Title 36, Title 36 COUNTIES

The several counties in this state shall have capacity as bodies corporate, to sue and be sued in the manner prescribed by law; to purchase and hold lands; to make such contracts, and to purchase and hold such personal property, as may be necessary to their corporate or administr…

The name of a county, designated by law, is its corporate name, and it must be known and designated thereby in all actions and proceedings touching its corporate rights, property, and duties.[ 1963 c 4 s 36.01.020. Prior: Code 1881 s 2654; RRS s 3983.]

Its powers can only be exercised by the county commissioners, or by agents or officers acting under their authority or authority of law.[ 1963 c 4 s 36.01.030. Prior: Code 1881 s 2655; RRS s 3984.]

Every conveyance of lands, or transfer of other property, made in any manner for the use of any county, shall have the same force and effect as if made to the county in its proper and corporate name.[ 1963 c 4 s 36.01.040. Prior: Code 1881 s 2656; 1863 p 538 s 2; 1854 p 329 s 2; …

(1) All actions against any county may be commenced in the superior court of such county, or in the superior court of either of the two nearest judicial districts. All actions by any county shall be commenced in the superior court of the county in which the defendant resides, or …

Each county shall be liable to pay the per diem and mileage, or other compensation in lieu thereof, to jurors of the county attending the superior court; the fees of the sheriff for maintaining prisoners charged with crimes, and the sheriff's costs in conveying them to and from t…

Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 72.01 RCW or any other provision of law, counties may engage in probation and parole services and employ personnel therefor under such terms and conditions as any such county shall so determine. If a county elects to assume responsibility…

Counties may construct, maintain, operate and collect rentals for parking facilities as a part of a courthouse or combined county-city building facility.[ 1969 ex.s. c 8 s 1.]Notes:Revenue bonds for parking facilities: RCW 36.67.520.

It shall be in the public purpose for all counties to engage in economic development programs. In addition, counties may contract with nonprofit corporations in furtherance of this and other acts relating to economic development.[ 1985 c 92 s 2.]

See RCW 36.32.450.

Any county may establish a system of emergency medical service as defined by RCW 18.73.030(11). The county legislative authority may adopt by resolution procedures to collect reasonable fees in order to reimburse the county in whole or in part for its costs of providing such serv…

The legislative authority of any county may by appropriate legislation provide for the establishment of a system of ambulance service for the entire county or for portions thereof, and award contracts for ambulance service: PROVIDED, That such legislation may not provide for the …

See RCW 84.52.069.

See RCW 36.32.470.

See RCW 35.21.730 through 35.21.755.

See chapter 80.58 RCW.

It is the finding of the legislature that foreign trade zones serve an important public purpose by the creation of employment opportunities within the state and that the establishment of zones designed to accomplish this purpose is to be encouraged. It is the further intent of th…

A county, as zone sponsor, may apply to the United States for permission to establish, operate, and maintain foreign trade zones: PROVIDED, That nothing herein shall be construed to prevent these zones from being operated and financed by a private corporation(s) on behalf of such…

The imposition of controls on rent is of statewide significance and is preempted by the state. No county may enact, maintain or enforce ordinances or other provisions which regulate the amount of rent to be charged for single-family or multiple-unit residential rental structures …

All entities of local government and agencies thereof are authorized to take action as follows to facilitate recovery from the devastation of the eruption of Mt. St. Helens:(1) Cooperate with the state, state agencies, and the United States Army Corps of Engineers and other agenc…

Except as limited by the maximum penalty authorized by law, no county may establish a penalty for an act that constitutes a crime under state law that is different from the penalty prescribed for that crime by state statute.[ 1993 c 83 s 2.]Notes:Effective date—1993 c 83: See not…

Any county authorized by territorial law to administer moneys held in trust for the benefit of school districts within the county, which moneys were bequeathed for such purposes by testamentary provision, may dissolve any trust, the corpus of which does not exceed fifty thousand …

(1) For any county in which a proposition authorized by RCW 82.14.400 has been passed, there shall be created a zoo and aquarium advisory authority.(2) The initial board of the authority shall be constituted as follows:(a) Three members appointed by the county legislative authori…

(1) Upon certification by the county auditor or, in the case of a home rule county, upon certification by the chief elections officer, that a proposition authorized under the terms of RCW 82.14.400 has received a majority of votes cast on the proposition, the county legislative a…

The county legislative authority of any county that receives payment in lieu of taxes and payment equal to tax funds from the United States department of energy under section 168 of the federal atomic energy act of 1954 and nuclear waste policy act of 1982 and that has an agreed …

(1) Each county functioning under chapter 36.56 RCW that owns or operates a rail fixed guideway public transportation system as defined in RCW 81.104.015 shall submit a system safety program plan and a system security and emergency preparedness plan for that guideway to the state…

(1) A county shall transmit a copy of any permit issued to a tenant or the tenant's agent for a mobile home, manufactured home, or park model installation in a mobile home park to the landlord.(2) A county shall transmit a copy of any permit issued to a person engaged in the busi…

