H-2250.1          _______________________________________________

                            SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1507

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State of Washington              54th Legislature             1995 Regular Session

By House Committee on Capital Budget (originally sponsored by Representatives Ogden, Radcliff, Jacobsen, Brumsickle, Chopp and Dickerson; by request of Washington State Historical Society)

Read first time 03/03/95.

Requiring a process to solicit proposals for and prioritize heritage capital projects.

     AN ACT Relating to heritage capital projects; adding a new section to chapter 27.34 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  The legislature finds that the state of Washington has a rich heritage in historical sites and artifacts that have the potential to provide life-long learning opportunities for citizens of the state.  Further, the legislature finds that many of these historical treasures are not readily accessible to citizens, and that there is a need to create an ongoing program to support the capital needs of heritage organizations and facilities.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 27.34 RCW to read as follows:

     The Washington state historical society shall establish a competitive process to solicit proposals for and prioritize heritage capital projects for potential funding in the state capital budget.  The society shall adopt rules governing project eligibility and evaluation criteria.  Application for funding of specific projects may be made to the society by local governments, public development authorities, nonprofit corporations, tribal governments, and other entities, as determined by the society.  The society, with the advice of leaders in the heritage field, including but not limited to representatives from the office of the secretary of state, the eastern Washington state historical society, and the state office of archaeology and historic preservation, shall establish a prioritized list of heritage capital projects to be recommended to the governor and the legislature by September 1st of each even-numbered year, beginning in 1996.  The prioritized list shall be developed through open and public meetings.  The governor and the legislature shall consider the prioritized list of heritage projects as a guide for appropriating funds to heritage capital projects beginning with the 1997-99 biennium and thereafter.

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