H-4998              _______________________________________________

                                      HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 29

                        _______________________________________________

                                                               Passed Legislature - 1986 Reg.

State of Washington                              49th Legislature                              1986 Regular Session

By Representatives Sutherland, Vekich, Belcher, Lundquist, S. Wilson and Holland

Read first time 3/11/86.

WHEREAS, The Board of Natural Resources authorizes the Department of Natural Resources to sell timber to fulfill its trust obligations to support certain institutions established at statehood; and

          WHEREAS, Revenue from lands granted for support of the common schools is used to construct buildings necessary for the education of students; and

          WHEREAS, This revenue has fallen short of meeting the needs of the common school construction account, causing requests for the legislature to examine nontraditional sources of revenue for constructing educational facilities; and

          WHEREAS, The Department of Natural Resources has a surplus of more than one billion seven hundred million board feet of timber beyond the anticipated level for sustained yield; and

          WHEREAS, The Department of Natural Resources could offer this timber for sale, while acting within proper forest management principles, in a manner which would produce revenue for the common school trust through the next decade when school construction demand is expected to peak; and

          WHEREAS, The legislature believes all traditional funding sources should be evaluated before using nontraditional sources for constructing common schools and that selling additional timber from common school lands  warrants closer evaluation;

          NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, By the House of Representatives, the Senate concurring, That the Board of Natural Resources prepare a report examining the impact and evaluation of selling that timber that is beyond the sustainable harvest level from trust lands to meet the financial needs of the common school construction account.  The report shall clearly explain and justify the Board's decision relating to the management of the returned one billion seven hundred million board feet of timber; and

          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Board of Natural Resources shall prepare this report by August 1, 1986 and submit copies to the Speaker of the House, the President of the Senate and the appropriate standing committees of the House of Representatives and Senate on the progress made in meeting its paramount duty of providing for the needs in the common school construction account in compliance with this resolution.  The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate shall immediately transmit a copy of this resolution to the members of the Board of Natural Resources.

                                                                                                                    Adopted by the House March 12, 1986.

                                                                                                                                         Speaker of the House.

                                                                                                                    Adopted by the Senate March 12, 1986.

                                                                                                                                       President of the Senate.