Washington State House of Representatives Office of Program Research | BILL ANALYSIS |
Appropriations Committee |
2SSB 6297
This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent. |
Brief Description: Concerning the disposition of penalties paid for failure to comply with recreational site or lands pass/permit requirements.
Sponsors: Senate Committee on Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Senators King and Takko).
Brief Summary of Second Substitute Bill |
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Hearing Date: 2/27/16
Staff: Dan Jones (786-7118).
Background:
Discover Pass Generally.
During the 2011 regular session, the Legislature passed 2SSB 5622 which generally requires an annual Discover Pass or day-use permit for motor vehicle access to recreation lands managed by the State Parks & Recreation Commission (State Parks), the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), and the Department of Fish & Wildlife (DFW).
Discover Pass Infraction Revenue.
Failure to comply with the Discover Pass requirement is a natural resource infraction with a statutory fine of $99. This penalty must be reduced to $59 dollars if an individual provides proof of purchase of a Discover Pass to the court within fifteen days after the issuance of the notice of violation.
In 2012, the Legislature provided all revenue from Discover Pass violations to the Recreation Access Pass Account, which funds recreational land management by State Parks, DNR, and DFW.
Infraction Revenue Generally.
Generally, 32 percent of fines assessed or collected through a district court are provided to the state for deposit in the state general fund, while the remainder is retained by the county. All fines assessed and collected for county parking infractions are retained by the county.
Summary of Bill:
For counties with a population of less than 100,000 on the date the bill takes effect, infraction revenue for Discover Pass violations is split between the state and county as follows:
75 percent goes to the Recreation Access Pass Account to fund recreational land management by State Parks, DNR, and DFW; and
25 percent is retained by the county.
For other counties, all revenue from Discover Pass violations goes to the Recreation Access Pass Account as under current law.
If a county with a population of less than 100,000 dismisses more than 12% of Discover Pass infractions, in the following year the county must remit 100% of Discover Pass violation revenue to the state.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Available.
Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed.