Brief Description: Directing the board of natural resources to exchange certain common school trust land.

Sponsors: By Representatives Veloria, Skinner, Dunshee, Kenney, Campbell, Haigh, McDermott, Hankins, Miloscia, Kirby, Lovick, Sullivan, G. Simpson, Rockefeller, Cooper, Santos, Cairnes, Benson, Eickmeyer, Murray, Jarrett, Mastin, Grant, Anderson, Cody, Upthegrove, Chase, Morrell, Tom and O'Brien.

Brief Summary of Bill

• Requires that the "Hats and Boots" parcel adjacent to South Seattle Committee College's Duwamish Training Center currently in the common school trust be exchanged with land of equal value in the charitable, educational, penal and reformatory institutions trust.

• Requires that the "Hats and Boots" parcel be leased to the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges for $1 per year after the transfer.

Majority Report: Do pass. Signed by 24 members: Representatives Dunshee, Chair; Hunt, Vice Chair; Alexander, Ranking Minority Member; Priest, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Armstrong, Benson, Blake, Bush, Chase, Eickmeyer, Flannigan, Hankins, Hinkle, Kirby, Lantz, Morrell, Murray, Newhouse, O'Brien, Orcutt, Schoesler, Simpson, G., Veloria and Woods.

The State Board for Community and Technical Colleges oversees 34 institutions, including South Seattle Community College. Community and technical colleges own and lease a variety of facilities related to their education mission.

At the time of statehood, the federal government gave Washington lands to be held in trust for several specified purposes. These include lands for common schools, a state capitol, and lands for charitable, educational, penal and reformatory institutions purposes. These lands are overseen by the Board of Natural Resources and administered by the Department of Natural Resources. There are approximately 1.75 million acres of common school trust lands and approximately 70,000 acres of charitable, educational, penal and reformatory institutions trust lands. Income from these trust lands is appropriated in the capital budget, the former for common school construction and the latter for capital programs/facilities of the Department of Social and Health Services and the Department of Corrections.

In 1985, legislation required the Board of Natural Resources to exchange common school trust lands on which three community and technical colleges were located with charitable, educational, penal and reformatory institutions trust lands (CEPRI trust lands), so that the community and technical colleges could use the CEPRI trust lands at no cost.

The Board of Natural Resources must exchange the "Hats and Boots" parcel adjacent to the Duwamish Training Center branch of South Seattle Committee College, which is currently common school trust land, with land of equal value in the charitable, educational, penal and reformatory institutions (CEPRI) trust. After the exchange, which will make the "Hats and Boots" parcel CEPRI trust land, the Board of Natural Resources must lease this parcel to the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges for $1 per year. The transfer must be done by December 1, 2004. Access to the training facilities established at the Duwamish Training Center must be provided to apprenticeship programs without regard to union affiliation.

Effective Date: The bill contains an emergency clause and takes effect immediately.

Testimony For: This property will be used for a very important expansion of South Seattle Community College's Duwamish Training Center. It is a one-time opportunity that will be lost if action is not taken now.

Testimony Against: This will hurt the common school trust because the trust will be forced to give up commercial property that would make the trust more diverse. Income for the charitable, educational, penal, and reformatory institutions trust beneficiaries will be negatively impacted.

Persons Testifying: (In support) Representative Veloria; John Vicklund, Washington Manufacturing; Jill Wakefield, South Seattle Community College; Randy Loomans, Washington State Labor Council; and Mike Porter, State Board of Community and Technical Colleges.

(Opposed) Howard Thronsen, Department of Natural Resources; and Brenda Hood, Superintendent of Public Instruction for Mechanism.