5904-S.E AMH AGEC H2438.1

5904-S.E AMH AGEC H2438.1

ESSB 5904 - H COMM AMD ADOPTED 4/5/01

By Committee on Agriculture & Ecology

Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:

"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 29.04 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Nothing in this title shall apply to conservation districts governed under chapter 89.08 RCW, unless a conservation district chooses to have its elections governed under this title.

(2) A conservation district choosing to have its elections governed under this title shall:

(a) Still be governed by other nonelection provisions of chapter 89.08 RCW;

(b) Still be governed by RCW 89.08.160(2); and

(3) Any conservation district choosing to have its elections governed under this title shall make the choice and provide notice to any affected county auditors by May 1st in the year in which the election is to be conducted.

(4) Candidates and conservation district supervisors in districts that choose to have their elections governed under this title are subject to chapter 42.17 RCW. Candidates and conservation district supervisors in districts whose elections are governed under chapter 89.08 RCW are exempted from the requirements of chapter 42.17 RCW.

Sec. 2. RCW 89.08.160 and 1973 1st ex.s. c 184 s 17 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) If the commission finds the project practicable, it shall appoint two supervisors, one of whom shall be a landowner or operator of a farm, who shall be qualified by training and experience to perform the specialized skilled services required of them. They, with the three elected supervisors, two of whom shall be landowners or operators of a farm, shall constitute the governing board of the district.

(2) In all subsequent appointments, at least one appointed supervisor shall be a landowner or operator of a farm. In all subsequent elections, at least two elected supervisors shall be landowners or operators of farms.

(3) The two appointed supervisors shall file with the secretary of state a sworn application, reciting that a petition was filed with the commission for the creation of the district; that all required proceedings were had thereon; that they were appointed by the commission as such supervisors; and that the application is being filed to complete the organization of the district. It shall contain the names and residences of the applicants, a certified copy of their appointments, the name of the district, the location of the office of the supervisors and the term of office of each applicant.

(4) The application shall be accompanied by a statement of the commission, reciting that a petition was filed, notice issued, and hearing held thereon as required; that it determined the need for the district and defined the boundaries thereof; that notice was given and an election held on the question of creating the district; that a majority vote favored the district, and that the commission had determined the district practicable; and shall set forth the boundaries of the district.

Sec. 3. RCW 89.08.020 and 1999 c 305 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, as used in this chapter:

(1) "Commission" and "state conservation commission" mean((s)) the agency created hereunder. All former references to "state soil and water conservation committee", "state committee" or "committee" shall be deemed to be references to the "state conservation commission"((;)).

(2) "District", or "conservation district" means a governmental subdivision of this state and a public body corporate and politic, organized in accordance with the provisions of chapter 184, Laws of 1973 1st ex. sess., for the purposes, with the powers, and subject to the restrictions set forth in this chapter. All districts created under chapter 184, Laws of 1973 1st ex. sess. shall be known as conservation districts and shall have all the powers and duties set out in chapter 184, Laws of 1973 1st ex. sess. All references in chapter 184, Laws of 1973 1st ex. sess. to "districts", or "soil and water conservation districts" shall be deemed to be reference to "conservation districts"((;)).

(3) "Board" and "supervisors" mean the board of supervisors of a conservation district((;)).

(4) "Land occupier" or "occupier of land" includes any person, firm, political subdivision, government agency, municipality, public or private corporation, copartnership, association, or any other entity whatsoever which holds title to, or is in possession of, any lands lying within a district organized under the provisions of chapter 184, Laws of 1973 1st ex. sess., whether as owner, lessee, renter, tenant, or otherwise((;)).

(5) "District elector" or "voter" means a registered voter in the county where the district is located who resides within the district boundary or in the area affected by a petition((;)).

(6) "Due notice" means a notice published at least twice, with at least six days between publications, in a publication of general circulation within the affected area, or if there is no such publication, by posting at a reasonable number of public places within the area, where it is customary to post notices concerning county and municipal affairs. Any hearing held pursuant to due notice may be postponed from time to time without a new notice((;)).

(7) "Renewable natural resources", "natural resources" or "resources" includes land, air, water, vegetation, fish, wildlife, wild rivers, wilderness, natural beauty, scenery and open space((;)).

