BILL REQ. #:  H-4530.1 

Read first time 01/27/2006.   Referred to Committee on Natural Resources, Ecology & Parks.

     AN ACT Relating to a review of the department of natural resources' aquatic program; and creating new sections.

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

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. The legislature further finds that conflicts of interest may exist between the management of state aquatic lands and the generation of revenue to manage those aquatic lands. Therefore, the legislature finds that there should be a thorough review of the funding and management of state aquatic lands to determine the proper funding source and levels necessary to properly manage those resources.

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) 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;
     (c) 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 aquatics program to determine if the percentages are appropriate to support the program; and
     (d) Make recommendations on whether the use of nonagency generated revenues, such as the state general fund, would provide a better funding mechanism for the management of state-owned aquatic lands.
     (2) The final performance audit and recommendations required by this section must be completed by December 15, 2007.