Read first time 01/16/14.   Referred to Committee on Natural Resources & Parks.

     AN ACT Relating to consolidating designated forest lands and open space timber lands for ease of administration; amending RCW 84.33.035, 84.33.130, 84.33.140, 84.33.145, 84.34.030, 84.34.041, 84.34.070, 84.34.330, 84.34.340, and 84.34.370; and adding a new section to chapter 84.34 RCW.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 84.33.035 and 2011 c 101 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.
     (1) "Agricultural methods" means the cultivation of trees that are grown on land prepared by intensive cultivation and tilling, such as irrigating, plowing, or turning over the soil, and on which all unwanted plant growth is controlled continuously for the exclusive purpose of raising trees such as Christmas trees and short-rotation hardwoods.
     (2) "Average rate of inflation" means the annual rate of inflation as determined by the department averaged over the period of time as provided in RCW 84.33.220 (1) and (2). This rate must be published in the state register by the department not later than January 1st of each year for use in that assessment year.
     (3) "Composite property tax rate" for a county means the total amount of property taxes levied upon forest lands by all taxing districts in the county other than the state, divided by the total assessed value of all forest land in the county.
     (4) "Contiguous" means land adjoining and touching other property held by the same ownership. Land divided by a public road, but otherwise an integral part of a timber growing and harvesting operation, is considered contiguous. Solely for the purposes of this subsection (4), "same ownership" has the same meaning as in RCW 84.34.020(6).
     (5) "Forest land" is synonymous with "designated forest land" and means any parcel of land that is ((twenty)) five or more acres or multiple parcels of land that are contiguous and total ((twenty)) five or more acres that is or are devoted primarily to growing and harvesting timber. Designated forest land means the land only and does not include a residential homesite. The term includes land used for incidental uses that are compatible with the growing and harvesting of timber but no more than ten percent of the land may be used for such incidental uses. It also includes the land on which appurtenances necessary for the production, preparation, or sale of the timber products exist in conjunction with land producing these products.
     (6) "Harvested" means the time when in the ordinary course of business the quantity of timber by species is first definitely determined. The amount harvested must be determined by the Scribner Decimal C Scale or other prevalent measuring practice adjusted to arrive at substantially equivalent measurements, as approved by the department.
     (7) "Harvester" means every person who from the person's own land or from the land of another under a right or license granted by lease or contract, either directly or by contracting with others for the necessary labor or mechanical services, fells, cuts, or takes timber for sale or for commercial or industrial use. When the United States or any instrumentality thereof, the state, including its departments and institutions and political subdivisions, or any municipal corporation therein so fells, cuts, or takes timber for sale or for commercial or industrial use, the harvester is the first person other than the United States or any instrumentality thereof, the state, including its departments and institutions and political subdivisions, or any municipal corporation therein, who acquires title to or a possessory interest in the timber. The term "harvester" does not include persons performing under contract the necessary labor or mechanical services for a harvester.
     (8) "Harvesting and marketing costs" means only those costs directly associated with harvesting the timber from the land and delivering it to the buyer and may include the costs of disposing of logging residues. Any other costs that are not directly and exclusively related to harvesting and marketing of the timber, such as costs of permanent roads or costs of reforesting the land following harvest, are not harvesting and marketing costs.
     (9) "Incidental use" means a use of designated forest land that is compatible with its purpose for growing and harvesting timber. An incidental use may include a gravel pit, a shed or land used to store machinery or equipment used in conjunction with the timber enterprise, and any other use that does not interfere with or indicate that the forest land is no longer primarily being used to grow and harvest timber.
     (10) "Local government" means any city, town, county, water-sewer district, public utility district, port district, irrigation district, flood control district, or any other municipal corporation, quasi-municipal corporation, or other political subdivision authorized to levy special benefit assessments for sanitary or storm sewerage systems, domestic water supply or distribution systems, or road construction or improvement purposes.
