Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 42.24 RCW or any other existing statute, school districts and other public agencies including but not limited to state agencies and municipal corporations which are expressly or by necessary implication authorized to subscribe to magazines or other periodical publications or books or to purchase postage or publications from the United States government or any other publisher may make payment of the costs of such purchases in a manner as consistent as possible and practicable with normal and usual business methods, and in the case of subscriptions, for periods not in excess of three years.

(1) All claims presented against any county, city, district or other municipal corporation or political subdivision by persons furnishing materials, rendering services or performing labor, or for any other contractual purpose, shall be audited, before payment, by an auditing officer elected or appointed pursuant to statute or, in the absence of statute, an appropriate charter provision, ordinance or resolution of the municipal corporation or political subdivision. Such claims shall be prepared for audit and payment on a form and in the manner prescribed by the state auditor. The form shall provide for the authentication and certification by such auditing officer that the materials have been furnished, the services rendered, the labor performed as described, or that any advance payment is due and payable pursuant to a contract or is available as an option for full or partial fulfillment of a contractual obligation, and that the claim is a just, due and unpaid obligation against the municipal corporation or political subdivision. No claim shall be paid without such authentication and certification.

(2) Certification as to claims of officers and employees of a county, city, district or other municipal corporation or political subdivision, for services rendered, shall be made by the person charged with preparing and submitting vouchers for payment of services. He or she shall certify that the claim is just, true and unpaid, and that certification shall be part of the voucher.

Finding—2008 c 198: See note following RCW 39.34.030.

No claim for reimbursement of any expenditures by officers or employees of any municipal corporation or political subdivision of the state for transportation, lodging, meals or any other purpose shall be allowed by any officer, employee or board charged with auditing accounts unless the same shall be presented in a detailed account: PROVIDED, That, unless otherwise authorized by law, the legislative body of any municipal corporation or political subdivision of the state may prescribe by ordinance or resolution the amounts to be paid officers or employees thereof as reimbursement for the use of their personal automobiles or other transportation equipment in connection with officially assigned duties and other travel for approved public purposes, or as reimbursement to such officers or employees in lieu of actual expenses incurred for lodging, meals or other purposes. The rates for such reimbursements may be computed on a mileage, hourly, per diem, monthly, or other basis as the respective legislative bodies shall determine to be proper in each instance: PROVIDED, That in lieu of such reimbursements, payments for the use of personal automobiles for official travel may be established if the legislative body determines that these payments would be less costly to the municipal corporation or political subdivision of the state than providing automobiles for official travel.

All claims authorized under this section shall be duly certified by the officer or employee submitting such claims on forms and in the manner prescribed by the state auditor.

The certificates required by RCW 42.24.080 through 42.24.110 need not be sworn, but any person certifying a claim or making a claim knowing the same to be false or untrue shall be guilty of perjury in the second degree.

Any person who knowingly approves or pays or causes to be approved or paid a false or untrue claim shall be guilty of a gross misdemeanor and, in addition, he or she shall be civilly liable on his or her bond to the municipal corporation or political subdivision, as the case may be, for the amount so paid or for three hundred dollars whichever is the greater.

(1) Any municipal corporation or political subdivision may provide for the issuance of charge cards to officers and employees for the purpose of covering expenses incident to authorized travel.

(2) If a charge card is issued for the purpose of covering expenses relating to authorized travel, upon billing or no later than thirty days of the billing date, the officer or employee using a charge card issued under this section shall submit a fully itemized travel expense voucher. Any charges against the charge card not properly identified on the travel expense voucher or not allowed following the audit required under RCW 42.24.080 shall be paid by the official or employee by check, United States currency, or salary deduction.

(3) If, for any reason, disallowed charges are not repaid before the charge card billing is due and payable, the municipal corporation or political subdivision shall have a prior lien against and a right to withhold any and all funds payable or to become payable to the official or employee up to an amount of the disallowed charges and interest at the same rate as charged by the company which issued the charge card. Any official or employee who has been issued a charge card by a municipal corporation or political subdivision shall not use the card if any disallowed charges are outstanding and shall surrender the card upon demand of the auditing officer. The municipal corporation or political subdivision shall have unlimited authority to revoke use of any charge card issued under this section, and, upon such revocation order being delivered to the charge card company, shall not be liable for any costs.