(1) A county may not adopt an ordinance that has the effect, directly or indirectly, of discriminating against consumers' choices in the placement or use of a home in such a manner that is not equally applicable to all homes. Homes built to 42 U.S.C. Sec. 5401-5403 standards (as …

Except for occupant limits on group living arrangements regulated under state law or on short-term rentals as defined in RCW 64.37.010 and any lawful limits on occupant load per square foot or generally applicable health and safety provisions as established by applicable building…

A county may, acting through the county legislative authority, participate in and expend revenue on cooperative watershed management actions, including watershed management partnerships under RCW 39.34.210 and other intergovernmental agreements, for purposes of water supply, wate…

A county or governmental entity subject to this title may not regulate the terms, conditions, or disclosures of any lawful financial transaction between a consumer and (1) a business or professional under the jurisdiction of the department of financial institutions, or (2) any fi…

(1) Any county authorized to acquire and operate utilities or conduct other proprietary or user or ratepayer funded activities may develop and make publicly available a plan for the county to reduce its greenhouse gases emissions or achieve no-net emissions from all sources of gr…

(1) Any county may adopt urban forestry ordinances, as that term is defined in RCW 76.15.010, which the county must apply to new building or land development in the unincorporated portions of the county's urban growth areas, as that term is defined in RCW 36.70A.030, and may appl…

A county that issues a business license to a person required to be registered under chapter 18.27 RCW may verify that the person is registered under chapter 18.27 RCW and report violations to the department of labor and industries.[ 2009 c 432 s 4.]Notes:Report—2009 c 432: See RC…

The antidiscrimination provisions of RCW 49.60.500 apply to community athletics programs and facilities operated, conducted, or administered by a county.[ 2009 c 467 s 7.]Notes:Findings—Declarations—2009 c 467: See note following RCW 49.60.500.

(1) A religious organization may host the homeless on property owned or controlled by the religious organization whether within buildings located on the property or elsewhere on the property outside of buildings.(2) Except as provided in subsection (7) of this section, a county m…

(1) For the purpose of receiving criminal history record information by county officials, counties may:(a) By ordinance, require a state and federal background investigation of license applicants or licensees in occupations specified by ordinance;(b) By ordinance, require a feder…

(1) A county has the option to expand the scope of an advisory committee established and maintained under *RCW 29A.46.260 to that of an accessible community advisory committee, or to create an accessible community advisory committee.(2) A county that has an active accessible comm…

(1) Upon receipt of an application for a permit to site an energy plant or alternative energy resource that is connected to electrical transmission facilities of a nominal voltage of at least one hundred fifteen thousand volts, the county shall notify in writing the United States…

(1) A county with an ordinance or resolution requiring, upon the failure of an on-site septic system, connection to a public sewer system must, in accordance with this section, provide an administrative appeals process to consider denials of permit applications to repair or repla…

A county must comply with the requirements of RCW 47.01.485 in making a final determination on a permit as part of a project on a state highway as defined in RCW 46.04.560.[ 2015 3rd sp.s. c 15 s 5.]Notes:Effective date—Findings—Intent—2015 3rd sp.s. c 15: See notes following RCW…

Any county must hold a public hearing upon a proposal to remove, vacate, or extinguish a restrictive covenant from property owned by the county before the action is finalized. The public hearing must allow individuals to provide testimony regarding the proposed action. The county…

(1) A county may construct, purchase, acquire, develop, finance, lease, license, provide, contract for, interconnect, alter, improve, repair, operate, and maintain telecommunications services or telecommunications facilities for the purpose of furnishing the county and its inhabi…

No county may enact, enforce, or maintain an ordinance, regulation, or rule that regulates or otherwise treats a comprehensive cancer center participating in a collaborative arrangement as defined in RCW 28B.10.930 that is operated in conformance with RCW 28B.10.930 as a state ag…

A county may not prohibit the installation of wind and solar resource evaluation equipment necessary for the design and environmental planning of a renewable energy project.[ 2023 c 230 s 305.]Notes:Findings—Intent—2023 c 230: See note following RCW 43.394.010.

A county shall not in any way prohibit, penalize, or discourage the use of gas for any form of heating, or for uses related to any appliance or equipment, in any building.[ 2025 c 1 s 10 (Initiative Measure No. 2066, approved November 5, 2024).]Notes:Findings—2025 c 1 (Initiative…

(1) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, a county is prohibited from requiring or excluding exterior cladding materials that are in compliance with the state building code.(2) "Exterior cladding" means a nonload-bearing material attached to the exterior of a buil…

(1) Counties that have not adopted an ordinance, land use regulation, or local code related to the regulation of electric security alarm systems shall allow electric security alarm systems consistent with the following:(a) Electric security alarm systems may not be considered a f…

(1) A county may not require more than 0.5 parking space per multifamily dwelling unit or more than one parking space per single-family home.(2) A county may not require more than two parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of commercial space.(3) A county may not require any minimu…

(1)(a) Any sheriff in any county that uses volunteers or youth cadets, as defined in RCW 35.21.722, to assist in the sheriff's work may not provide authority to them, unless they have completed peace officer training and maintained certification requirements, to enforce criminal …