Measure will save taxpayers money, says Spokane Valley lawmaker
Today Sen. Mike Padden’s legislation to avoid costly litigation between elected officials was signed into law.
“This new law is a common-sense way to deal with disputes between elected officials before they escalate into lawsuits that cost taxpayers money,” said Padden, R-Spokane Valley. “I am pleased to see that all of my colleagues agreed that we needed a solution to this problem, and that local governments will soon have a new tool to help resolve disagreements.”
Substitute Senate Bill 5560 cleared the Legislature on April 25 with unanimous support. Under the measure, county officials engaged in a dispute while acting in their official capacities must participate in mediation before resorting to a lawsuit.
Officials covered by the law includes:
- any elected or appointed county officer as listed in the Revised Code of Washington;
- equivalent positions in charter counties, whether elected or appointed; and
- superior, district, and municipal court judges located within the county.
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Padden noted how recent disagreements between county officials have led to costly lawsuits, often because officials with big personalities don’t want to lose face. He points out that mediation is a helpful tool in many other disputes, and can be especially useful when both parties require a confidential means of settling disputes.
Sen. Shelly Short, R-Addy, agrees, calling the measure a big help for jurisdictions going forward.
“It’s a huge deal for local governments and taxpayers,” said Short, who serves as the lead Republican on the Senate Local Government Committee and helped craft the bill.
“We had a situation in our district, where judges got into a dispute with county commissioners. Unfortunately, the dispute quickly escalated and got tied up in the political process.
“This new law provides an intermediate step – a more productive process – that could have helped us had it been in place at the time, and will be a very useful tool moving forward.”
The law created by Padden’s bill will go into effect July 28.