S-0272.2
SENATE BILL 5750
State of Washington
64th Legislature
2015 Regular Session
By Senators Parlette, Dansel, Hatfield, Rolfes, and Warnick
Read first time 02/02/15. Referred to Committee on Natural Resources & Parks.
AN ACT Relating to payments to counties in lieu of property taxes by the department of fish and wildlife; amending RCW 77.12.203; repealing RCW 77.12.201; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1.  RCW 77.12.203 and 2014 c 55 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) ((Except as provided in subsection (5) of this section and))Notwithstanding RCW 84.36.010 or other statutes to the contrary, the director must pay by April 30th of each year on game lands, regardless of acreage, in each county, ((if requested by an election under RCW 77.12.201,)) an amount in lieu of real property taxes equal to that amount paid on similar parcels of open space land taxable under chapter 84.34 RCW ((or the greater of seventy cents per acre per year or the amount paid in 1984))except taxes levied for any state purpose, plus an additional amount for control of noxious weeds equal to that which would be paid if such lands were privately owned. This amount may not be assessed or paid on department buildings, structures, facilities, game farms, fish hatcheries, water access sites, tidelands, or public fishing areas.
(2) "Game lands," as used in this section ((and RCW 77.12.201)), means those tracts, regardless of acreage, owned in fee by the department and used for wildlife habitat and public recreational purposes. All lands purchased for wildlife habitat, public access or recreation purposes with federal funds in the Snake River drainage basin are considered game lands regardless of acreage.
(3) This section does not apply to lands transferred after April 23, 1990, to the department from other state agencies.
(4) The county must distribute the amount received under this section in lieu of real property taxes to all property taxing districts except the state in appropriate tax code areas the same way it would distribute local property taxes from private property. The county must distribute the amount received under this section for weed control to the appropriate weed district.
(((5) For the 2011-2013 and 2013-2015 fiscal biennia, the director must pay by April 30th of each year on game lands in each county, if requested by an election under RCW 77.12.201, an amount in lieu of real property taxes and must be distributed as follows:
 
County
 
 
 
Adams. . . .1,909
 
Asotin. . . .36,123
 
Chelan. . . .24,757
 
Columbia. . . .7,795
 
Ferry. . . .6,781
 
Garfield. . . .4,840
 
Grant. . . .37,443
 
Kittitas. . . .143,974
 
Klickitat. . . .21,906
 
Lincoln. . . .13,535
 
Okanogan. . . .151,402
 
Pend Oreille. . . .3,309
 
Yakima. . . .126,225
These amounts may not be assessed or paid on department buildings, structures, facilities, game farms, fish hatcheries, water access sites, tidelands, or public fishing areas.))
NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2.  RCW 77.12.201 (Counties may elect to receive an amount in lieu of taxesCounty to record collections for violations of law or rulesDeposit) and 2013 2nd sp.s. c 4 s 998, 2012 2nd sp.s. c 7 s 923, 2009 c 479 s 63, 1987 c 506 s 29 are each repealed.
NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3.  This act takes effect August 1, 2015.
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