BILL REQ. #:  S-4032.2 

Read first time 01/17/2006.   Referred to Committee on Natural Resources, Ocean & Recreation.

     AN ACT Relating to public lands management; amending RCW 43.79.270; and adding a new section to chapter 79A.25 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 79A.25 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The habitat and recreation lands coordinating group is established. The habitat and recreation lands coordinating group must include representatives from the committee, the state parks and recreation commission, the department of natural resources, and the Washington state department of fish and wildlife. The members of the habitat and recreation lands coordinating group must have subject matter expertise with the issues presented in this section. Representatives from appropriate stakeholder organizations and local government must also be considered for participation on the habitat and recreation lands coordinating group.
     (2) To ensure timely completion of the initial duties assigned to the habitat and recreation lands coordinating group, quarterly progress reports to either the office of financial management or the director are required.
     (3) The habitat and recreation lands coordinating group must:
     (a) Develop language to amend agency land acquisition, management, and disposal plans and policies to help provide for statewide coordination of habitat and recreation land acquisitions and disposals;
     (b) Develop standards for producing an interagency, statewide biennial forecast of habitat and recreation land acquisitions and disposals;
     (c) Establish procedures for submitting the biennial acquisition and disposal plans;
     (d) Develop and convene an annual forum for agencies to coordinate their near-term acquisition and disposal plans;
     (e) Develop a recommended standard for interagency geographic information system-based documentation of habitat and recreation lands;
     (f) Standardize acquisition and disposal recordkeeping;
     (g) Identify a preferred process for centralizing acquisition data;
     (h) Develop an approach for monitoring the success of acquisitions;
     (i) Identify and commence a dialogue with key state and federal partners to develop an inventory of potential public lands for transfer into habitat and recreation land management status;
     (j) Review all habitat conservation plans to achieve uniformity and save costs.
     (4) The committee should revisit the committee's and Washington wildlife and recreation program's planning requirements to determine whether coordination of state agency habitat and recreation land acquisition and disposal could be improved by modifying those requirements.
     (5) The committee must develop options for centralizing coordination of habitat and recreation land acquisition made with funds from federal grants. The advantages and drawbacks (e.g., increased coordination versus decreased efficiency) of the following options, at a minimum, must be developed:
     (a) Requiring agencies simply to provide early communication on the status of federal grant applications to the committee, the office of financial management, or directly to the legislature;
     (b) Establishing a centralized pass-through agency for federal funds, where individual agencies would be the primary applicants.

Sec. 2   RCW 43.79.270 and 2005 c 319 s 105 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Whenever any money, from the federal government, or from other sources, which was not anticipated in the budget approved by the legislature has actually been received and is designated to be spent for a specific purpose, the head of any department, agency, board, or commission through which such expenditure shall be made is to submit to the governor a statement which may be in the form of a request for an allotment amendment setting forth the facts constituting the need for such expenditure and the estimated amount to be expended: PROVIDED, That no expenditure shall be made in excess of the actual amount received, and no money shall be expended for any purpose except the specific purpose for which it was received. Further, the unanticipated receipts may not be expended for land purchases without authorization by the legislature. A copy of any proposal submitted to the governor to expend money from an appropriated fund or account in excess of appropriations provided by law which is based on the receipt of unanticipated revenues shall be submitted to the joint legislative audit and review committee and also to the standing committees on ways and means of the house of representatives and senate if the legislature is in session at the same time as it is transmitted to the governor.
     (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, whenever money from any source that was not anticipated in the transportation budget approved by the legislature has actually been received and is designated to be spent for a specific purpose, the head of a department, agency, board, or commission through which the expenditure must be made shall submit to the governor a statement, which may be in the form of a request for an allotment amendment, setting forth the facts constituting the need for the expenditure and the estimated amount to be expended. However, no expenditure may be made in excess of the actual amount received, and no money may be expended for any purpose except the specific purpose for which it was received. A copy of any proposal submitted to the governor to expend money from an appropriated transportation fund or account in excess of appropriations provided by law that is based on the receipt of unanticipated revenues must be submitted, at a minimum, to the standing committees on transportation of the house of representatives and senate at the same time as it is transmitted to the governor.