     (11) "Local improvement district" means any local improvement district, utility local improvement district, local utility district, road improvement district, or any similar unit created by a local government for the purpose of levying special benefit assessments against property specially benefitted by improvements relating to the districts.
     (12) "Owner" means the party or parties having the fee interest in land, except where land is subject to a real estate contract "owner" means the contract vendee.
     (13) "Primarily" or "primary use" means the existing use of the land is so prevalent that when the characteristic use of the land is evaluated any other use appears to be conflicting or nonrelated.
     (14) "Short-rotation hardwoods" means hardwood trees, such as but not limited to hybrid cottonwoods, cultivated by agricultural methods in growing cycles shorter than fifteen years.
     (15) "Small harvester" means every person who from his or her own land or from the land of another under a right or license granted by lease or contract, either directly or by contracting with others for the necessary labor or mechanical services, fells, cuts, or takes timber for sale or for commercial or industrial use in an amount not exceeding two million board feet in a calendar year. When the United States or any instrumentality thereof, the state, including its departments and institutions and political subdivisions, or any municipal corporation therein so fells, cuts, or takes timber for sale or for commercial or industrial use, not exceeding these amounts, the small harvester is the first person other than the United States or any instrumentality thereof, the state, including its departments and institutions and political subdivisions, or any municipal corporation therein, who acquires title to or a possessory interest in the timber. Small harvester does not include persons performing under contract the necessary labor or mechanical services for a harvester, and it does not include the harvesters of Christmas trees or short-rotation hardwoods.
     (16) "Special benefit assessments" means special assessments levied or capable of being levied in any local improvement district or otherwise levied or capable of being levied by a local government to pay for all or part of the costs of a local improvement and which may be levied only for the special benefits to be realized by property by reason of that local improvement.
     (17) "Stumpage value of timber" means the appropriate stumpage value shown on tables prepared by the department under RCW 84.33.091. However, for timber harvested from public land and sold under a competitive bidding process, stumpage value means the actual amount paid to the seller in cash or other consideration. The stumpage value of timber from public land does not include harvesting and marketing costs if the timber from public land is harvested by, or under contract for, the United States or any instrumentality of the United States, the state, including its departments and institutions and political subdivisions, or any municipal corporation therein. Whenever payment for the stumpage includes considerations other than cash, the value is the fair market value of the other consideration. If the other consideration is permanent roads, the value of the roads must be the appraised value as appraised by the seller.
     (18) "Timber" means forest trees, standing or down, on privately or publicly owned land, and except as provided in RCW 84.33.170 includes Christmas trees and short-rotation hardwoods.
     (19) "Timber assessed value" for a county means the sum of: (a) The total stumpage value of timber harvested from publicly owned land in the county multiplied by the public timber ratio, plus; (b) the total stumpage value of timber harvested from privately owned land in the county multiplied by the private timber ratio. The numerator of the public timber ratio is the rate of tax imposed by the county under RCW 84.33.051 on public timber harvests for the year of the calculation. The numerator of the private timber ratio is the rate of tax imposed by the county under RCW 84.33.051 on private timber harvests for the year of the calculation. The denominator of the private timber ratio and the public timber ratio is the composite property tax rate for the county for taxes due in the year of the calculation, expressed as a percentage of assessed value. The department must use the stumpage value of timber harvested during the most recent four calendar quarters for which the information is available. The department must calculate the timber assessed value for each county before October 1st of each year.
     (20) "Timber assessed value" for a taxing district means the timber assessed value for the county multiplied by a ratio. The numerator of the ratio is the total assessed value of forest land in the taxing district. The denominator is the total assessed value of forest land in the county. As used in this section, "assessed value of forest land" means the assessed value of forest land for taxes due in the year the timber assessed value for the county is calculated plus an additional value for public forest land. The additional value for public forest land is the product of the number of acres of public forest land that are available for timber harvesting determined under RCW 84.33.089 and the average assessed value per acre of private forest land in the county.
