A bill that would update a law from the 1950s pertaining to residency requirements of a county position known as the chief examiner was approved by the Senate today by a vote of 48-0. House Bill 1752 was sponsored by Rep. Brad Hawkins, R-East Wenatchee, at the request of the Chelan County Commissioners. A chief examiner maintains records and testing procedures for civil service positions in counties.

A chief examiner is a staff-level, non-elected position usually within a county’s human resources division. Under current law, a county’s chief examiner must reside within the county. House Bill 1752 would relieve counties of this strict residency requirement by allowing employees who serve in this role to live within the county or an adjacent county.

“In the Wenatchee Valley, because of the proximity of our two cities, counties, and school districts, some employees live in one jurisdiction and work in another. When the county brought this old statute to my attention about a staff-level county position, I thought it made sense to get it updated,” said Hawkins. “Other counties in the state need this little-known law updated as well and might not even realize they have a potential compliance issue. It is a modest bill to refresh an old statute, but I am glad I can help.”

House Bill 1752 passed the House of Representatives 92-4. Now that it has been approved by the full Senate, it advances to Governor Inslee for his signature.

Left to right:  Cathy Mulhall, Chelan County Administrator, Rep. Hawkins, Chelan County Commissioner Keith Goehner, Katie Batson, Human Resources Director.

For more information about Rep. Hawkins, visit: www.representativebradhawkins.com.

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Rep. Hawkins’ media:
       
Washington State House Republican Communications
www.houserepublicans.wa.gov
461 John L. O’Brien Building
P.O. Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600
             

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