READ FIRST TIME 02/12/07.   

     AN ACT Relating to farmland preservation; amending RCW 89.08.530 and 89.08.540; adding a new section to chapter 90.84 RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 89 RCW; providing an expiration date; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. The legislature finds that maintaining the capacity to provide adequate food and fiber resources is essential to the long-term sustainability of the state's citizens and economy. The nation's population has reached three hundred million and will continue to increase for the foreseeable future. Further, the world population is now over six billion and is projected to reach nine billion by the year 2050.
     In Washington state, the population is growing by over one million people every decade with much of this growth occurring in western Washington. This growth is increasing the competition for land not only for housing, but also associated retail, commercial, industrial, and leisure industries.
     The legislature finds that many once-productive agricultural areas in western Washington have been overtaken and irreversibly converted to nonagricultural uses. Other agricultural areas in the state have diminished to the point that they are dangerously close to losing the land mass necessary to be economically viable. Further, only a limited number of areas in western Washington still retain a sufficient agricultural land base and the necessary agricultural infrastructure to continue to be economically viable both in the short term and the long term.
     The legislature recognizes that because this significant decline has largely occurred in less than a half century, it is imperative that mechanisms be established at the state level to focus attention, take the action needed to retain agricultural land, and ensure the opportunity for future generations to farm these lands.
     The legislature finds that history shows that previous advanced civilizations in the world were founded on highly productive agricultural lands and food production systems but when the land or its productivity was lost, the civilizations declined. In contrast, other civilizations have existed for millennia because they maintained their agricultural land base, its productivity, and economic conditions sufficient to maintain stewardship of their land.
     The legislature finds that there is a finite quantity of high quality agricultural land and that often this agricultural land is mistakenly viewed as an expendable resource. The legislature finds that the retention of agricultural land is desirable, not only to produce food, livestock, and other agricultural products, but also to maintain our state economy and preferable environmental conditions. For these reasons, and because it is essential that agricultural production be sufficient to meet the needs of our growing population, commitment to the retention of agricultural land should be reflected at the state policy level by the creation of an office of farmland preservation to support the retention of farmland and the viability of farming for future generations.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   OFFICE OF FARMLAND PRESERVATION--POWERS AND DUTIES. (1) The office of farmland preservation is created and shall be located within the state conservation commission.
     (2) Staff support for the office shall be provided by the state conservation commission.
     (3) The office of farmland preservation may:
     (a) Provide advice and assist the state conservation commission in implementing the provisions of RCW 89.08.530 and 89.08.540, including the merits of leasing or purchasing easements for fixed terms in addition to purchasing easements in perpetuity;
     (b) Develop recommendations for the funding level and for the use of the agricultural conservation easements account established in RCW 89.08.540 with the guidance of the farmland preservation task force established under section 3 of this act;
     (c) With input from the task force created in section 3 of this act, provide an analysis of the major factors that have led to past declines in the amount and use of agricultural lands in Washington and of the factors that will likely affect retention and economic viability of these lands into the future including, but not limited to, pressures to convert land to nonagricultural uses, loss of processing plants and markets, loss of profitability, productivity, and competitive advantage, urban sprawl, water availability and quality, restrictions on agricultural land use, and conversion to recreational or other uses;
     (d) Develop model programs and tools, including innovative economic incentives for landowners, to retain agricultural land for agricultural production, with the guidance from the farmland preservation task force created under section 3 of this act;
     (e) Provide technical assistance to localities as they develop and implement programs, mechanisms, and tools to encourage the retention of agricultural lands;
     (f) Develop a grant process and an eligibility certification process for localities to receive grants for local programs and tools to retain agricultural lands for agricultural production;
     (g) Provide analysis and recommendations as to the continued development and implementation of the farm transition program including, but not limited to, recommending:
     (i) Assistance in the preparation of business plans for the transition of business interests;
     (ii) Assistance in the facilitation of transfers of existing properties and agricultural operations to interested buyers; and
     (iii) Research assistance on agricultural, financial, marketing, and other related transition matters;
     (h) Begin the development of a farm transition program to assist in the transition of farmland and related businesses from one generation to the next, aligning the farm transition program closely with the farmland preservation effort to assure complementary functions; and
     (i) Serve as a clearinghouse for incentive programs that would consolidate and disseminate information relating to conservation programs that are accessible to landowners and assist owners of agricultural lands to secure financial assistance to implement conservation easements and other projects.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   FARMLAND PRESERVATION TASK FORCE. (1) The farmland preservation task force is established with the following voting members:
     (a) Six farmer representatives, one from each of six regions delineated by the state conservation commission at least one of whom is a commercial livestock producer, of which at least two representatives shall be under the age of forty-five, appointed by the governor from persons nominated by recognized agricultural organizations;
     (b) A representative of the state conservation commission, appointed by the chair of the state conservation commission;
     (c) A representative of the department of agriculture, appointed by the director;
     (d) A representative of counties in eastern Washington, appointed by the Washington state association of counties;
     (e) A representative of counties in western Washington, appointed by the Washington state association of counties;
     (f) Two members of the senate, one from each major political caucus, appointed by the president of the senate;
     (g) Two members of the house of representatives, one from each major political caucus, appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives;
     (h) A representative of the office of the governor, appointed by the governor; and
     (i) A representative of conservation districts, appointed by the state association of conservation districts.
     (2) The following persons shall be requested to participate as nonvoting members of the farmland preservation task force:
     (a) A representative of the federal natural resources conservation service with knowledge of federal agricultural land retention programs and funding sources, appointed by the state conservationist; and
     (b) A person with technical expertise from the department of community, trade, and economic development, appointed by the agency's director.
     (3) The task force shall meet at least twice a year. The task force shall be staffed by the state conservation commission. The chair of the task force shall be elected for a term of one year by the voting members of the task force.
     (4) Nonlegislative members of the task force are entitled to be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060 by the state conservation commission. Legislative members of the task force are entitled to be reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 44.04.120.
     (5) This section expires January 1, 2011.