     (21) "Timber management plan" means a plan prepared by a trained forester, or any other person with adequate knowledge of timber management practices, concerning the use of the land to grow and harvest timber. Such a plan ((includes)) may include:
     (a) A legal description of the forest land;
     (b) A statement that the forest land is held in contiguous ownership of ((twenty)) five or more acres and is primarily devoted to and used to grow and harvest timber;
     (c) A brief description of the timber on the forest land or, if the timber on the land has been harvested, the owner's plan to restock the land with timber;
     (d) A statement about whether the forest land is also used to graze livestock;
     (e) A statement about whether the land has been used in compliance with the restocking, forest management, fire protection, insect and disease control, and forest debris provisions of Title 76 RCW; and
     (f) If the land has been recently harvested or supports a growth of brush and noncommercial type timber, a description of the owner's plan to restock the forest land within three years.

Sec. 2   RCW 84.33.130 and 2003 c 170 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1)(a)(i) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, lands that were assessed as classified forest land before July 22, 2001, ((shall be)) or as timber land under chapter 84.34 RCW before the merger date adopted by the county under section 5 of this act, are designated forest land for the purposes of this chapter.
     (ii) The owners of ((previously classified forest)) land ((shall)) subject to the requirements of (a)(i) of this subsection are not ((be)) required to apply for designation under this chapter. ((As of July 22, 2001,)) The land and timber on such land ((shall)) must be assessed and taxed in accordance with the provisions of this chapter as of the date the land is designated forest land under (a)(i) of this subsection.
     (b) If a county legislative authority opts under section 5 of this act to merge its timber land classification with the designated forest land program of the county, the following provisions apply beginning on the adopted merger date:
     (i) The date the property was classified as timber land is considered to be the date the property was designated as forest land under this chapter;
     (ii) The county assessor must notify each owner of timber land of the merger by certified mail; and
     (iii) For any forest land subject to the provisions of (b)(i) of this subsection that is then removed from designation, only compensating tax will be collected as a result of the removal in accordance with RCW 84.33.140(12), unless otherwise provided by law.
     (2) An owner of land desiring that it be designated as forest land and valued under RCW 84.33.140 as of January 1st of any year ((shall)) must submit an application to the assessor of the county in which the land is located before January 1st of that year. The application ((shall)) must be accompanied by a reasonable processing fee when the county legislative authority has established the requirement for such a fee.
     (3) No application of designation is required when publicly owned forest land is exchanged for privately owned forest land designated under this chapter. The land exchanged and received by an owner subject to ad valorem taxation ((shall be)) is automatically granted designation under this chapter if the following conditions are met:
     (a) The land will be used to grow and harvest timber; and
     (b) The owner of the land submits a document to the assessor's office that explains the details of the forest land exchange within sixty days of the closing date of the exchange. However, if the owner fails to submit information regarding the exchange by the end of this sixty-day period, the owner must file an application for designation as forest land under this chapter and the regular application process will be followed.
     (4) The application ((shall)) must be made upon forms prepared by the department and supplied by the assessor, and ((shall)) must include the following:
     (a) A legal description of, or assessor's parcel numbers for, all land the applicant desires to be designated as forest land;
     (b) The date or dates of acquisition of the land;
     (c) A brief description of the timber on the land, or if the timber has been harvested, the owner's plan for restocking;
     (d) A copy of the timber management plan, if one exists, for the land prepared by a trained forester or any other person with adequate knowledge of timber management practices;
     (e) If a timber management plan exists, an explanation of the nature and extent to which the management plan has been implemented;
     (f) Whether the land is used for grazing;
     (g) Whether the land has been subdivided or a plat has been filed with respect to the land;
     (h) Whether the land and the applicant are in compliance with the restocking, forest management, fire protection, insect and disease control, and forest debris provisions of Title 76 RCW or any applicable rules under Title 76 RCW;
     (i) Whether the land is subject to forest fire protection assessments under RCW 76.04.610;
     (j) Whether the land is subject to a lease, option, or other right that permits it to be used for any purpose other than growing and harvesting timber;
     (k) A summary of the past experience and activity of the applicant in growing and harvesting timber;
     (l) A summary of current and continuing activity of the applicant in growing and harvesting timber;
     (m) A statement that the applicant is aware of the potential tax liability involved when the land ceases to be designated as forest land;
     (n) An affirmation that the statements contained in the application are true and that the land described in the application meets the definition of forest land in RCW 84.33.035; and
     (o) A description and/or drawing showing what areas of land for which designation is sought are used for incidental uses compatible with the definition of forest land in RCW 84.33.035.
