AGO Opinion Topics: BOARD COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

1.         The board of county commissioners is required to canvass petitions seeking to remove the county seat; the board may not delegate the discretionary elements of the canvassing process.  2.         Canvassing of signatures on a petition to remove the county seat by the board of county commissioners is action that must be taken at a properly called meeting as set forth in the Open Public Meetings Act.  3.         There is no statutory limit on the amount of time that may elapse between the date that a petition to remove a county seat is signed and the date when the petition is submitted to the county legislative authority.  4.         Signatures on a petition to remove the county seat may be withdrawn, and serial petitions adding signatures may be submitted, prior to the statutory deadline for filing any removal petition.

A board of county commissioners has the authority to rent county road equipment to local civil defense organizations of the political subdivisions of this state for civil defense purposes.

There is no provision under the planning enabling act (chapter 36.70 RCW) for holding an election on the acceptance or rejection of a zoning resolution and land use map.

(1) and (2) The board of county commissioners does not have the authority to prohibit the use of motorboats upon nonnavigable lakes but may enact ordinances which reasonably regulates the speed and other activities of such motorboats so long as such ordinances are consistent with state regulations embodied in RCW 88.12.010. (3) The board of county commissioners should follow the provisions of RCW 36.32.120 (7) in establishing such regulations. (4) The ownership by the state or a county of property abutting a nonnavigable lake does not affect the authority of the board of county commissioners to regulate the use of motor-powered watercraft on such waters.

The board of county commissioners of a county does not have the authority to expend public funds for tourist promotion by advertising the county in terms of recreational advantages and facilities to be found therein.