BILL REQ. #:  Z-0985.1 

Prefiled 12/21/09. Read first time 01/11/10.   Referred to Committee on Ecology & Parks.

     AN ACT Relating to implementing certain recommendations of the sustainable recreation work group; amending RCW 79.10.140 and 4.24.210; adding a new section to chapter 79.10 RCW; creating new sections; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) The legislature finds that the members of the sustainable recreation work group created in chapter 195, Laws of 2008 volunteered numerous hours and dedicated considerable personal resources and knowledge to aid the legislature with the development of recommendations aimed at improving recreational opportunities on land managed by the department of natural resources. Their dedication and contributions deserve the respect and appreciation of everyone who enjoys recreating in Washington's great outdoor spaces.
     (2) The legislature further finds that the input and expertise of these volunteers, which was presented to the legislature in a final report dated December 2009, has created an invaluable document that deserves consideration by state policymakers both today and into the future.
     (3) It is the intent of this act to adopt certain policy recommendations developed by the sustainable recreation work group that are capable of being implemented in the near term and that may provide near-term benefits to sustainable recreation or additional information that may be used to improve recreational activities in Washington.

Sec. 2   RCW 79.10.140 and 2007 c 241 s 23 are each amended to read as follows:
     The department is authorized:
     (1)(a) To construct, operate, and maintain primitive outdoor recreation and conservation facilities on lands under its jurisdiction which are of primitive character when deemed necessary by the department to achieve maximum effective development of such lands and resources consistent with the purposes for which the lands are held. ((This))
     (b) The authority provided by this section shall be exercised only after review by the recreation and conservation funding board and determination by the recreation and conservation funding board that the department is the most appropriate agency to undertake such construction, operation, and maintenance. Such review is not required for campgrounds designated and prepared or approved by the department.
     (c) The department may convey the responsibility to construct, operate, or maintain recreation facilities to a concessionaire as provided in section 3 of this act;
     (2) To acquire right-of-way and develop public access to lands under the jurisdiction of the department and suitable for public outdoor recreation and conservation purposes;
     (3) To receive and expend funds from federal and state outdoor recreation funding measures for the purposes of this section and RCW 79A.50.110;
     (4)(a) To assess use charges on individuals or groups for the privilege of accessing specific recreation sites or hosting or attending specific events located on public lands.
     (b)(i) Prior to assessing use charges under this section, the department must develop and adopt by rule a detailed structure for the setting and the efficient collection of the appropriate use charge. The dollar amount and collection technique of any use charge must be developed in a manner that ensures use charge collections generate more revenue than the department must expend to collect the use charges.
     (ii) In addition to the rule-making requirements of chapter 34.05 RCW, when developing rules for the implementation of this subsection, the department shall initiate a public process that allows for the formal solicitation of input as to how the department could implement waivers from use charges for individuals who volunteer their time with the department and how the department can address strategies for avoiding the exclusion of certain population segments from recreating on public lands.
     (c) All revenues collected through use charges under this section must be reinvested by the department into the management of, and the provision of recreational opportunities at, the site where the use charge was collected.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 79.10 RCW under the subchapter heading "part 2 multiple use" to read as follows:
     (1) The department shall initiate a pilot project to better understand how private concessionaires could be compatible with the department's tradition of providing primitive, relatively dispersed recreation experiences and whether allowing concessionaires access to well-suited campgrounds could improve the quality of service provided while reducing management costs to the department.
     (2)(a) To accomplish the goals of this section, the department shall initiate two private concessionaire pilot projects. One project must be located east of the crest of the Cascade mountains and one project must be located west of the crest of the Cascade mountains. The temporal length of each project must be determined by the department.
     (b) In structuring the pilot projects, the department shall maintain the necessary oversight to ensure the continued support for the needs of recreational users and explore ways to ensure that potential recreational users are not being precluded by high fees and costs. The pilot projects must also be structured in a manner that is consistent with any use charges developed under RCW 79.10.140.
     (3) In addition to the goals of subsection (1) of this section, the pilot project may be used to investigate other questions deemed relevant by the department. These questions may include:
     (a) How concessionaire contracts can best be developed and evaluated?
     (b) Whether the concessionaire model would apply to recreation sites funded by the recreation and conservation office or other state agencies? and
     (c) If user surveys identify a risk of concessionaire utilization creating an exclusionary effect at campgrounds?
     (4) The department shall prepare two reports to the appropriate committees of the legislature, consistent with RCW 43.01.036, summarizing the information learned during the pilot project process. The first report must be a progress report and must be delivered by November 22, 2011. The second report must be delivered after the end date of both pilot projects.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   (1) The department of natural resources, the department of fish and wildlife, and the state parks and recreation commission shall formally explore how the three agencies can develop and implement a multiagency pass that would allow the holder to access any fee-based recreational lands managed by any one of the agencies in lieu of paying a separate access fee to an individual agency.
     (2) The proposed structure for a multiagency recreation pass must:
     (a) Integrate the new pass with other passes or site or event-specific fees or charges;
     (b) Include processes for exploring the inclusion of lands managed by the federal government;
     (c) Consider how funds can be efficiently collected and reinvested into recreational opportunities;
     (d) Include waivers or reduced charges for individuals who are active volunteers with either of the agencies; and
     (e) Consider methods that will avoid excluding segments of the population from recreating on public lands.
     (3) The final result of the agency collaboration required by this section must be delivered to the appropriate committees of the legislature by November 22, 2010, consistent with the provisions of RCW 43.01.036. The results must be delivered in the form of proposed legislation with accompanying documents explaining the approach taken, the questions remaining unanswered, barriers to success, the positive and negative attributes associated with the proposed legislation, and any addition analyses deemed appropriate by the three agencies.
     (4) This section expires August 1, 2011.

