Nealey passes first bill, gains House accolades
Measure sets requirements for public facility districts to meet when sending tax propositions to voters
Fellow legislators gave Rep. Terry Nealey a standing ovation after the freshman lawmaker's first prime-sponsored bill passed the House of Representatives today, 97-0.
House Bill 2525 would require that a majority of board members from each jurisdiction serving on multi-city/county public facilities districts give approval before submitting tax propositions to voters.
In 2009 the Legislature approved a law that allows multiple jurisdictions to form a single public facilities district (PFD) to pay for regional projects. The purpose behind the bill was to allow Richland, Pasco and Kennewick to pool their resources with taxpayer approval to build an aquatics center.
Nealey says his measure would correct an oversight from last year's measure.
“The bill that was passed last year had a technical problem, so this is just a simple fix,” said Nealey, R-Dayton. “It would allow the public facilities district board in our area to make non-taxing decisions without having to go to a vote of the people. However, it also ensures any tax propositions must be sent to the voters, and sets up requirements of majority board approval before that can happen.”
The measure quickly passed the House. Afterward, House members stood in applause to congratulate the 16th District lawmaker for passage of his first bill.
The measure now goes to the Senate for further consideration.
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PHOTO: Members of the House of Representatives congratulate Rep. Terry Nealey (just left of center) on the passage of his first bill.