Sec. 4   RCW 89.08.530 and 2002 c 280 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The agricultural conservation easements program is created. The state conservation commission shall manage the program and adopt rules as necessary to implement the legislature's intent.
     (2) The commission shall report to the legislature on an on-going basis regarding potential funding sources for the purchase of agricultural conservation easements under the program and recommend changes to existing funding authorized by the legislature.
     (3) All funding for the program shall be deposited into the agricultural conservation easements account created in RCW 89.08.540. Expenditures from the account shall be made to local governments and private nonprofits on a match or no match required basis at the discretion of the commission. Moneys in the account may be used to purchase easements in perpetuity or to purchase or lease easements for a fixed term.
     (4) Easements purchased with money from the agricultural conservation easements account run with the land.

Sec. 5   RCW 89.08.540 and 2002 c 280 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The agricultural conservation easements account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. All receipts from legislative appropriations, other sources as directed by the legislature, and gifts, grants, or endowments from public or private sources must be deposited into the account. Expenditures from the account may be used only for the purchase of easements in perpetuity or for the purchase or lease of easements for a fixed term under the agricultural conservation easements program. Only the state conservation commission, or the executive director of the commission on the commission's behalf, may authorize expenditures from the account. The account is subject to allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but an appropriation is not required for expenditures.
     (2) The commission is authorized to receive and expend gifts, grants, or endowments from public or private sources that are made available, in trust or otherwise, for the use and benefit of the agricultural conservation easements program.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   A new section is added to chapter 90.84 RCW to read as follows:
     Agricultural land shall not be acquired by a governmental entity for wetland mitigation purposes through eminent domain.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   Section 6 of this act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   CAPTIONS NOT LAW. Captions used in this act are not any part of the law.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9   Sections 1 through 3 and 8 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 89 RCW.