AN ACT Relating to weed control; amending RCW 17.10.010, 17.10.030, 17.10.060, 17.10.080, 17.10.090, 17.10.100, and 17.10.235; and adding new sections to chapter 17.10 RCW.

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

Sec. 1. Section 1, chapter 113, Laws of 1969 ex. sess. as amended by section 1, chapter 13, Laws of 1975 1st ex. sess. and RCW 17.10.010 are each amended to read as follows:

Unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context, the following words and phrases as hereinafter used in this chapter shall have the following meanings:

(1) "Noxious weed" means any plant ((growing in a county which is determined by the state noxious weed control board to be injurious to crops, livestock, or other property and which is included for purpose of control on such county's noxious weed list)) which when established is highly destructive, competitive, or difficult to control by cultural or chemical practices.

(2) "Person" means any individual, partnership, corporation, firm, the state or any department, agency, or subdivision thereof, or any other entity.

(3) "Owner" means the person in actual control of property, or his agent, whether such control is based on legal or equitable title or on any other interest entitling the holder to possession and, for purposes of liability, pursuant to RCW 17.10.170 or 17.10.210, means the possessor of legal or equitable title or the possessor of an easement: PROVIDED, That when the possessor of an easement has the right to control or limit the growth of vegetation within the boundaries of an easement, only the possessor of such easement shall be deemed, for the purpose of this chapter, an "owner" of the property within the boundaries of such easement.

(4) As pertains to the duty of an owner, the word "control" and the term "prevent the spread of noxious weeds" shall mean conforming to the standards of noxious weed control or prevention adopted by rule or regulation by an activated county noxious weed control board.

(5) "Agent" means any occupant or any other person acting for the owner and working or in charge of the land.

(6) "Agricultural purposes" are those which are intended to provide for the growth and harvest of food and fiber.

Sec. 2. Section 3, chapter 113, Laws of 1969 ex. sess. as amended by section 23, chapter 34, Laws of 1975-'76 2nd ex. sess. and RCW 17.10.030 are each amended to read as follows:

There is hereby created a state noxious weed control board which shall be comprised of ((~~six~~)) nine members((~~, three to~~)). Four of the members shall be elected by the members of the various activated county noxious weed control boards((~~. Three of the members of such board~~)), shall be residents of a county in which a county noxious weed control board has been activated and a member of said board, and be engaged in primary agricultural production at the time of their election and ((~~such~~)) those qualifications shall continue through their term of office. ((~~One such~~)) Two primary agricultural producer members shall be elected from the west side of the state, the crest of the Cascades being the dividing line, and two from the east side of the state. The director of agriculture shall be a member of the board, and the director of the agricultural extension service shall be a nonvoting member of the board. ((~~The elected members of the board shall appoint one member of the board who may be an expert in the field of weed control.~~)) One member shall be elected by the directors of the various active weed districts formed under chapter 17.04 or 17.06 RCW. The director shall appoint two members of county legislative authorities recommended by the Washington association of counties, one from the west side and one from the east side of the state. The term of office for all elected members and the appointed members of the board shall be three years from their date of election or appointment.

The director of agriculture shall provide for an election of the first members of the state noxious weed control board. ((Such election shall not take place sooner than six months nor later than twelve months after one county noxious weed control board has been activated on the west side of the Cascade mountains and two such county noxious weed boards have been activated on the east side of the Cascade mountains. The first board members elected to the state noxious weed control board shall serve staggered terms as follows:

(1) The board member representing the west side of the state on the activated county noxious weed control board as primary agricultural producer, shall be appointed for a term of one year and shall be designated "Position No. 1".

~~(2) The two board members representing the east side of the state shall be appointed to terms of two and three years and shall be designated respectively as positions "No. 2" and "No. 3".~~

~~(3) The member of the board subsequently appointed by the elected members shall be appointed for a three year term and shall be designated "Position No. 4".~~

(4) The director of agriculture and the director of agricultural extension service shall serve so long as they are vested with their respective titular positions, and their positions shall be "No. 5" and "No. 6" respectively.)) The director, by rule, shall establish a position number for each member of the board and shall designate which county noxious weed control board members are eligible to vote for each elected position. The elected members shall serve staggered terms.

Elections for the elected members of the board shall be held thirty days prior to the expiration date of their respective terms.

Nominations and elections shall be by mail and conducted by the director of agriculture.

The board shall conduct its first meeting within thirty days after all its members have been elected. The board shall elect from its members a chairman and such other officers as may be necessary. A majority of the voting members of the board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business and shall be necessary for any action taken by the board. The members of the board shall serve without salary, but shall be reimbursed for travel expenses incurred in the performance of their duties under this chapter in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060 as now existing or hereafter amended.

