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WHEREAS, Trust lands are a unique asset, critical to the support of state institutions of higher education, the common schools, and all of the other state's trusts; and

WHEREAS, Concern over past and proposed management actions taken by the department of natural resources as trust manager has raised the possibility that other state institutions, in their role as trust beneficiaries, may begin litigation to clarify the authority, rights, and responsibilities related to the management of the trusts and the appropriate role of the various parties; and

WHEREAS, The Legislature believes that litigation should be the last resort to resolve disputes between state agencies and institutions and that other mechanisms should be used to clarify the authority, rights, and responsibilities among agencies and institutions; and

WHEREAS, There is substantial fiscal impact in the preparation of a habitat conservation plan as well as long-term effects on trust income. The board of natural resources must secure and protect the interests of each of the trusts. Because of the substantial impact on trust income over the length of an agreement, the board should safeguard the integrity of each trust;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, By the Senate of the state of Washington, the House of Representatives concurring, That the Chairs of the Natural Resources Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives jointly request the attorney general to render an opinion, no later than August 1, 1996, in response to questions regarding the authority, rights, and responsibilities among agencies and institutions with respect to state trust lands under existing law; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That in preparing the questions to be submitted to the attorney general, the Chairs of the Natural Resources Committees consult with the Governor, the Commissioner of Public Lands, the presidents of the University of Washington and Washington State University, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That in addition to requesting an opinion on specific questions, the Chairs of the Natural Resources Committees also request the attorney general to identify the factual information that may be necessary to resolve disputes under the legal principles set forth in the opinion; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the chairs request the attorney general to appoint a facilitator to assist in the information gathering; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That based on the opinion, the Legislature requests that the attorney general's office provide recommendations for legislation to clarify the authority, rights, and responsibilities among agencies and institutions; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Chairs of the Natural Resources Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives jointly request the Commissioner of Public Lands, the University of Washington, and Washington State University, to jointly continue their fact-gathering on this subject; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Legislature requests that the trusts make every attempt to reach consensus with the department of natural resources before any long-term contract is entered into with the Federal Fish and Wildlife Service for a Habitat Conservation Plan for state-managed trust lands; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Legislature requests that each member of the Board of Natural Resources make every effort to reach consensus and that the board not take final action on a proposed habitat conservation plan affecting trust lands for a sufficient time after issuance of the attorney general's opinion, but in no case less than sixty days after issuance of the opinion; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Legislature requests the Board of Natural Resources hold public hearings and consider public testimony in each of the seven natural resource department regions between the issuance of the opinion and any final action by the Board; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Legislature requests that the department of natural resources provide a trust by trust analysis of how much land will be in forest production and how much land will be in wildlife habitat or other designation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Legislature requests that the department of natural resources provide the beneficiaries of the state-managed timber lands all information that is requested pertaining to the proposed Habitat Conservation Plan, including economic information giving the base-line calculation, on a trust by trust basis, to the satisfaction of each of the trusts.