     (5) The assessor ((shall)) must afford the applicant an opportunity to be heard if the applicant so requests.
     (6) The assessor ((shall)) must act upon the application with due regard to all relevant evidence and without any one or more items of evidence necessarily being determinative, except that the application may be denied for one of the following reasons, without regard to other items:
     (a) The land does not contain a "merchantable stand of timber" as defined in chapter 76.09 RCW and applicable rules. This reason ((shall not)) alone ((be)) is not sufficient to deny the application (i) if the land has been recently harvested or supports a growth of brush or noncommercial type timber, and the application includes a plan for restocking within three years or a longer period necessitated by unavailability of seed or seedlings, or (ii) if only isolated areas within the land do not meet the minimum standards due to rock outcroppings, swamps, unproductive soil or other natural conditions;
     (b) The applicant, with respect to the land, has failed to comply with a final administrative or judicial order with respect to a violation of the restocking, forest management, fire protection, insect and disease control, and forest debris provisions of Title 76 RCW or any applicable rules under Title 76 RCW; or
     (c) The land abuts a body of salt water and lies between the line of ordinary high tide and a line paralleling the ordinary high tide line and two hundred feet horizontally landward from the high tide line. However, if the assessor determines that a higher and better use exists for the land but this use would not be permitted or economically feasible by virtue of any federal, state, or local law or regulation, the land ((shall)) must be assessed and valued under RCW 84.33.140 without being designated as forest land.
     (7) The application ((shall be)) is deemed to have been approved unless, prior to ((May)) July 1st of the year after the application was mailed or delivered to the assessor, the assessor notifies the applicant in writing of the extent to which the application is denied.
     (8) An owner who receives notice that his or her application has been denied, in whole or in part, may appeal the denial to the county board of equalization in accordance with the provisions of RCW 84.40.038.

Sec. 3   RCW 84.33.140 and 2013 2nd sp.s. c 11 s 13 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) When land has been designated as forest land under RCW 84.33.130, a notation of the designation must be made each year upon the assessment and tax rolls. A copy of the notice of approval together with the legal description or assessor's parcel numbers for the land must, at the expense of the applicant, be filed by the assessor in the same manner as deeds are recorded.
     (2) In preparing the assessment roll as of January 1, 2002, for taxes payable in 2003 and each January 1st thereafter, the assessor must list each parcel of designated forest land at a value with respect to the grade and class provided in this subsection and adjusted as provided in subsection (3) of this section. The assessor must compute the assessed value of the land using the same assessment ratio applied generally in computing the assessed value of other property in the county. Values for the several grades of bare forest land are as follows:

Sec. 4   RCW 84.33.145 and 2012 c 170 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) If no later than thirty days after removal of designation under this chapter the owner applies for classification under:
     (a) RCW 84.34.020(1)((, (2), or (3), then));
     (b) RCW 84.34.020(2); or
     (c) RCW 84.34.020(3), unless the timber land classification and designated forest land program are merged under section 5 of this act,
then, for the purposes of (a), (b), or (c) of this subsection, the designated forest land may not be considered removed from designation for purposes of the compensating tax under RCW 84.33.140 until the application for current use classification under chapter 84.34 RCW is denied or the property is removed from classification under RCW 84.34.108.
