S-4207               _______________________________________________

                                         SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL NO. 6239

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1988 Regular Session

By Senate Committee on Environment & Natural Resources (originally sponsored by Senators Zimmerman, Metcalf and Rasmussen)

Read first time 1/29/88.

AN ACT Relating to a fisheries hotline; adding new sections to chapter 75.08 RCW; and making an appropriation.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 75.08 RCW to read as follows:

          (1) The department shall operate a twenty-four hour per day hotline for specific fishery user groups or individuals to call to obtain information regarding rules and information of the department including, but not limited to, season openings or closings, size limitations, species restrictions, or gear regulation.  For purposes of sections 1 and 2 of this act, "hotline" means a telephone system that specific individuals can call to receive a recorded message concerning rules and other information from the department. At a minimum, there shall be a separate message for each of the following user groups:

          (a)  Commercial--Puget Sound and straits of Juan de Fuca;

          (b)  Commercial--coast and Columbia river;

          (c)  Sports--Puget Sound and straits of Juan de Fuca;

          (d)  Sports--coast and Columbia river.

          (2) The message on each of the hotlines shall, in addition to the pertinent regulatory information, indicate the dates and time for which the message is valid.  For documentation purposes, the department shall keep a recorded copy of each message for a period of at least five years.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 75.08 RCW to read as follows:

          The department of fisheries, in providing information service by telephone, may establish charges to recover the cost of those services.  However, charging for the service shall not price it at a profit to create excess revenue for the department.  The fee structure in this section shall be higher for the first two years of operation in order to repay the general fund for the forty-five thousand dollar appropriation for the biennium ending June 30, 1989.  The department shall do a cost-benefit analysis of the available methods of providing the service and shall adopt the method that provides the service at the lowest cost to the user and the department.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     The sum of forty-five thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, from the general fund to the department of fisheries for the purpose of acquiring and operating a hotline system as required by this act.