Sec. 5   RCW 4.24.210 and 2006 c 212 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3) or (4) of this section, any public or private landowners or others in lawful possession and control of any lands whether designated resource, rural, or urban, or water areas or channels and lands adjacent to such areas or channels, who allow members of the public to use them for the purposes of outdoor recreation, which term includes, but is not limited to, the cutting, gathering, and removing of firewood by private persons for their personal use without purchasing the firewood from the landowner, hunting, fishing, camping, picnicking, swimming, hiking, bicycling, skateboarding or other nonmotorized wheel-based activities, hanggliding, paragliding, rock climbing, the riding of horses or other animals, clam digging, pleasure driving of off-road vehicles, snowmobiles, and other vehicles, boating, nature study, winter or water sports, viewing or enjoying historical, archaeological, scenic, or scientific sites, without charging a fee of any kind therefor, shall not be liable for unintentional injuries to such users.
     (2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3) or (4) of this section, any public or private landowner or others in lawful possession and control of any lands whether rural or urban, or water areas or channels and lands adjacent to such areas or channels, who offer or allow such land to be used for purposes of a fish or wildlife cooperative project, or allow access to such land for cleanup of litter or other solid waste, shall not be liable for unintentional injuries to any volunteer group or to any other users.
     (3) Any public or private landowner, or others in lawful possession and control of the land, may charge an administrative fee of up to twenty-five dollars for the cutting, gathering, and removing of firewood from the land.
     (4) Nothing in this section shall prevent the liability of a landowner or others in lawful possession and control for injuries sustained to users by reason of a known dangerous artificial latent condition for which warning signs have not been conspicuously posted. A fixed anchor used in rock climbing and put in place by someone other than a landowner is not a known dangerous artificial latent condition and a landowner under subsection (1) of this section shall not be liable for unintentional injuries resulting from the condition or use of such an anchor. Nothing in RCW 4.24.200 and this section limits or expands in any way the doctrine of attractive nuisance. Usage by members of the public, volunteer groups, or other users is permissive and does not support any claim of adverse possession.
     (5) For purposes of this section, the following are not fees:
     (a) A license or permit issued for statewide use under the authority of chapter 79A.05 RCW or Title 77 or 79 RCW; ((and))
     (b) A use charge issued under the authority of RCW 79.10.140; and
     (c) A daily charge not to exceed twenty dollars per person, per day, for access to a publicly owned ORV sports park, as defined in RCW 46.09.020, or other public facility accessed by a highway, street, or nonhighway road for the purposes of off-road vehicle use.