HB 2949 - DIGEST

     Finds that:  (1) Many counties in the state of Washington have limited growth potential due to the large percentage of public lands within their county boundaries;

     (2) many of these counties are also economically distressed, and due to the high percentage of public lands in their county, there is little potential for future growth due to the unavailability of land; and

     (3) a review of those counties where public lands make up more than fifty percent of a county's total land acreage is needed in order to best determine if additional land can be made available for economic development.