     (2) Upon removal of classification under RCW 84.34.108, the amount of compensating tax due under this chapter is equal to:
     (a) The difference, if any, between the amount of tax last levied on the land as designated forest land and an amount equal to the new assessed valuation of the land when removed from classification under RCW 84.34.108 multiplied by the dollar rate of the last levy extended against the land, multiplied by
     (b) A number equal to:
     (i) The number of years the land was designated under this chapter, if the total number of years the land was designated under this chapter and classified under chapter 84.34 RCW is less than ten; or
     (ii) Ten minus the number of years the land was classified under chapter 84.34 RCW, if the total number of years the land was designated under this chapter and classified under chapter 84.34 RCW is at least ten.
     (((2))) (3) Nothing in this section authorizes the continued designation under this chapter or defers or reduces the compensating tax imposed upon forest land not transferred to classification under subsection (1) of this section ((which)) that does not meet the definition of forest land under RCW 84.33.035. Nothing in this section affects the additional tax imposed under RCW 84.34.108.
     (((3))) (4) In a county with a population of more than six hundred thousand inhabitants or in a county with a population of at least two hundred forty-five thousand inhabitants that borders Puget Sound as defined in RCW 90.71.010, no amount of compensating tax is due under this section if the removal from classification under RCW 84.34.108 results from a transfer of property described in RCW 84.34.108(6).

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   A new section is added to chapter 84.34 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) A county legislative authority may opt to merge its timber land classification with its designated forest land program. To merge the programs, the authority must enact an ordinance that:
     (a) Terminates the timber land classification; and
     (b) Declares that the land that had been classified as timber land is designated forest land under chapter 84.33 RCW.
     (2) After a county timber land program is terminated:
     (a) Land that had been classified as timber land within the county is deemed to be designated forest land under the provisions of RCW 84.33.130(1) and is no longer considered to be classified timber land for the purposes of this chapter; and
     (b) Any agreement prepared by the granting authority when an application was approved classifying land as timber land is terminated and no longer in effect.
     (3) A county must notify the department after taking action under this section. The department must maintain a list of all counties that have provided this notice on their agency internet web site.

Sec. 6   RCW 84.34.030 and 1989 c 378 s 10 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) An owner of ((agricultural)) land desiring current use classification under ((subsection (2) of)) RCW 84.34.020 ((shall)) must make application as follows:
     (a) Application for classification under RCW 84.34.020(2) must be made to the county assessor upon forms prepared by the state department of revenue and supplied by the county assessor. ((An owner of open space or timber land desiring current use))
     (b) Application for classification under ((subsections (1) and (3) of)):
     (i) RCW 84.34.020 ((shall make application)) (1); or
     (ii) RCW 84.34.020(3), unless the timber land classification and designated forest land program are merged under section 5 of this act must be made, for (b)(i) or (ii) of this subsection, to the county legislative authority upon forms prepared by the state department of revenue and supplied by the county assessor.
     (2) The application ((shall)) must be accompanied by a reasonable processing fee if ((such)) a processing fee is established by the city or county legislative authority. ((Said)) The application ((shall)) may require only such information reasonably necessary to properly classify an area of land under this chapter with a notarized verification of the truth thereof and ((shall)) must include a statement that the applicant is aware of the potential tax liability involved when ((such)) the land ceases to be ((designated)) classified as open space, farm and agricultural or timber land. Applications must be made during the calendar year preceding that in which ((such)) classification is to begin.
     (3) The assessor ((shall)) must make necessary information, including copies of this chapter and applicable regulations, readily available to interested parties, and ((shall)) must render reasonable assistance to such parties upon request.

Sec. 7   RCW 84.34.041 and 2009 c 350 s 14 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) An application for current use classification or reclassification under RCW 84.34.020(3) ((shall)) must be made to the county legislative authority.
