Passed by the Senate February 13, 2012 YEAS 45   BRAD OWEN ________________________________________ President of the Senate Passed by the House February 28, 2012 YEAS 95   FRANK CHOPP ________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives | I, Thomas Hoemann, Secretary of the Senate of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SENATE BILL 6385 as passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the dates hereon set forth. THOMAS HOEMANN ________________________________________ Secretary | |
Approved March 29, 2012, 2:27 p.m. CHRISTINE GREGOIRE ________________________________________ Governor of the State of Washington | March 29, 2012 Secretary of State State of Washington |
State of Washington | 62nd Legislature | 2012 Regular Session |
Read first time 01/19/12. Referred to Committee on Energy, Natural Resources & Marine Waters.
AN ACT Relating to extending the habitat and recreation lands coordinating group until July 31, 2017; amending RCW 79A.25.260; creating a new section; and providing an expiration date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1 RCW 79A.25.260 and 2007 c 247 s 1 are each amended 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)) office, 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, but may only be
appointed or invited by the director.
(2) To ensure timely completion of the duties assigned to the
((habitat and recreation lands coordinating)) group, the director shall
submit yearly progress reports to the office of financial management.
(3) The ((habitat and recreation lands coordinating)) group must:
(a) Review agency land acquisition and disposal plans and policies
to help ensure statewide coordination of habitat and recreation land
acquisitions and disposals;
(b) Produce an interagency, statewide biennial forecast of habitat
and recreation land ((acquisitions [acquisition])) acquisition and
disposal plans;
(c) Establish procedures for publishing the biennial forecast of
acquisition and disposal plans on web sites or other centralized,
easily accessible formats;
(d) Develop and convene an annual forum for agencies to coordinate
their near-term acquisition and disposal plans;
(e) Develop a recommended method for interagency geographic
information system-based documentation of habitat and recreation lands
in cooperation with other state agencies using geographic information
systems;
(f) Develop recommendations for standardization of acquisition and
disposal recordkeeping, including identifying a preferred process for
centralizing acquisition data;
(g) Develop an approach for monitoring the success of acquisitions;
(h) 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; and
(i) Review existing and proposed habitat conservation plans on a
regular basis to foster statewide coordination and save costs.
(4) If prioritization among the various requirements of subsection
(3) of this section is necessary due to the availability of resources,
the group shall prioritize implementation of subsection (3)(a) through
(d) and (g) of this section.
(5) The group shall revisit the ((committee's and Washington
wildlife and recreation program's)) planning requirements of relevant
grant programs administered by the office to determine whether
coordination of state agency habitat and recreation land acquisition
and disposal could be improved by modifying those requirements.
(((5))) (6) The group must develop options for centralizing
coordination of habitat and recreation land acquisition made with funds
from federal grants. The advantages and drawbacks of the following
options, at a minimum, must be developed:
(a) Requiring that agencies provide early communication on the
status of federal grant applications to the ((committee)) office, 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.
(((6))) (7) This section expires July 31, ((2012)) 2017. Prior to
January 1, ((2012)) 2017, the ((committee)) group shall make a formal
recommendation to the board and the appropriate committees of the
legislature as to whether the existence of the habitat and recreation
lands coordinating group should be continued beyond July 31, ((2012))
2017, and if so, whether any modifications to its enabling statute
should be pursued. ((The committee shall involve all participants in
the habitat and recreation lands coordinating group when developing the
recommendations.))
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 The legislature finds that participation by
the state's habitat and recreation land management agencies in the
habitat and recreation lands coordinating group is an inherent part of
transparent, efficient, and effective state habitat and recreation land
management, and must be conducted within existing resources.