OLYMPIA — The King Conservation District would be able to elect supervisors in November while other districts could stick with lower-profile and cheaper elections under a bill endorsed Wednesday by a House committee on a 4-3 vote.

House Bill 1652, stemming from concerns about poorly publicized elections, has the support of the Washington Association of Conservation Districts and State Conservation Commission.

Conservation districts could switch to general elections in November or continue to organize their own elections.

In a bid to increase turnout for self-organized elections, the state commission would pick and publicize one month for elections statewide. Currently, conservation districts can hold elections anytime in January, February or March.

HB 1652 also would require candidates to disclose campaign contributions and expenditures and file a financial affairs statement. Currently, conservation district candidates are exempt from the disclosure laws, standard for other office seekers.

Conservation districts would continue to have three elected supervisors and two appointed by the state commission. Terms would be lengthened to four years from three years.

All voters are eligible to vote for conservation district supervisors, but they must request ballots or seek out polling times and places. Washington voters are accustomed to receiving mail-in ballots.

The League of Women Voters and others argue conservation district supervisors handle too much public money to be picked in such low-turnout elections. Conservation districts say paying to be on general election ballots would take up money for conservation.

Conservation district supervisors in King County, the state’s most populous county, supported more sweeping changes.

The district’s three elected supervisors testified Jan. 27 in favor of eliminating the two appointed positions and electing all five supervisors in November.

The King Conservation District has publicized elections and lets voters cast ballots online, but turnout is still less than 1%, Supervisor Kirstin Haugen said.

“You can fix this or we can continue to have these fake elections,” she said.

The state has 44 other conservation districts, and no other one echoed King County’s support for electing all supervisors on the general election ballot in November.

Washington Association of Conservation Districts executive director Tom Salzer called the proposal to require November elections a “conservation district killer.”

San Juan Islands Conservation District manager Paul Andersson said conservation districts spent months on the legislation that became HB 1652.

The competing legislation, he said, “seems to us like a drastic measure, out of left field, even a bit of a slap in the face to conservation districts statewide.”

On Wednesday, the House committee let the more-sweeping legislation die.

Instead, the committee passed the more widely supported bill, though the legislation was amended at the last moment to require conservation district candidates to follow the disclosure laws.

HB 1652 then passed with the support of three Democrats and the committee’s top-ranking Republican, Rep. Mike Volz of Spokane.

Two Republicans withheld their support. Volz said his colleagues were hesitant to immediately endorse the new campaign and financial reporting requirements.

Rep. Mia Gregerson, D-SeaTac, who introduced the more far-reaching legislation, also voted no.