Translate
King County legislative history
Under territorial law, Washington State placed the administration of each organized county under an elected three-member board of county commissioners. In 1948, home rule legislation was passed allowing county citizens to create and adopt different governance structures.
King County Commissioners 1853 to April 30, 1969
The King County Board of Commissioners served from 1853 until April 30, 1969. The Commissioners issued resolutions (authorizing expenditures, or granting privileges). Commissioners' resolutions were officially part of its proceedings, the legal, evidentiary record of all actions taken by the Commissioners.
King County Council May 1, 1969 to present
In 1968, King County residents voted to adopt the home rule charter, which provided for a nine-member county council to serve as the legislative branch of county government. On May 1, 1969, the County's first council was sworn in.
The adoption of a county council resulted in different forms of legislative files. Instead of resolutions and proceedings, King County Council issues ordinances (laws) and motions (policy statements).
Legislative records at King County Archives
King County Council Ordinances
Available online
Ordinances 1 - 13986 are available on Legislative Archive through the Clerk of the Council website. You may search by ordinance number. When searching by numbers, enter a 5-digit number with leading zeros (example: 123 as 00123).
Ordinances 13987 to current are available on Legisearch throught the Clerk of the Council website.
Originals (with supporting documentation)
King County Archives holds physical copies of Ordinances 1 - 14824.
The Clerk of the King County Council holds physical copies of Ordinances 14825 to present.
King County Council Motions
Available online
Motions 1 - 11012 are available on Legislative Archive through the Clerk of the Council website. You may search by the motion number. When searching by numbers, enter a 5-digit number with leading zeros (example: 123 as 00123).
Motions 11013 - present are available on Legisearch through the Clerk of the Council website.
Originals (with supporting documentation)
King County Archives holds physical copies of motions 1 - 11834
The Clerk of the King County Council holds physical copies of motions 11835 - current.
King County Commissioners' Resolutions
Resolutions 1 - 37119
King County Archives holds the complete set of Commissioners' Resolutions.
Zoning ordinances in Commissioners' Resolutions
Historical county zoning codes were enacted as Commissioner Resolutions. These codes are sometimes referenced on old property documents. If you are looking for zoning code resolutions 6494, 11373, 12424, 18801, or 25789, please visit our research guide, Historical Zoning Records in King County, for more information and digitized versions of the resolutions.
King County Commissioners' Proceedings
Volumes 1 to 74 (1853 to1963) and Volumes 1 to 23 (1963 to 1969)
King County Archives holds a complete set of these records.
Not all actions of the County Commissioners were documented by resolutions. The Commissioners' Proceedings contain the texts of orders (for example, road vacation orders) and results of authorizing votes. Two types of entries in the proceedings are indexed electronically (resolutions and miscellaneous).
The handwritten Index to Commissioners' Records (1853 -1969) provides lists of names, topics and location information for entries in the Commissioners' Proceedings. It also provides information about other associated record series that further detail commissioner actions. The index consists of 18 volumes arranged in various formats over time. For the most part, the following information is presented in alphabetical and chronological line entries: personal, corporate or agency name; subject; year; proceedings volume and page; remarks (commissioner action taken or other details); and record series file numbers.
At times, Commissioner Actions included referral to another county body (e.g. the engineer or prosecuting attorney). Some associated records pertaining to the matters brought before the County Commissioners were retained by the commissioners or the county agency involved. Many were not retained, however, as the Proceedings entries themselves were considered to constitute legal sufficiency.