BILL REQ. #:  S-3599.2 

Read first time 01/14/2004.   Referred to Committee on Ways & Means.

     AN ACT Relating to creating a trust to augment funding for local government criminal justice programs; adding a new section to chapter 79.02 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 79.22 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that local governments need a dedicated source of revenue to augment other sources of funding for criminal justice programs.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 79.02 RCW to read as follows:
     Any forested normal school lands, agricultural college lands, scientific school lands or university lands that are transferred from trust status, and for which the trust is fully compensated for the fair market value of the lands, shall be transferred in equal value to common school lands and the criminal justice lands and managed as other state trust lands.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 79.22 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Forest land purchased, transferred, or otherwise acquired by gift or exchange under section 2 of this act for purposes of supporting criminal justice programs shall be known as the criminal justice lands and shall be managed in perpetuity and in the same manner as state lands for sustainable commercial forestry and multiple use of lands consistent with RCW 79.10.120. The lands will provide a source of revenue for local government criminal justice programs.
     (2) The land known as the criminal justice lands is reserved from sale, except that the timber and other products on the land may be sold, or the land may be leased in the same manner and for the same purposes as authorized for state granted lands if the department finds the sale or lease to be in the best interest of local government criminal justice activities and approves the terms and conditions of the sale or lease.
     (3) The land exchange and acquisition powers provided in RCW 79.17.020 may be used by the department to reposition land within the criminal justice lands.
     (4) Of the revenue generated from these lands, not less than sixty percent shall be deposited in the county criminal justice assistance account, created in RCW 82.14.310, and not less than fifteen percent shall be deposited in the municipal criminal justice assistance account, created in RCW 82.14.320. Up to twenty-five percent of the revenue from these lands, as determined by the board, will be deposited in the forest development account to reimburse the forest development account for expenditures from the account for management of these lands.