(8) "Conservation" includes conservation, development, improvement, maintenance, preservation, protection and use, and alleviation of floodwater and sediment damages, and the disposal of excess surface waters.

(9) "Farm and agricultural land" means either (a) land in any contiguous ownership of twenty or more acres devoted primarily to agricultural uses; (b) any parcel of land five acres or more but less than twenty acres devoted primarily to agricultural uses, which has produced a gross income from agricultural uses equivalent to one hundred dollars or more per acre per year for three of the five calendar years preceding the date of application for classification under this chapter; or (c) any parcel of land of less than five acres devoted primarily to agricultural uses which has produced a gross income of one thousand dollars or more per year for three of the five calendar years preceding the date of application for classification under this chapter. Agricultural lands shall also include farm woodlots of less than twenty and more than five acres and the land on which appurtenances necessary to production, preparation or sale of the agricultural products exist in conjunction with the lands producing such products. Agricultural lands shall also include any parcel of land of one to five acres, which is not contiguous, but which otherwise constitutes an integral part of farming operations being conducted on land qualifying under this section as "farm and agricultural lands".

(10) "Elected supervisor" means a member of the board of supervisors who is not appointed by the conservation commission and who is elected under section 1 of this act or under this chapter.

Sec. 4. RCW 89.08.400 and 1992 c 70 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

For those districts that have chosen to conduct elections of supervisors pursuant to this chapter:

(1) Special assessments are authorized to be imposed for conservation districts as provided in this section. Activities and programs to conserve natural resources, including soil and water, are declared to be of special benefit to lands and may be used as the basis upon which special assessments are imposed.

(2)(a) Special assessments to finance the activities of a conservation district may be imposed by the county legislative authority of the county in which the conservation district is located for a period or periods each not to exceed ten years in duration.

The supervisors of a conservation district shall hold a public hearing on a proposed system of assessments prior to the first day of August in the year prior to which it is proposed that the initial special assessments be collected. At that public hearing, the supervisors shall gather information and shall alter the proposed system of assessments when appropriate, including the number of years during which it is proposed that the special assessments be imposed.

(b) On or before the first day of August in that year, the supervisors of a conservation district shall file the proposed system of assessments, indicating the years during which it is proposed that the special assessments shall be imposed, and a proposed budget for the succeeding year with the county legislative authority of the county within which the conservation district is located. The county legislative authority shall hold a public hearing on the proposed system of assessments. After the hearing, the county legislative authority may accept, or modify and accept, the proposed system of assessments, including the number of years during which the special assessments shall be imposed, if it finds that both the public interest will be served by the imposition of the special assessments and that the special assessments to be imposed on any land will not exceed the special benefit that the land receives or will receive from the activities of the conservation district. The findings of the county legislative authority shall be final and conclusive.

(c) Special assessments may be altered during this period on individual parcels in accordance with the system of assessments if land is divided or land uses or other factors change.

(d) Notice of the public hearings held by the supervisors and the county legislative authority shall be posted conspicuously in at least five places throughout the conservation district, and published once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper in general circulation throughout the conservation district, with the date of the last publication at least five days prior to the public hearing.

(3) A system of assessments shall classify lands in the conservation district into suitable classifications according to benefits conferred or to be conferred by the activities of the conservation district, determine an annual per acre rate of assessment for each classification of land, and indicate the total amount of special assessments proposed to be obtained from each classification of lands. Lands deemed not to receive benefit from the activities of the conservation district shall be placed into a separate classification and shall not be subject to the special assessments. An annual assessment rate shall be stated as either uniform annual per acre amount, or an annual flat rate per parcel plus a uniform annual rate per acre amount, for each classification of land. The maximum annual per acre special assessment rate shall not exceed ten cents per acre. The maximum annual per parcel rate shall not exceed five dollars.

Public land, including lands owned or held by the state, shall be subject to special assessments to the same extent as privately owned lands. The procedures provided in chapter 79.44 RCW shall be followed if lands owned or held by the state are subject to the special assessments of a conservation district.

