S-4737               _______________________________________________

                                         SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL NO. 6526

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1988 Regular Session

By Senate Committee on Agriculture (originally sponsored by Senators Barr, Hansen, Bauer and Zimmerman)

Read first time 2/3/88.

AN ACT Relating to conservation district assessment authority; and adding new sections to chapter 89.08 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 89.08 RCW to read as follows:

          Conservation districts are authorized to levy special assessments to finance all or part of their activities.  Such conservation districts shall, as a prerequisite, annually submit a budget to the county legislative authority for the operating cost of the district's program for the ensuing fiscal year.  Soil and water conservation activities are hereby declared to be a special benefit to the lands within any such district.  Funding for their activities may be derived from either or both of the following sources:

          (1) Legislative appropriations, as otherwise provided in this chapter; and/or

          (2) Assessments levied by the county legislative authority against the benefitted land within the district.

          If the county legislative authority elects to levy an assessment, the following procedures shall be used:

          (a) Prior to the levying of the assessment, the conservation district shall prepare a system of assessment for the district, classifying lands into suitable classifications according to benefits conferred, and determining a level of assessment for each classification of land.  The assessment rate shall be either uniform per acre in its respective class or a flat rate per parcel plus a uniform rate per acre.  If no special benefits accrue to a class of land, a zero assessment shall be levied.  If assessments are levied against public lands held or owned by the state, the procedures provided in chapter 79.44 RCW shall be followed.  Forest lands used solely for the planting, growing, or harvesting of trees may be subject to an annual conservation district assessment levied by a county legislative authority that shall not exceed one-tenth of the weighted average per acre conservation district assessment levied on all other lands within the district.  The calculation of the "weighted average per acre conservation district assessment" shall be a ratio expressed as follows:  (i) The numerator shall be the total amount of funds estimated to be collected from the per acre assessment on all lands except lands receiving no benefit from the conservation district.  (ii) The denominator shall be the total acreage from which funds are collected.  For those counties that levy a per parcel assessment to help fund conservation districts, the per parcel assessment on forest lands shall not exceed one-tenth of the per parcel assessment on nonforest lands.  The conservation district assessment levied on all lands within the district shall not exceed three cents per acre.

          (b) The assessment system shall be filed with the county legislative authority.  A public hearing on the assessment system shall be held by the county legislative authority.  The county legislative authority shall, after public hearing, adopt an ordinance finalizing the assessment system.  Budgets for each conservation district shall be adopted, and special assessments imposed, annually for the succeeding calendar year.

          (c) Notice of the special assessments due may be included with the notice of the property taxes due, and shall be due at the same time property taxes are due.  Assessments shall be collected by the county treasurer together with the property tax, and shall constitute a lien on the land upon which they are imposed.  Delinquent assessments shall be foreclosed in the same manner, and subject to the same time schedules, interest, and penalties as delinquent property taxes.

          (d) Prior to the levying of the assessment, the conservation district shall contract for the collection of the assessment by the county treasurer who shall deduct a percentage amount, as provided by the contract, not to exceed one percent of the assessments collected, for the costs of collection.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 89.08 RCW to read as follows:

          Any owner, upon request pursuant to the rules of the district, is entitled to a hearing before the district on any assessment levied under section 1 of this act.  The hearing shall be scheduled within forty-five days of notification.  Any determination or final action by the district shall be subject to judicial review in a proceeding in the superior court in the county in which the property is located.