Sec. 3. Section 6, chapter 113, Laws of 1969 ex. sess. and RCW 17.10.060 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Each activated county noxious weed control board may employ a weed ((~~inspector~~)) coordinator whose duties shall be fixed by the board but which shall include inspecting land to determine the presence of noxious weeds. Within sixty days from the initial employment of a weed coordinator hired after the effective date of this 1986 act, the weed coordinator shall obtain a pest control consultant license or a pesticide operator license. A person employed by such a board as a weed coordinator or inspector on the effective date of this 1986 act shall obtain such a license within sixty days of the effective date of this 1986 act as a condition of that continued employment. Each board may purchase, rent or lease such equipment, facilities or products and may hire such additional persons as it deems necessary for the administration of the county's noxious weed control program.

(2) Each activated county noxious weed control board shall have the power to adopt such rules and regulations, subject to notice and hearing as provided in chapters 42.30 and 42.32 RCW as now or hereafter amended, as are necessary for an effective county weed control or eradication program.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 17.10 RCW to read as follows:

The county noxious weed board may seek the assistance of the county prosecuting attorney who has the legal authority to assist the board in enforcing this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 17.10 RCW to read as follows:

In addition to the powers conferred on the director of the department of agriculture under other provisions of this chapter, the director, with the consent of the state noxious weed control board, has the authority to allocate funds appropriated to the department for cost share and financial aid programs in the counties with activated county noxious weed control boards or weed districts.

Sec. 6. Section 8, chapter 113, Laws of 1969 ex. sess. as amended by section 5, chapter 13, Laws of 1975 1st ex. sess. and RCW 17.10.080 are each amended to read as follows:

The state noxious weed control board shall each year or more often, following a hearing, adopt by rule in accordance with chapter 34.04 RCW, a list comprising the names of those plants which it finds to be ((~~injurious to crops, livestock or other property~~)) noxious weeds and a list of noxious weed seeds and toxic noxious weeds that will be controlled in salable hay. At ((~~such~~)) the hearing any county noxious weed control board or weed district may request the inclusion of any plant to the list to be adopted by the state board.

((~~Such~~)) The list when adopted shall be designated as the "((~~proposed~~)) noxious weed list((",))," and the state board shall send a copy of the ((~~same~~)) list to each activated county noxious weed control board, to each regional noxious weed control board and weed district, and to the county legislative authority of each county with an inactive noxious weed control board. The lists shall include the board's reasons for including each plant or seed listed.

Sec. 7. Section 9, chapter 113, Laws of 1969 ex. sess. and RCW 17.10.090 are each amended to read as follows:

Each county noxious weed control board and weed district shall, within thirty days of the receipt of the ((~~proposed~~)) noxious weed list from the state noxious weed control board and following a hearing, select those weeds from the ((~~proposed~~)) list which it finds necessary to be controlled in the county. The weeds thus selected shall be classified within this county as noxious weeds, and ((~~such~~)) those weeds shall comprise the county noxious weed list.

Sec. 8. Section 10, chapter 113, Laws of 1969 ex. sess. and RCW 17.10.100 are each amended to read as follows:

Where any of the following occur, the state noxious weed control board may, following a hearing, order any county noxious weed control board or weed district to include a ((~~proposed~~)) noxious weed from the state board's list in the county's noxious weed list:

(1) Where the state noxious weed control board receives a petition from at least one hundred landowners owning one acre or more of land within the county requesting that ((~~such~~)) the weed be listed.

(2) Where the state noxious weed control board receives a request for such inclusion from an adjacent county's noxious weed control board or weed district, which board or district has included ((~~such~~)) that weed in the county list and which board or weed district alleges that its noxious weed control program is being hampered by the failure to include ((~~such~~)) the weed on the county's noxious weed list.

Sec. 9. Section 4, chapter 118, Laws of 1979 and RCW 17.10.235 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Any person who knowingly sells hay containing viable ((~~tansy ragwort seed~~)) noxious weed seeds designated by the state noxious weed control board in sufficient amounts to create a hazard of the spread of ((~~tansy ragwort~~)) noxious weeds by seed, and any person who knowingly sells hay containing ((~~tansy ragwort~~)) toxic noxious weeds in sufficient amounts to be injurious to the health of the animal that consumes it, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(2) The director of agriculture shall adopt rules establishing the amount of ((~~tansy ragwort seed~~)) designated noxious weed seeds or ((~~tansy ragwort~~)) toxic noxious weeds in hay that constitutes a violation of subsection (1) of this section. The department of agriculture shall, upon request of the buyer, inspect hay and charge fees, in accordance with chapter 22.09 RCW, to determine the presence of ((~~tansy ragwort~~)) designated noxious weed seeds.