Forest lands used solely for the planting, growing, or harvesting of trees may be subject to special assessments if such lands benefit from the activities of the conservation district, but the per acre rate of special assessment on benefited forest lands shall not exceed one-tenth of the weighted average per acre assessment on all other lands within the conservation district that are subject to its special assessments. The calculation of the weighted average per acre special assessment shall be a ratio calculated as follows: (a) The numerator shall be the total amount of money estimated to be derived from the imposition of per acre special assessments on the nonforest lands in the conservation district; and (b) the denominator shall be the total number of nonforest land acres in the conservation district that receive benefit from the activities of the conservation district and which are subject to the special assessments of the conservation district. No more than ten thousand acres of such forest lands that is both owned by the same person or entity and is located in the same conservation district may be subject to the special assessments that are imposed for that conservation district in any year. Per parcel charges shall not be imposed on forest land parcels. However, in lieu of a per parcel charge, a charge of up to three dollars per forest landowner may be imposed on each owner of forest lands whose forest lands are subject to a per acre rate of assessment.

(4) A conservation district shall prepare an assessment roll that implements the system of assessments approved by the county legislative authority. The special assessments from the assessment roll shall be spread by the county assessor as a separate item on the tax rolls and shall be collected and accounted for with property taxes by the county treasurer. The amount of a special assessment shall constitute a lien against the land that shall be subject to the same conditions as a tax lien, collected by the treasurer in the same manner as delinquent real property taxes, and subject to the same interest rate and penalty as for delinquent property taxes. The county treasurer shall deduct an amount, as established by the county legislative authority, from the collected special assessments((~~, as established by the county legislative authority,~~)) to cover the costs incurred by the county assessor and county treasurer in spreading and collecting the special assessments, but not to exceed the actual costs of such work.

(5) The special assessments for a conservation district shall not be spread on the tax rolls and shall not be collected with property tax collections in the following year if, after the system of assessments has been approved by the county legislative authority but prior to the fifteenth day of December in that year, a petition has been filed with the county legislative authority objecting to the imposition of such special assessments, which petition has been signed by at least twenty percent of the owners of land that would be subject to the special assessments to be imposed for a conservation district.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 89.08 RCW to read as follows:

For those districts that have chosen to conduct elections of supervisors pursuant to Title 29 RCW:

(2)(a) Special assessments to finance the activities of a conservation district may be imposed by the board of supervisors for a period or periods each not to exceed ten years in duration.

(b) After the public hearing, if the board of supervisors finds that both the public interest will be served by the imposition of the special assessments and that the special assessments to be imposed on any land will not exceed the special benefit that the land receives or will receive from the activities of the conservation district, the board of supervisors shall impose the assessments.

(c) Special assessments may be altered during this period on individual parcels in accordance with the system of assessments if land is divided or land uses or other factors change.

(d) Notice of the public hearings held by the supervisors shall be posted conspicuously in at least five places throughout the conservation district, and published once a week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper in general circulation throughout the conservation district, with the date of the last publication at least five days prior to the public hearing.

(4) A conservation district shall prepare an assessment roll that implements the system of assessments approved by the board of supervisors. The special assessments from the assessment roll shall be spread by the county assessor as a separate item on the tax rolls and shall be collected and accounted for with property taxes by the county treasurer. The amount of a special assessment shall constitute a lien against the land that shall be subject to the same conditions as a tax lien, collected by the treasurer in the same manner as delinquent real property taxes, and subject to the same interest rate and penalty as for delinquent property taxes. The county treasurer shall deduct an amount, as established by the county legislative authority, from the collected special assessments to cover the costs incurred by the county assessor and county treasurer in spreading and collecting the special assessments, but not to exceed the actual costs of such work.

(5) The special assessments for a conservation district shall not be spread on the tax rolls and shall not be collected with property tax collections in the following year if, after the system of assessments has been approved by the board of supervisors, but prior to the fifteenth day of December in that year, a petition has been filed with the board of supervisors objecting to the imposition of such special assessments, which petition has been signed by at least twenty percent of the owners of land that would be subject to the special assessments to be imposed for a conservation district.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately."

ESSB 5904 - H COMM AMD

By Committee on Agriculture & Ecology

On page 1, line 1 of the title, after "supervisors;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "amending RCW 89.08.160, 89.08.020, and 89.08.400; adding a new section to chapter 29.04 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 89.08 RCW; and declaring an emergency."