AN ACT Relating to noxious weed control funding; amending RCW 46.16.060; adding new sections to chapter 17.10 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 43.131 RCW; and providing an expiration date.

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

Sec. 1. Section 46.16.060, chapter 12, Laws of 1961 as last amended by section 8, chapter 342, Laws of 1981 and RCW 46.16.060 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Except as otherwise specifically provided by law for the licensing of vehicles, there shall be paid and collected annually for each registration year or fractional part thereof and upon each vehicle a license fee or, if the vehicle was previously licensed in this state and has not been registered in another jurisdiction in the intervening period, a renewal license fee in the amounts specified in subsection (2) of this section, and the proceeds of such fees shall be distributed in accordance with RCW 46.68.030 as now or hereafter amended: PROVIDED, ((~~HOWEVER,~~)) That the fee for licensing each house-moving dolly which is used exclusively for moving buildings or homes on the highway under special permit as provided for in chapter 46.44 RCW, shall be twenty-five dollars and no other fee shall be charged for the load carried thereon.

(2) The ((~~amounts of the~~)) vehicle license fee shall be twenty-three dollars and renewal license fee shall be((:

~~!tm3,1,2 !tj1!tcLicense!tcRenewal~~

~~!sc ,6Effective!sc ,1Date!tj1!tcFee!tcLicense!sc ,1Fee~~

~~!sc ,6Until!sc ,1July 1,!sc ,0011982!tj1!tc$13.40!tc$9.40~~

~~!sc ,6July!sc ,0011,!sc ,0011982!tj1!tc$23.00!tc$19.00~~))

!ixnineteen dollars. The proceeds of the fees shall be distributed in accordance with RCW 46.68.030.

(3) The department of licensing, county auditors, and other authorized agents shall collect for any registration year any increase in the fees authorized by this section for the months of that registration year in which any such increase is effective in the same manner and at the same time as such fees for that registration year would otherwise be collected as provided by law.

(4) At the same time that the license fees set under subsections (1) and (2) of this section are collected, the department of licensing, county auditors, and other authorized agents shall collect a special fifty-cent assessment, not levied for highway purposes, which shall be deposited in the noxious weed control fund created by section 2 of this 1985 act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 17.10 RCW to read as follows:

(1) There is hereby created an account in the treasury, to be known as the noxious weed control fund.

(2) Moneys in the fund are subject to appropriation. The moneys shall be distributed from the fund annually by the director of agriculture in accordance with section 3 of this act and shall be used solely for: (a) The purchase of materials or biological control agents for controlling or eradicating noxious weeds; or (b) conducting research regarding such control. Moneys from the fund distributed under section 3(1) of this act shall not be used for administrative costs, compensating personnel, or controlling weeds by mechanical means.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 17.10 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The director of agriculture after consultation with the state noxious weed control board shall by April 1 of each year distribute funds from the noxious weed control fund created by section 2 of this act to those county noxious weed control boards activated under this chapter and active weed districts created under chapters 17.04 and 17.06 RCW, that employ administrative personnel to supervise a weed control program, as determined by the director. The director shall allocate moneys from the fund to the noxious weed control boards at the rate of two and one-half cents per acre for lands within the physical boundaries of the county, plus five cents per motor vehicle registered within that county. Funds shall be allocated on the same basis to counties having more than one weed district and shall be distributed by the director to weed districts based on the percentage of lands of the county which are within the physical boundaries of the weed district. The director after consultation with the state noxious weed control board shall allocate remaining moneys from the fund to the noxious weed control boards and districts based on the severity of noxious weed control problems within the jurisdiction of each if the noxious weed control board or district first submits a request in writing to the director prior to January 1 of each year, stating the amount needed of the unallocated funds and for what purpose the funds would be spent.

(2) One hundred thousand dollars shall be allocated by the director of agriculture, after consultation with the state noxious weed control board, each fiscal year from the noxious weed control fund to one or more state institutions of higher education for research in biological control of noxious weeds and field applications of such controls. Funds provided under this subsection shall not be used to supplant any other funds available to the institutions of higher education for this purpose. The funds shall be allocated only each fiscal year that the director, after consultation with the state noxious weed control board, determines that a reasonable and productive research program will be conducted.

(3) Moneys from the fund that are unexpended one year after having been distributed by the director of agriculture shall be distributed to the general fund.

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

The department of agriculture shall provide a written report prior to January 1 of each year to the legislature showing the amount of funds disbursed to each noxious weed control board or district from the noxious weed control fund and how the funds were spent.

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

The department of agriculture may adopt such rules, pursuant to chapter 34.04 RCW, as the department deems necessary for the administration of sections 2 through 4 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 43.131 RCW to read as follows:

The program established under sections 2, 3, and 4 of this act shall be subject to the sunset review process established in this chapter and shall terminate on June 30, 1991, as provided in section 7 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. A new section is added to chapter 43.131 RCW to read as follows:

The following acts or parts of acts, as now existing or hereafter amended, are each repealed, effective June 30, 1991:

(1) Section 2 of this act;

(2) Section 3 of this act;

(3) Section 4 of this act; and

(4) Section 5 of this act.