     (((1))) The application ((shall)) must be made upon forms prepared by the department of revenue and supplied by the granting authority and ((shall)) must include the following elements that constitute a timber management plan:
     (a) A legal description of, or assessor's parcel numbers for, all land the applicant desires to be classified as timber land;
     (b) The date or dates of acquisition of the land;
     (c) A brief description of the timber on the land, or if the timber has been harvested, the owner's plan for restocking;
     (d) Whether there is a forest management plan for the land;
     (e) If so, the nature and extent of implementation of the plan;
     (f) Whether the land is used for grazing;
     (g) Whether the land has been subdivided or a plat filed with respect to the land;
     (h) Whether the land and the applicant are in compliance with the restocking, forest management, fire protection, insect and disease control, weed control, and forest debris provisions of Title 76 RCW or applicable rules under Title 76 RCW;
     (i) Whether the land is subject to forest fire protection assessments pursuant to RCW 76.04.610;
     (j) Whether the land is subject to a lease, option, or other right that permits it to be used for a purpose other than growing and harvesting timber;
     (k) A summary of the past experience and activity of the applicant in growing and harvesting timber;
     (l) A summary of current and continuing activity of the applicant in growing and harvesting timber;
     (m) A statement that the applicant is aware of the potential tax liability involved when the land ceases to be classified as timber land.
     (2) An application made for classification of land under RCW 84.34.020(3) ((shall)) must be acted upon after a public hearing and after notice of the hearing is given by one publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the area at least ten days before the hearing. Application for classification of land in an incorporated area ((shall)) must be acted upon by: (a) A granting authority composed of three members of the county legislative body and three members of the city legislative body in which the land is located in a meeting where members may be physically absent but participating through telephonic connection; or (b) separate affirmative acts by both the county and city legislative bodies where both bodies affirm the entirety of an application without modification or both bodies affirm an application with identical modifications.
     (3) The granting authority ((shall)) must act upon the application with due regard to all relevant evidence and without any one or more items of evidence necessarily being determinative, except that the application may be denied for one of the following reasons, without regard to other items:
     (a) The land does not contain a stand of timber as defined in chapter 76.09 RCW and applicable rules, except this reason ((shall not)) alone ((be)) is not sufficient to deny the application (i) if the land has been recently harvested or supports a growth of brush or noncommercial type timber, and the application includes a plan for restocking within three years or the longer period necessitated by unavailability of seed or seedlings, or (ii) if only isolated areas within the land do not meet minimum standards due to rock outcroppings, swamps, unproductive soil, or other natural conditions;
     (b) The applicant, with respect to the land, has failed to comply with a final administrative or judicial order with respect to a violation of the restocking, forest management, fire protection, insect and disease control, weed control, and forest debris provisions of Title 76 RCW or applicable rules under Title 76 RCW;
     (c) The land abuts a body of salt water and lies between the line of ordinary high tide and a line paralleling the ordinary high tide line and two hundred feet horizontally landward from the high tide line.
     (4)(a) The timber management plan must be filed with the county legislative authority either: (((a))) (i) When an application for classification under this chapter is submitted; (((b))) (ii) when a sale or transfer of timber land occurs and a notice of continuance is signed; or (((c))) (iii) within sixty days of the date the application for reclassification under this chapter or from designated forest land is received. The application for reclassification ((shall)) must be accepted, but ((shall)) may not be processed until the timber management plan is received. If the timber management plan is not received within sixty days of the date the application for reclassification is received, the application for reclassification ((shall)) must be denied.
     (b) If circumstances require it, the county assessor may allow in writing an extension of time for submitting a timber management plan when an application for classification or reclassification or notice of continuance is filed. When the assessor approves an extension of time for filing the timber management plan, the county legislative authority may delay processing an application until the timber management plan is received. If the timber management plan is not received by the date set by the assessor, the application or the notice of continuance ((shall)) must be denied.
     (c) The granting authority may approve the application with respect to only part of the land that is described in the application, and if any part of the application is denied, the applicant may withdraw the entire application. The granting authority, in approving in part or whole an application for land classified pursuant to RCW 84.34.020(3), may also require that certain conditions be met.
