S-0737.2  _______________________________________________

                         SENATE BILL 5442

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      54th Legislature     1995 Regular Session

By Senators Rasmussen, Morton, Loveland, Prince, Snyder and Newhouse

Read first time 01/24/95.  Referred to Committee on Agriculture & Agricultural Trade & Development.

Directing the state weeds board to study weed control on state lands.

    AN ACT Relating to weed control; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  The state weed board shall develop a study to determine the cost of controlling weeds on state-owned and managed lands, included along state-owned rights of way.  The level of weed control shall be that required of privately owned land adjacent to or in the vicinity of the state lands.  The state weed board may conduct the study or may contract with either public or private agencies to conduct and complete the study.  The departments of natural resources, transportation, and fish and wildlife, and the parks and recreation commission shall cooperate with the weed board or the contractor in the study.

    As part of the study, the state weed board shall identify those weed species that are practical to control and should be controlled.  The board shall also identify the impacts and estimate the costs of not controlling these weeds.  The state weed board may exclude from the study those weeds that, due to high cost or impracticality, cannot be controlled on private lands.  The board shall develop a prioritized list of weeds that are practical to control and that should be controlled on state-owned and managed lands.

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