agencies and special districts, as well as with the private sector. County funds come from bonds, tax revenues, and special assessments, most of which are collected by the state and then re-distributed to the respective counties. The state in 1995 distributed nearly $650 million among its 39 counties.
Creation of one or more new counties would have political and economic consequences, not only for the counties involved, but for the entire state.
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