SENATE BILL REPORT

                   SB 5029

              As Passed Senate, February 12, 1997

Title:  An act relating to obsolete provisions in the water code.

Brief Description:  Eliminating obsolete references in the water code.

Sponsors:  Senator Morton.

Brief History:

Committee Activity:  Agriculture & Environment:  1/15/97, 1/28/97  [DP].

Passed Senate, 2/12/97, 47-0.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE & ENVIRONMENT

Majority Report:  Do pass.

  Signed by Senators Morton, Chair; Swecker, Vice Chair; Fraser, McAuliffe, Newhouse, Oke and Rasmussen.

Staff:  Bob Lee (786-7404)

Background:  The Revised Code of Washington is intended to contain the laws now in effect in Washington State.  Periodically, the code is updated to make it easy to read with the least confusion possible.

Over the years, numerous legislative enactments have altered the state water resources statutes.  Some of these bills were intended to be only temporary in nature.  Several new sections of these bills contained expiration dates and automatically were removed from the code.  However, other sections of the same bill amended existing RCW sections and the sections could not be made to expire without repealing the underlying section of the code.  Thus, some sections of the water code continue to contain now outdated references.

Summary of Bill:  The following is a list of temporary enactments and short-term requirements that are deleted from the code:

CReferences to the Joint Select Committee on Water Policy created in 1988 that has since expired;

CReferences to the Water Resources Data Management Task Force and reports that were to be developed by the task force;

CSeveral references to the temporary moratorium on promulgation of new agency rules covering specified water resource areas established at the same time as the Joint Select Committee on Water Policy was created;

CAuthorization to construct the East Selah Reregulating Reservoir authorized in 1983 (RCW 43.21A.460). Since 1983, the location of a proposed reregulating reservoir has been moved to another site;

CA requirement established in 1989 for the development of an irrigation water conservation demonstration plan (RCW 90.54.190).  The requirement has since been completed; and

CA requirement established in 1993 for a report to be done on irrigation district water rate structures (RCW 90.54.200).  The report was submitted to the Legislature during the 1994 session.

Appropriation:  None.

Fiscal Note:  Not requested.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For:  Removing obsolete references will make the water code easier to understand.

Testimony Against:  None.

Testified:  Ken Slattery, Department of Ecology.