FINAL BILL REPORT

                 SHB 2055

PARTIAL VETO

                     Synopsis as Enacted

                         C 2 L 93 E1

Brief Description:  Creating the department of fish and wildlife.

By House Committee on State Government (originally sponsored by Representatives Hansen, Fuhrman, King, Basich, R. Fisher, Sheldon, Ogden, Lemmon and Conway; by request of Governor Lowry).

House Committee on State Government

Senate Committee on Natural Resources

Background:  Prior to 1932, fish and wildlife resources were managed by the Department of Fish and Game and the counties.  In 1932, the Game Department and the Game Commission were established by Initiative 62 as separate entities.  The Game Commission assumed responsibility for setting fishing and hunting seasons, limits for taking game, and license fees.  The Game Commission was also authorized to hire the director of the Department of Game.

In 1945, the Legislature abolished the Game Commission and gave the governor the authority to appoint the director of the Department of Game.  The voters overturned this legislation by referendum by a margin of seven to one.  In 1987, the Legislature changed the name of the Department of Game to the Department of Wildlife (WDW), and gave the governor the authority to appoint the director of WDW.

Generally, the Department of Wildlife manages wildlife and game fish.  The paramount mandate of WDW is to preserve, protect, and perpetuate all wildlife species.  WDW is also charged with managing wildlife for recreational hunting and fishing activities.  The Department of Fisheries (WDF) manages food fish and shellfish.  The mandate of WDF is to preserve, protect, and perpetuate food fish and shellfish, and to maintain the economic well-being of the fishing industry in the state.  Both WDF and WDW have enforcement and habitat protection responsibilities.

In most states, wildlife and fisheries management is consolidated in one agency.  In 1980, the Legislative Budget Committee (LBC) issued a report evaluating the feasibility of combining the departments of Fisheries and Wildlife.  The report identified savings of $1.4 million and nine full-time employees for the 1981-83 biennium.  In 1984, the House Subcommittee on State Government Reorganization reviewed the merger possibility in light of the similarity of functions, but no action was taken.  In 1990, the Efficiency Commission conducted a study of merging hunting and fishing licensing functions.  Over the past decade, the Legislature has considered a variety of merger proposals.

Summary:  The Department of Fish and Wildlife is established.  Effective July 1, 1994, the Department of Fisheries and the Department of Wildlife are abolished and all of their powers, duties, and functions are transferred to the new Department of Fish and Wildlife.  All records, documents, equipment, funds, assets, employees, rules, and pending business are transferred.  The Office of Financial Management will resolve questions arising from the transfer.

The director of the Department of Fish and Wildlife will be appointed by the governor, subject to Senate confirmation, and will serve at the pleasure of the governor.  The director is given authority over the management of the department.

By November 15, 1993, the director of the Department of Fisheries and the director of the Department of Wildlife will jointly submit a transition plan to the governor.  The LBC will conduct a study to determine the role the Wildlife Commission should play in the new department.  The Wildlife Commission will also submit recommendations.  The recommendations of the LBC and the Wildlife Commission are due by December 1, 1994.

The Wildlife Commission is renamed the Fish and Wildlife Commission.  The commission retains its current jurisdiction over game fish.  Three new at-large members are added to the commission.  The commission will meet with the governor annually to set goals and objections and review the department's performance.  Commission meetings will be limited to four per year, unless called by a supermajority of commission members.

The WDF is required to create a new Sport Fishing Program.  The program will:  develop a short-term program of hatchery-based salmon enhancement, using freshwater pond sites for rearing; solicit support from regional enhancement groups and other organizations; conduct research on salmon production opportunities; conduct research on marine bottomfish production; fully implement enhancement efforts for Puget Sound and Hood Canal resident salmon and marine bottomfish; identify opportunities to reestablish salmon runs in areas where they no longer exist; encourage naturally spawning salmon to develop to the fullest possible extent; and fully utilize hatchery programs to improve recreational fishing. 

The WDF is further directed to seek recommendations from experts in recreational fisheries enhancement; to undertake research into enhancement techniques, hooking mortality rates, mass marking methods, catch models, and sources of bottomfish mortality; and to develop facilities in 1994 for rearing delayed-release chinook salmon, in each of the following locations:  south Puget Sound, central Puget Sound, north Puget Sound, and Hood Canal. 

A public awareness program is to be developed by the WDF on the Recreational Fishing Program.  The department will recruit volunteers to implement recreational fishing projects.

The department is to increase efforts to document predation on salmon and bottomfish by birds, predatory fish and marine mammals, and explore opportunities to convince the federal government to amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act to allow balanced management of predators. 

The department is directed to invite Indian tribal fishing interests as well as non-Indian commercial fishing groups to participate in planning selective fisheries, and to explore the feasibility of achieving greater production by changing rearing programs in the department's chinook and coho hatcheries.

The department may adopt rules regarding fish and wildlife harvest in the federal exclusive economic zone.

The Sport Fishing Program will be coordinated so as not to conflict with the department's wild stock initiative.  The department is directed to develop plans for increasing recreational access to salmon and marine resources, and to contract with private consultants, aquatic farms, or construction firms, where appropriate, to achieve the highest benefit-to-cost ratio for recreational fishing projects.

The department is directed to develop proposed legislation for a Recreational Fishing Capital Facilities Improvement Program financed through general obligation bonds, and to present this legislation to the Legislature by January 1, 1994.

The recreational fisheries enhancement account is created in the state treasury.  An annual recreational surcharge of $10 is added to recreational salmon and marine bottomfish licenses in Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and Lake Washington.  All receipts from the $10 surcharge will be deposited into this account.  An appropriation of $500,000 is made from the general fund to the account, to be repaid from the surcharge.  Expenditures from this account may only be used for recreational fisheries enhancement programs.

Votes on Final Passage:

House  90 7

Senate 43 3 (Senate amended)

House            (House refused to concur)

First Special Session

House  89 2

Senate 34 11

Effective:  August 5, 1993

              July 1, 1993  (Sections 7, 60, 80, and 82-108)

            July 1, 1994  (Sections 1-6, 8-59, and 61-79)

Partial Veto Summary: The governor vetoed a provision that directed the department to implement the new recreational fishing enhancement activities without diminishing existing salmon programs, and constrained the department from advocating or improving recreational fishing at the expense of commercial fishing.  (See VETO MESSAGE)