HB 3237 -
By Committee on Ways & Means
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 The legislature finds that the aquatic
lands program in the department of natural resources manages over two
million acres of state-owned aquatic lands. The legislature further
finds that the state faces a diverse and complex set of issues in
managing state lands for public access, leasing aquatic lands for
commercial purposes, the harvest of geoduck, providing proper
stewardship of near-shore areas, cleanup of hazardous materials on
aquatic lands, and a number of other issues. The legislature further
finds that the funding for these activities largely comes from the
revenues generated from the leasing of state aquatic lands and the sale
of valuable materials, including geoduck, according to harvest levels
set by the department of fish and wildlife. Therefore, the legislature
finds that there should be a thorough review of the funding and
management of state aquatic lands.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 (1) The joint legislative audit and review
committee shall, consistent with chapter 44.28 RCW:
(a) Conduct a performance audit of the department of natural
resources' aquatic resources program to determine the success of the
department in meeting the objectives established in statute for
managing aquatic lands;
(b) Make recommendations on how to improve the management of
aquatic resources program consistent with current policies established
in statute;
(c) Review harvest levels set by the department of fish and
wildlife that regulate management of aquatic resources by the
department of natural resources, for consistency with scientifically
sound harvest levels;
(d) Review management policies to determine if decisions to
generate revenues to support the aquatics program are consistent with
policies established in statute for managing aquatic lands; and
(e) Review the percentage of revenues retained by the department of
natural resources from the resource management cost account and the
aquatic lands enhancement account for the aquatic resources program to
determine if the percentages are appropriate to support the program.
(2) The results of the final performance audit and any
recommendations shall be reported to the appropriate policy and fiscal
committees of the legislature by December 15, 2007."
HB 3237 -
By Committee on Ways & Means
On page 1, line 2 of the title, after "program;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "and creating new sections."
EFFECT: (1) Legislative findings/intent language is revised to
clarify geoduck harvest levels are currently set by the Department of
Fish and Wildlife (DFW). (2) Study language is revised to include a
requirement for JLARC to evaluate whether harvest levels set by the DFW
for aquatic resources are set in accordance with scientific standards.
(3) Study language is also revised to provide for a broader set of
recommendations from JLARC, and removes the specific requirement for
JLARC to recommend whether the general fund would be a better funding
mechanism for management of aquatic lands.
Fiscal impact: No anticipated significant change to the cost of
the study.