How to form a committee

Counties have several options for establishing an ACAC:

  • Create a new committee by recruiting and appointing members with a diverse range of skills and experience, who understand the barriers faced by people with disabilities.
  • Expand the scope of a county voting access advisory committee that is required under RCW 29A.04.223. This option brings the added benefit that travel, per diem and reasonable accommodation costs for the voting access committee members become reimbursable, even when they are performing their duties related to voting access.
  • Designate an existing disability advocacy organization to be the ACAC if the current membership of the organization meets criteria for an ACAC (see “Who should serve on the committee?”)
  • Counties may join together and share a single ACAC, as long as not more than one of the participating counties has a population greater than 70,000.

Letters of Assurance [see sample letter here]:

A county establishes that it has an active ACAC by submitting a biennial (every other year) Letter of Assurance to the GCDE. The letter shall state that the decision to establish an ACAC was made by the county legislative authority, or by agents or officers acting under that authority.

If an ACAC is established by expanding the voting advisory committee established and maintained under RCW 2 29A.04.223, the Letter of Assurance shall state that the county auditor supports that expansion.

Letters of Assurance shall describe the qualifications and diversity of proposed ACAC members (see “Who Should Serve on the ACAC?”) and shall confirm that the ACAC will be actively involved in advising the county and other local governments within the county on access to programs, services and activities, new construction or renovation projects, sidewalks, other pedestrian routes of travel, and disability parking enforcement; developing local initiatives and activities to promote greater awareness of disability issues, and acceptance, involvement, and access for persons with disabilities within the community; and advising on addressing the needs of persons with disabilities in emergency plans.

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