BILL REQ. #:  S-3483.1 

Read first time 01/15/14.   Referred to Committee on Natural Resources & Parks.

     AN ACT Relating to providing for a biennial update on forage fish; and amending RCW 77.04.120 and 77.12.190.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 77.04.120 and 2000 c 107 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The director shall investigate the habits, supply, and economic use of food fish and shellfish in state and offshore waters.
     (2) The director shall make an annual report to the governor on the operation of the department and the statistics of the fishing industry.
     (3) Consistent with RCW 43.01.036 and within existing resources, the department shall provide a biennial report on forage fish, including anchovy, herring, sand lance, sardine, and smelt, to the appropriate committees of the senate and house of representatives by June 30th of each odd-numbered year. The report must include, at minimum: A forage fish population assessment; a profile of the relevant recreational and commercial fisheries; economic impact and employment data for these fisheries, including identification of significant markets as well as any potential risks to these markets relating to declining forage fish populations; an analysis of the impact of forage fish removal on the marine ecosystem, with particular consideration given to the impact of forage fish removal on endangered marine species as well as other marine mammal and marine bird populations; and the status of the department's forage fish conservation efforts.
     (4) Subject to RCW 40.07.040, the director shall provide a comprehensive biennial report of all departmental operations to the chairs of the committees on natural resources of the senate and house of representatives, the senate ways and means committee, and the house of representatives appropriations committee, including one copy to the staff of each of the committees, to reflect the previous fiscal period. The format of the report shall be similar to reports issued by the department from 1964-1970 and the report shall include, but not be limited to, descriptions of all department activities including: Revenues generated, program costs, capital expenditures, personnel, special projects, new and ongoing research, environmental controls, cooperative projects, intergovernmental agreements, and outlines of ongoing litigation, recent court decisions and orders on major issues with the potential for state liability. The report shall describe the status of the resource and its recreational, commercial, and tribal utilization. The report shall be made available to the public.

Sec. 2   RCW 77.12.190 and 2009 c 333 s 32 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Moneys in the state wildlife account created in RCW 77.12.170 may be used only for the purposes of this title, including the payment of principal and interest on bonds issued for capital projects.
     (2) If the department has not submitted the initial report required under RCW 77.04.120 (3) by January 1, 2016, it may not spend any moneys from the state wildlife account created in RCW 77.12.170 until such time as the report is submitted.