BILL REQ. #:  H-1399.1 

Read first time .   Referred to .

     WHEREAS, Long-term sustainable and economically productive watersheds are necessary for the well-being of the citizens of the state of Washington; and
     WHEREAS, In times of decreasing revenues and increasing demands, it is critically important to ensure the efficient and effective use of scarce financial resources by avoiding overlap and duplication of effort among watershed-based planning and implementation efforts; and
     WHEREAS, Thirty-seven local watershed planning areas, twenty-six lead entity salmon groups, and five regional salmon recovery entities have been successfully implementing projects and developing plans to improve watershed health and recover salmon populations; and
     WHEREAS, Local salmon recovery groups have established an efficient process for developing and prioritizing local salmon recovery projects that are submitted to the salmon recovery funding board for funding consideration; and
     WHEREAS, Implementation of regional salmon recovery plans and local watershed plans must be coordinated with existing watershed projects, monitoring, and other activities in a manner ensuring continued improvements for watershed health and salmon recovery;
     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, By the House of Representatives of the state of Washington, the Senate concurring, That a joint select legislative task force be established to evaluate and make recommendations to the legislature regarding the implementation of watershed health and salmon recovery plans; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the evaluation and recommendations of the joint select legislative task force include:
     (1) A review of the current status of local watershed and salmon recovery plans and projects;
     (2) A review of the current sources and uses of funding for administration, planning, and project implementation;
     (3) A review of the organizational structure and governance of the regional recovery organizations and watershed level entities currently preparing or implementing plans and projects;
     (4) The development of recommendations for any changes, if necessary, to current governance and organizational structures;
     (5) The development of recommendations for new or existing sources of funding for ongoing administration, projects, plan implementation, and monitoring; and
     (6) The development of recommendations for improving the allocation of mitigation funding on a watershed basis, consistent with the state's policies and programs of optimizing mitigation projects; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the joint select legislative task force be composed of the chair and ranking minority member of the house of representatives economic development, agriculture, and trade committee; the chair and ranking minority member of the house of representatives natural resources, ecology, and parks committee; the chair and ranking minority member of the house of representatives capital budget committee; the chair and ranking minority member of the senate water, energy, and environment committee; the chair and ranking minority member of the senate natural resources, ocean, and recreation committee; and the chair and ranking minority member of the senate ways and means committee; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the task force gather information that the task force considers appropriate for the evaluation of the next steps needed to successfully implement actions identified in watershed and salmon recovery plans; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That an advisory committee be established to provide assistance to the task force, upon request of the task force, that is limited to the specific scope and content requested by the task force; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the advisory committee be composed of the following members or their designees: The director of the department of ecology; the director of the department of fish and wildlife; the chair of the salmon recovery funding board; a representative from the office of the governor; a representative from a watershed planning group; a representative from a lead entity; a representative from a regional salmon recovery group; a representative from the federal fisheries service; and a representative from federally recognized Indian tribes; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the advisory committee shall select a chair from among its members for the purpose of conducting meetings and transmitting information from the advisory committee as a group to the joint select legislative task force; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That in developing its recommendations, the joint select legislative task force may consult with the advisory committee; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That staff support for the joint select legislative task force and the advisory committee be provided by senate committee services and the house of representatives office of program research; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the task force may invite staff from the department of ecology, the office of the interagency committee for outdoor recreation, and the department of fish and wildlife to provide additional staff support for the joint select legislative task force and the advisory committee; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the joint select legislative task force be established by June 1, 2005, report its evaluations and recommendations to the appropriate legislative committees by December 31, 2005, and expire January 1, 2006.