Washington State
House of Representatives
Office of Program Research
BILL
ANALYSIS
Appropriations Committee
SB 5058
Brief Description: Making technical changes to certain natural resources-related accounts.
Sponsors: Senators Rolfes and Van De Wege; by request of Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Brief Summary of Bill
  • Requires payments for livestock losses caused by wolves to be made from the Limited Fish and Wildlife Account, rather than the Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Account.
Hearing Date: 3/11/21
Staff: Dan Jones (786-7118).
Background:

Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Accounts.

The State Wildlife Account (SWA) is an account in the State Treasury that is appropriated to the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) for a variety of purposes, such as regulating recreation fishing and hunting, land management, wildlife conservation, and enforcement.  Many of the revenue sources for the SWA may only be used for a specific purpose.  For this reason, the WDFW manages the SWA as having a restricted portion, including each of the dedicated revenue streams, and a non-restricted portion, which may be used for WDFW operations generally.


The 2020 Legislature passed Chapter 148, Laws of 2020 (SSB 6072), which replaces the SWA with two new accounts as of July 1, 2021.  The Limited Fish and Wildlife Account is equivalent to the restricted portion of the SWA, and the Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Account is equivalent to the non-restricted portion of the SWA.


Payments for Livestock Loss Caused by Wolves.
One of the uses of the State Wildlife Account is for payments to livestock owners for injury or loss of livestock caused by wolves.  Claims for livestock damage must be approved by the WDFW, and the WDFW is limited to total payments of $50,000 for this purpose each fiscal year. 
Summary of Bill:

Beginning July 1, 2021, payments for injury or loss of livestock caused by wolves are made from the Limited Fish and Wildlife Account, rather than the Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Account.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Requested on March 7, 2021.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect on July 1, 2021.