Title 36 — Title 36 COUNTIES

*This act shall not be construed as repealing or affecting any other act relating to the issuance of bonds for road or other purposes, but shall be construed as conferring additional power and authority.[ 1963 c 4 s 36.76.130. Prior: 1913 c 25 s 7; RRS s 5598.]Notes:*Reviser's no…

The county legislative authority may, by majority vote, and by submission to the voters under the same procedure required in RCW 36.76.090 and 36.76.100, issue general obligation bonds for the purpose of contributing money, or the bonds themselves, to the department to help finan…

Whenever it is ordered by resolution of the board that any county road shall be laid out and established and altered, widened, or otherwise constructed or improved, the county road engineer employed by the county shall prepare such maps, plans, and specifications as shall be nece…

Upon approval of such maps, plans, and specifications and the filing thereof the board shall, if it determines that the work shall be done by contract, advertise a call for bids upon such construction work by publication in the official county paper and also one trade paper of ge…

At the time and place fixed in the call for bids, such bids as have been submitted shall be publicly opened and read. No bid may be considered unless it is accompanied by a bid deposit in the form of a surety bond, cash, cashier's check, or certified check in an amount equal to f…

The board shall proceed to award the contract to the lowest and best bidder but may reject any or all bids if in its opinion good cause exists therefor. The board shall require from the successful bidder a contractor's bond in the amount and with the conditions imposed by law. Sh…

The board may cause any county road to be constructed or improved by use of county forces as provided in this section.(1) As used in this section:(a) "County forces" means regular employees of a county; and(b) "Road construction project costs" means the aggregate total of those c…

If the board determines that any construction should be performed by county forces, and the estimated cost of the work exceeds ten thousand dollars, it shall cause to be published in one issue of a newspaper of general circulation in the county, a brief description of the work to…

In lieu of the procedure for awarding contracts that is provided in RCW 36.77.020 through 36.77.040, a county may award contracts for public works projects on county roads using the small works roster process under RCW 39.04.151 through 39.04.154.[ 2023 c 395 s 26; 2000 c 138 s 2…

"Board" shall mean the county road administration board created by this chapter.[ 1965 ex.s. c 120 s 1.]

"Standards of good practice" shall mean general and uniform practices formulated and adopted by the board relating to the administration of county roads and the safe and efficient movement of people and goods over county roads, which shall apply to engineering, design procedures,…

There is created hereby a county road administration board consisting of nine members who shall be appointed by the executive committee of the Washington state association of counties. Prior to July 1, 1965 the executive committee of the Washington state association of counties s…

Six members of the county road administration board shall be county legislative authority members and three members shall be county engineers. If any member, during the term for which he or she is appointed, ceases to be either a member of a county legislative authority or a coun…

The board shall meet at least once quarterly and shall from time to time adopt rules and regulations for its own government and as may be necessary for it to discharge its duties and exercise its powers under this chapter. The board shall elect a chair from its own membership who…

The county road administration board shall appoint an executive director who shall be the chief administrative officer of the board and shall be responsible for carrying out the policies adopted by the board. The executive director is exempt from the provisions of state civil ser…

The county road administration board shall:(1) Establish by rule, standards of good practice for the administration of county roads and the efficient movement of people and goods over county roads;(2) Establish reporting requirements for counties with respect to the standards of …

Members of the county road administration board shall receive no compensation for their service on the board, but shall be reimbursed for travel expenses incurred while attending meetings of the board or while engaged on other business of the board when authorized by the board in…

(1) Before May 1st of each year the board shall transmit to the state treasurer certificates of good practice on behalf of the counties which during the preceding calendar year:(a) Have submitted to the state department of transportation or to the board all reports required by la…

Whenever the board finds that a county has failed to submit the reports required by RCW 36.78.090, or has failed to comply with provisions of law relating to county road administration or has failed to meet the standards of good practice as formulated and adopted by the board, th…

All expenses incurred by the board including salaries of employees shall be paid upon voucher forms provided by the office of financial management or pursuant to a regular payroll signed by the chair and the executive director of the board. All expenses of the board shall be paid…

The county road administration board, or its successor entity, shall establish a standard of good practice for maintenance of transportation system assets. This standard must be implemented by all counties no later than December 31, 2007. The board shall develop a model maintenan…

(1) The board may create an emergency revolving loan program that is self-supporting in accordance with RCW 43.88.190. The board may award emergency loans to counties with a population of less than eight hundred thousand as of April 1, 2019, from the funds available in the county…

(1) The county road administration board emergency loan account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. The account consists of: (a) All receipts from loan repayments and (b) any other revenues derived from transfers, gifts, grants, or bequests to the board for emergenc…

The definitions set forth in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.(1) "Rural arterial program" means improvement projects on those county roads in rural areas classified as rural arterials and collectors in accordance with the f…

There is created in the motor vehicle fund the rural arterial trust account. All moneys deposited in the motor vehicle fund to be credited to the rural arterial trust account shall be expended for (1) the construction and improvement of county rural arterials and collectors, (2) …

