SB 5909 - DIGEST

(SUBSTITUTED FOR - SEE 2ND SUB)

     Finds that the current financial responsibility laws for vessels and facilities are in need of update and revision.  These changes are necessary due to the increased risks of spills, the length of time that has passed since the current standards were put in place, the recent changes that have occurred in federal statutory and case law, the comparative standards of other western states, and the recent experiences of other states with spills.

     Encourages the department of ecology to work with the States/British Columbia oil spill task force, which was created by a memorandum of cooperation signed in 1989, to seek uniformity in the standards of financial responsibility for vessels and facilities.