BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to the moneys derived from public lands managed by the commissioner of public lands; amending RCW 76.12.030 and 79.01.744; and reenacting and amending RCW 76.12.120.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 76.12.030 and 1991 c 363 s 151 are each amended to read as follows:

If any land acquired by a county through foreclosure of tax liens, or otherwise, comes within the classification of land described in RCW 76.12.020 and can be used as state forest land and if the department deems such land necessary for the purposes of this chapter, the county shall, upon demand by the department, deed such land to the department and the land shall become a part of the state forest lands.

Such land shall be held in trust and administered and protected by the department as other state forest lands. Any moneys derived from the lease of such land or from the sale of forest products, oils, gases, coal, minerals, or fossils therefrom, shall be distributed as follows:

(1) The expense incurred by the state for administration, reforestation, and protection, not to exceed twenty-five percent, which rate of percentage shall be determined by the board of natural resources, shall be returned to the forest development account in the state general fund.

(2) Within seven working days of receipt of the moneys by the department, any balance remaining after the distribution under subsection (1) of this section shall be paid to the county in which the land is located to be paid, distributed, and prorated, except as hereinafter provided, to the various funds in the same manner as general taxes are paid and distributed during the year of payment: PROVIDED, That any such balance remaining paid to a county with a population of less than nine thousand shall first be applied to the reduction of any indebtedness existing in the current expense fund of such county during the year of payment.

Sec. 2. RCW 76.12.120 and 1988 c 128 s 32 and 1988 c 70 s 1 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

All land, acquired or designated by the department as state forest land, shall be forever reserved from sale, but the timber and other products thereon may be sold or the land may be leased in the same manner and for the same purposes as is authorized for state granted land if the department finds such sale or lease to be in the best financial interests of the ((~~state and approves the terms and conditions thereof~~)) respective trust beneficiaries and respective counties.

Except as provided in RCW 79.12.035, all money derived from the sale of timber or other products, or from lease, or from any other source from the land, except where the Constitution of this state or RCW 76.12.030 requires other disposition, shall be disposed of as follows:

(1) Fifty percent shall be placed in the forest development account.

(2) Fifty percent shall be prorated and distributed to the state general fund, to be dedicated for the benefit of the public schools, and the county in which the land is located according to the relative proportions of tax levies of all taxing districts in the county. The portion to be distributed to the state general fund shall be based on the regular school levy rate under RCW 84.52.065 as now or hereafter amended and the levy rate for any maintenance and operation special school levies. Within seven days of receipt of the moneys by the department, the money distributed to the county shall be paid, distributed, and prorated to the various other funds in the same manner as general taxes are paid and distributed during the year of payment.

Sec. 3. RCW 79.01.744 and 1987 c 505 s 76 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) It shall be the duty of the commissioner of public lands to report, and recommend, to each session of the legislature, any changes in the law relating to the methods of handling the public lands of the state that he may deem advisable.

(2) The commissioner of public lands shall provide a comprehensive biennial report to reflect the previous fiscal period. The report shall include, but not be limited to, descriptions of all department activities including: Revenues generated, program costs, capital expenditures, personnel, special projects, new and ongoing research, environmental controls, cooperative projects, intergovernmental agreements, the adopted sustainable harvest compared to the sales program, and outlines of ongoing litigation, recent court decisions and orders on major issues with the potential for state liability. The report shall describe the status of the resources managed and the recreational and commercial utilization. The report shall be given to the chairs of the house and senate committees on ways and means and the house and senate committees on natural resources, including one copy to the staff of each of the committees, and shall be made available to the public.

(3) The commissioner of public lands shall provide quarterly reports to the respective trust beneficiaries, including each county. The report shall include, but not be limited to, the following: Acres sold, acres harvested, volume from those acres, acres planted, number of stems per acre, acres precommercially thinned, acres commercially thinned, acres partially cut, acres clear cut, age of final rotation for acres clear cut, and the total number of acres off base for harvest and an explanation of why those acres are off base for harvest.