H-4587              _______________________________________________

 

                                          SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL NO. 1429

                        _______________________________________________

 

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1986 Regular Session

 

By House Committee on Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Representatives Rust, Allen, Unsoeld, Brough, May, Ebersole, Nutley, Wang, Cole, Leonard, K. Wilson, McMullen, Jacobsen and Lux)

 

 

Read first time 2/10/86 and passed to Committee on Rules.

 

 


AN ACT Relating to mediation; creating new sections; making an appropriation; and providing an expiration date.

 

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

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1.     (1) The legislature finds and declares that:

          (a) There are often conflicts between economic development and environmental protection.  Imposed settlements to disputes rarely settle the conflict in a manner that is acceptable to all disputants.

          (b) There is a potential for more successful dispute resolutions if the disputants negotiate and universally agree to a settlement.

          (c) The assistance of a neutral mediator may aid the disputants in negotiating a mutually acceptable settlement.

          (d) Negotiated settlements often save time and expense.

          (e) Negotiated settlements often find more creative solutions to disputes instead of establishing winners and losers.

          (f) When all parties agree to the resolution of a dispute, there may be greater compliance and more predictable implementation.

          (g) Negotiation allows technical expertise to be used to find solutions to a dispute rather than prove that one side is right or wrong.

          (2) It is therefore the intent of the legislature to:

          (a) Encourage the use of mediation as a dispute resolution process;

(b) Offer grants to partially finance mediation of selected natural resource disputes; and

          (c) Evaluate the effectiveness of financial assistance for mediation.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2.     The definitions in this section apply throughout sections 1 through 5 of this act.

          (1) "Committee" means the committee for mediation.

          (2) "Disputant" means any person or group actively engaged in a natural resource dispute who would likely have legal standing to litigate the dispute.

          (3) "Mediation" means a voluntary process in which all disputants agree to work toward a mediated settlement with the assistance of a mediator.

          (4) "Mediator" means a person who all disputants agree can assist in settling the dispute.

          (5) "Mediated settlement" means a settlement to a dispute that is acceptable to all disputants.

          (6) "Natural resource dispute" means a dispute over the allocation, use, or protection of land, water, air, vegetation, fish, marine mammals, and nondomesticated animals.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3.     (1) The committee for mediation is established within the graduate school of public affairs at the University of Washington.  The committee shall consist of the following five members:

          (a) The governor or the governor's designee;

          (b) A member of the Washington state bar association;

          (c) A member of a recognized environmental organization;

          (d) A member of a recognized business organization; and

          (e) A member of a recognized organization of local governments.

          (2) Members of the committee shall be appointed by the governor, who shall select persons who have knowledge of, or experience with, mediated settlements of natural resource disputes.

          (3) The members of the committee shall not receive compensation but shall be reimbursed under RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060 for travel expenses incurred while attending official meetings of the committee.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4.     The committee may award grants to partially fund mediation of natural resource disputes.  In awarding the grants, the committee shall give priority to natural resource disputes that affect economic development in the state. The committee shall also consider the complexity and importance of the dispute, the likelihood of resolution through mediation, the disputants' ability to pay, and the limited financial resources available for grants.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5.     (1) As a condition of receiving a grant, the disputants and the mediator must agree to (a) give periodic reports to the committee on the progress of mediation, and (b) provide an evaluation of the effectiveness of financial assistance for mediation.

          (2) Any portion of a grant that is not used for mediation shall be returned to the committee.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6.     (1) By January 1, 1989, the committee shall submit to the legislature an evaluation of the effectiveness of mediation in settling natural resource disputes.  The evaluation shall include:

          (a) Recommendations for improvement;

          (b) Proposed legislation, if necessary; and

          (c) An assessment of the need for continued funding for mediation grants.

          (2) The committee shall cease to exist and sections 1 through 5 of this act shall expire on June 30, 1989.

 

          NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7.     The sum of forty-nine thousand five hundred dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1987, from the general fund to the University of Washington for the graduate school of public affairs for the purposes of this act.