For the purpose of apportioning rural arterial trust account funds, the state is divided into five regions as follows:(1) The Puget Sound region includes those areas within the counties of King, Pierce, and Snohomish.(2) The northwest region includes those areas within the counti…

Funds available for expenditure by the board pursuant to RCW 36.79.020 shall be apportioned to the five regions for expenditure upon county arterials in rural areas in the following manner:(1) One-third in the ratio which the land area of the rural areas of each region bears to t…

At the beginning of each fiscal biennium, the board shall establish apportionment percentages for the five regions defined in RCW 36.79.030 in the manner prescribed in RCW 36.79.040 for that biennium. The apportionment percentages shall be used once each calendar quarter by the b…

The board shall:(1) Adopt rules necessary to implement the provisions of this chapter relating to the allocation of funds in the rural arterial trust account to counties;(2) Adopt reasonably uniform design standards for county rural arterials and collectors that meet the requirem…

The board may contract with the department of transportation to furnish any necessary staff services and facilities required in the administration of the rural arterial program. The cost of such services that are attributable to the rural arterial program, together with travel ex…

In preparing their respective six-year programs relating to rural arterial improvements, counties shall select specific priority improvement projects for each functional class of arterial based on the rating of each arterial section proposed to be improved in relation to other ar…

Upon receipt of a county's revised six-year program, the board as soon as practicable shall review and may revise the construction program as it relates to rural arterials and the construction of replacement bridges funded by the federal bridge replacement program on access roads…

Whenever a rural arterial enters a city or town, the proper city or town and county officials shall jointly plan the improvement of the arterial in their respective long-range plans. Whenever a rural arterial connects with and will be substantially affected by a programmed constr…

The county road administration board and the transportation improvement board shall jointly adopt rules to assure coordination of their respective programs especially with respect to projects proposed by the group of incorporated cities outside the boundaries of federally approve…

Counties receiving funds from the rural arterial trust account for construction of arterials and the construction of replacement bridges funded by the federal bridge replacement program on access roads in rural areas shall provide such matching funds as established by rules recom…

Not later than November 1st of each even-numbered year the board shall prepare and present to the office of financial management a recommended budget for expenditures from the rural arterial trust account during the ensuing biennium. The budget shall contain an estimate of the re…

At the time the board reviews the six-year program of each county each even-numbered year, it shall consider and shall approve for inclusion in its recommended budget, as required by RCW 36.79.130, the portion of the rural arterial construction program scheduled to be performed d…

(1) Whenever the board approves a rural arterial project it shall determine the amount of rural arterial trust account funds to be allocated for such project. The allocation shall be based upon information contained in the six-year plan submitted by the county seeking approval of…

(1) Upon completion of a preliminary proposal, the county submitting the proposal shall submit to the board its voucher for payment of the trust account share of the cost. Upon the completion of an approved rural arterial construction project, the county constructing the project …

The legislative body of any county feeling aggrieved by any action or decision of the board with respect to this chapter may appeal to the secretary of transportation by filing a notice of appeal within ninety days after the action or decision of the board. The notice shall speci…

This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, the support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect on July 1, 1983.[ 1983 1st ex.s. c 49 s 33.]

The county legislative authority of each county shall employ a county road engineer on either a full-time or part-time basis, or may contract with another county for the engineering services of a county road engineer from such other county.[ 2002 c 9 s 1; 1997 c 147 s 1; 1991 c 3…

The county road engineer shall keep an office at the county seat. The records under the authority of the county road engineer shall be public records, shall be subject to the control of the county road engineer, and shall at all proper times be open to the inspection and examinat…

He or she shall be a registered and licensed professional civil engineer under the laws of this state, duly qualified and experienced in highway and road engineering and construction. He or she shall serve at the pleasure of the board.Before entering upon his or her employment, e…

The county road engineer shall certify to the board and has authority over all estimates and all bills for labor, materials, provisions, and supplies with respect to county roads, prepare standards of construction of roads and bridges, and perform such other duties as may be requ…

The office of county engineer shall be an office of record. The county road engineer shall: Record and has authority over all matters concerning the public roads, highways, bridges, ditches, or other surveys of the county, with the original papers, documents, petitions, surveys, …

He or she shall ensure that a highway plat record is kept and is publicly accessible, in which he or she shall have accurately platted all public roads and highways established by the board.[ 2016 c 19 s 6; 2009 c 549 s 4134; 1963 c 4 s 36.80.050. Prior: 1907 c 160 s 2; RRS s 414…

The county road engineer shall maintain and has authority over complete and accurate records of all expenditures for (1) administration, (2) bond and warrant retirement, (3) maintenance, (4) construction, (5) purchase and operation of road equipment, and (6) purchase or manufactu…

All road construction work, except minor construction work, which by its nature does not require plans and specifications, whether performed pursuant to contract or by day labor, shall be in accordance with plans and specifications prepared therefor by or under direct supervision…

The state auditor shall annually make a cost-audit examination of the books and records of the county road engineer and make a written report thereon to the county legislative authority. The expense of the examination shall be paid from the county road fund.[ 1995 c 301 s 69; 198…