     (d) Granting or denial of an application for current use classification is a legislative determination and ((shall be)) is reviewable only for arbitrary and capricious actions. The granting authority may not require the granting of easements for land classified pursuant to RCW 84.34.020(3).
     (e) The granting authority ((shall)) must approve or disapprove an application made under this section within six months following the date the application is received.
     (5) No application may be approved under this section, and land may not otherwise be classified or reclassified under RCW 84.34.020(3), if the timber land classification and designated forest land program are merged under section 5 of this act.

Sec. 8   RCW 84.34.070 and 1992 c 69 s 10 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) When land has once been classified under this chapter, it ((shall)) must remain under such classification and ((shall)) must not be applied to other use except as provided by subsection (2) of this section for at least ten years from the date of classification ((and shall)). It must continue under such classification until and unless withdrawn from classification after notice of request for withdrawal ((shall be)) is made by the owner. During any year after eight years of the initial ten-year classification period have elapsed, notice of request for withdrawal of all or a portion of the land may be given by the owner to the assessor or assessors of the county or counties in which ((such)) the land is situated. ((In the event that)) If a portion of a parcel is removed from classification, the remaining portion must meet the same requirements as did the entire parcel when ((such)) the land was originally granted classification ((pursuant to)) under this chapter unless the remaining parcel has different income criteria. Within seven days the assessor ((shall)) must transmit one copy of ((such)) the notice to the legislative body ((which)) that originally approved the application. The assessor or assessors, as the case may be, ((shall)) must, when two assessment years have elapsed following the date of receipt of ((such)) the notice, withdraw ((such)) the land from ((such)) the classification and the land ((shall be)) is subject to the additional tax and applicable interest due under RCW 84.34.108. Agreement to tax according to use ((shall)) is not ((be)) considered to be a contract and can be abrogated at any time by the legislature in which event no additional tax or penalty ((shall)) may be imposed.
     (2)(a) The following reclassifications are not considered withdrawals or removals and are not subject to additional tax under RCW 84.34.108:
     (((a))) (i) Reclassification between lands under RCW 84.34.020 (2) and (3);
     (((b))) (ii) Reclassification of land classified under RCW 84.34.020 (2) or (3) or designated under chapter 84.33 RCW to open space land under RCW 84.34.020(1);
     (((c))) (iii) Reclassification of land classified under RCW 84.34.020 (2) or (3) to forest land ((classified)) designated under chapter 84.33 RCW; and
     (((d))) (iv) Reclassification of land classified as open space land under RCW 84.34.020(1)(c) and reclassified to farm and agricultural land under RCW 84.34.020(2) if the land had been previously classified as farm and agricultural land under RCW 84.34.020(2).
     (b) Designation as forest land under RCW 84.33.130(1) as a result of a merger adopted under section 5 of this act is not considered a withdrawal or removal and is not subject to additional tax under RCW 84.34.108.
     (c) Any owner of land classified under RCW 84.34.020(3) who has provided the assessor with a notice of request to withdrawal under subsection (1) of this section within two years of the date of merger as described in section 5 of this act, will have their land removed as designated forest land under the provisions of chapter 84.33 RCW when two assessment years have elapsed following the receipt of this notice.
     (3) Applications for reclassification ((shall be)) are subject to applicable provisions of RCW 84.34.037, 84.34.035, 84.34.041, and chapter 84.33 RCW.
     (4) The income criteria for land classified under RCW 84.34.020(2) (b) and (c) may be deferred for land being reclassified from land classified under RCW 84.34.020 (1)(c) or (3), or chapter 84.33 RCW into RCW 84.34.020(2) (b) or (c) for a period of up to five years from the date of reclassification.