Findings—1995 c 30: See note following RCW 43.09.2855.

Severability—1984 c 203: See note following RCW 35.43.140.

Whenever it becomes necessary for an elected or appointed official or employee of the municipal corporation or political subdivision to travel and incur expenses, the legislative body of such municipal corporation or political subdivision may provide, in the manner that local legislation is officially enacted, reasonable allowances to such officers and employees in advance of expenditure. Such advance shall be made under appropriate rules and regulations to be prescribed by the state auditor.

The legislative body of a municipal corporation or political subdivision wishing to make advance payments of travel expenses to officials and employees, as provided in RCW 42.24.120 through 42.24.160, will establish, in the manner that local legislation is officially enacted, a revolving fund to be used solely for the purpose of making advance payments of travel expenses. The revolving fund will be maintained in a bank as a checking account and advances to officials or employees will be by check. The fund will be replenished by warrant.

To protect the municipal corporation or political subdivision from any losses on account of advances made as provided in RCW 42.24.120 through 42.24.160, the municipal corporation or political subdivision shall have a prior lien against and a right to withhold any and all funds payable or to become payable by the municipal corporation or political subdivision to such officer or employee to whom such advance has been given, as provided in RCW 42.24.120 through 42.24.160, up to the amount of such advance and interest at the rate of ten percent per annum, until such time as repayment or justification has been made. No advance of any kind may be made to any officer or employee under RCW 42.24.120 through 42.24.160, at any time when he or she is delinquent in accounting for or repaying a prior advance under RCW 42.24.120 through 42.24.160.

On or before the fifteenth day following the close of the authorized travel period for which expenses have been advanced to any officer or employee, he or she shall submit to the appropriate official a fully itemized travel expense voucher, for all reimbursable items legally expended, accompanied by the unexpended portion of such advance, if any.

Any advance made for this purpose, or any portion thereof, not repaid or accounted for in the time and manner specified herein, shall bear interest at the rate of ten percent per annum from the date of default until paid.

An advance made under RCW 42.24.120 through 42.24.160 shall be considered as having been made to such officer or employee to be expended by him or her as an agent of the municipal corporation or political subdivision for the municipal corporation's or political subdivision's purposes only, and specifically to defray necessary costs while performing his or her official duties.

No such advance shall be considered as a personal loan to such officer or employee and any expenditure thereof, other than for official business purposes, shall be considered a misappropriation of public funds.

Special purpose districts may expend funds to recruit job candidates and reimburse candidates for reasonable and necessary travel expenses, including transportation, subsistence, and lodging.

In order to expedite the payment of claims, the legislative body of any *taxing district, as defined in RCW 43.09.260, may authorize the issuance of warrants or checks in payment of claims after the provisions of this chapter have been met and after the officer designated by statute, or, in the absence of statute, an appropriate charter provision, ordinance, or resolution of the *taxing district, has signed the checks or warrants, but before the legislative body has acted to approve the claims. The legislative body may stipulate that certain kinds or amounts of claims shall not be paid before the board has reviewed the supporting documentation and approved the issue of checks or warrants in payment of those claims. However, all of the following conditions shall be met before the payment:

(1) The auditing officer and the officer designated to sign the checks or warrants shall each be required to furnish an official bond for the faithful discharge of his or her duties in an amount determined by the legislative body but not less than fifty thousand dollars;

(2) The legislative body shall adopt contracting, hiring, purchasing, and disbursing policies that implement effective internal control;

(3) The legislative body shall provide for its review of the documentation supporting claims paid and for its approval of all checks or warrants issued in payment of claims at its next regularly scheduled public meeting or, for cities and towns, at a regularly scheduled public meeting within one month of issuance; and

(4) The legislative body shall require that if, upon review, it disapproves some claims, the auditing officer and the officer designated to sign the checks or warrants shall jointly cause the disapproved claims to be recognized as receivables of the *taxing district and to pursue collection diligently until the amounts disapproved are collected or until the legislative body is satisfied and approves the claims.

*Reviser's note: "Taxing district" redesignated "local government" by 1995 c 301 s 15.