Sec. 9   RCW 84.34.330 and 1992 c 52 s 17 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Whenever farm and agricultural land or timber land has once been exempted from special benefit assessments ((pursuant to)) under RCW 84.34.320, and except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, any withdrawal or removal from classification or change in use from farm and agricultural land or timber land under chapter 84.34 RCW ((shall)) results in the following:
     (((1))) (a) If the bonds used to fund the improvement in the local improvement district have not been completely retired, ((such)) the land ((shall)) immediately becomes liable for: (((a))) (i) The amount of the special benefit assessment listed in the notice provided for in RCW 84.34.320; plus (((b))) (ii) interest on the amount determined in (((1)))(a)(i) of this ((section)) subsection (1), compounded annually at a rate equal to the average rate of inflation from the time the initial notice is filed by the governmental entity ((which)) that created the local improvement district as provided in RCW 84.34.320 to the time the ((owner withdraws such land)) land is withdrawn or removed from the exemption category provided by this chapter((; or)).
     (((2))) (b) If the bonds used to fund the improvement in the local improvement district have been completely retired, ((such)) the land ((shall)) immediately becomes liable for: (((a))) (i) The amount of the special benefit assessment listed in the notice provided for in RCW 84.34.320; plus (((b))) (ii) interest on the amount determined in (((2)(a))) (b)(i) of this ((section)) subsection (1) compounded annually at a rate equal to the average rate of inflation from the time the initial notice is filed by the governmental entity ((which)) that created the local improvement district as provided in RCW 84.34.320, to the time the bonds used to fund the improvement have been retired; plus (((c))) (iii) interest on the total amount determined in (((2)(a))) (b)(i) and (((b))) (ii) of this ((section)) subsection (1) at a simple per annum rate equal to the average rate of inflation from the time the bonds used to fund the improvement have been retired to the time the ((owner withdraws such lands)) land is withdrawn or removed from the exemption category provided by this chapter.
     (((3))) (c) The amount payable ((pursuant to)) under this section ((shall)) becomes due on the date ((such)) the land is withdrawn or removed from its ((current use)) farm and agricultural land or timber land classification and ((shall be)) is a lien on the land prior and superior to any other lien whatsoever except for the lien for general taxes, and ((shall be)) is enforceable in the same manner as the collection of special benefit assessments are enforced by that local government.
     (2) Designation as forest land under RCW 84.33.130(1) as a result of a merger of programs adopted under section 5 of this act is not considered a withdrawal, removal, or a change in use under this section.

Sec. 10   RCW 84.34.340 and 1992 c 52 s 18 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Whenever farm and agricultural land or timber land is withdrawn or removed from its current use classification as farm and agricultural land or timber land, except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, the county assessor of the county in which ((such)) the land is located ((shall forthwith)) must give written notice of ((such)) the withdrawal or removal to the local government or its successor ((which had)) that filed with the assessor the notice required by RCW 84.34.320. Upon receipt of the notice from the assessor, the local government ((shall)) must mail a written statement to the owner of ((such)) the land for the amounts payable as provided in RCW 84.34.330. ((Such)) The amounts due ((shall be)) are delinquent if not paid within one hundred ((and)) eighty days after the date of mailing of the statement, and ((shall be)) are subject to the same interest, penalties, lien priority, and enforcement procedures that are applicable to delinquent assessments on the assessment roll from which that land had been exempted, except that the rate of interest charged ((shall)) may not exceed the rate provided in RCW 84.34.330.
     (2) Designation as forest land under RCW 84.33.130(1) as a result of a merger adopted under section 5 of this act is not considered a withdrawal or removal under this section.

Sec. 11   RCW 84.34.370 and 1992 c 52 s 20 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, whenever a portion of a parcel of land ((which)) that was classified as farm and agricultural or timber land ((pursuant to)) under this chapter is withdrawn or removed from classification or there is a change in use, and ((such)) the land has been exempted from any benefit assessments ((pursuant to)) under RCW 84.34.320, the previously exempt benefit assessments ((shall)) become due on only that portion of the land ((which)) that is withdrawn, removed, or changed.
     (2) Designation as forest land under RCW 84.33.130(1) as a result of a merger of programs adopted under section 5 of this act is not considered a withdrawal, removal, or a change in use under this section.