HOUSE BILL REPORT

HB 648

BYRepresentatives Bristow, Doty, Baugher, Rayburn, Grant, Chandler, Lewis, Jesernig, C. Smith, Sutherland, Brough, Unsoeld, Fuhrman and Todd

Changing provisions relating to noxious weed control.

House Committe on Agriculture & Rural Development

Majority Report:     The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass.  (14)

     Signed by Representatives Rayburn, Chair; Kremen, Vice Chair; Baugher, Bristow, Brooks, Chandler, Doty, Grant, Holm, Jacobsen, McLean, Moyer, Nealey and Rasmussen.

House Staff:Kenneth Hirst (786-7105)

AS REPORTED BY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE & RURAL DEVELOPMENT

MARCH 3, 1987

BACKGROUND:

The State Noxious Weed Control Board must adopt at least annually a list of plants it finds to be injurious to crops, livestock, or other property.  Each county noxious weed control board must select weeds from the list it finds necessary to be controlled in the county.  In certain instances, the State Board may order a county board to include a weed from the state's list on the county's list.

If a county weed board finds that noxious weeds are present on a parcel of land and the owner is not taking sufficient action to control the weeds, the board shall notify the owner that a violation of the state's noxious weed control exists.  If the owner does not take action to control the weeds in accordance with the notice, the county board may control them at the expense of the owner.

County legislative authorities are expressly authorized to appropriate monies from their general funds for noxious weed control programs and to levy assessments against land for this purpose.  A county legislative authority may also create one or more weed districts within its boundaries.  Intercounty weed districts may include parts or all of 2 or more counties.

SUMMARY:

SUBSTITUTE BILL:  STATE BOARD.  The membership of the State Noxious Weed Control Board is expanded to 9 voting members and 3 nonvoting members. The State Board shall adopt a state list of noxious weeds. Findings regarding the inclusion of a plant on the state list shall be available upon request to any person. Weeds on the state list shall be divided into 3 classes:  class A, class B, and class C.

DIRECTOR OF AGRICULTURE.  The Director of Agriculture shall adopt rules regarding articles, products, or feed stuff containing noxious weed seeds or toxic weeds and limit the amount of the seeds or weeds that such items may contain.  Any person who knowingly or negligently sells such an item in violation of these limits is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Upon receipt of a complaint from an adjacent county noxious weed control board or weed district, the Director may require the county legislative authority or county board or weed district which is the subject of the complaint to control the noxious weeds cited in the complaint.  In certain circumstances, the Director may control the weed or cause it to be controlled and the county or district is liable for payment of the expense of the control work.  In a county without an activated county board, the Director may act as the county board to control noxious weeds.  The Director may require a county to activate a county board in certain circumstances.  The Director may employ staff to administer the weed control program.

The authority of the Director regarding activities of county boards is applied to weed districts as well.  Weed districts are granted the authority to establish weed quarantines with the approval of the Director.

COUNTY NOXIOUS WEED CONTROL BOARDS.  The members of the county board are appointed by the county legislative authority (rather than being elected by landowners).  The expiration of a term of office shall be published and persons may submit nominating petitions for filling the appointive position.

A county board's weed control list consists of all class A weeds, those class B weeds that have been designated for control in the county's region, and the weeds the county board selects from the class C list.

Within 60 days from initial employment by a county board, a weed coordinator shall obtain a pest control consultant license, a pesticide operator license, and the necessary endorsements on the licenses as required by law.

TIMBERED LANDS.  A provision of law is repealed which prohibits land from being classified for weed control purposes as agricultural land solely because it is used for trees for timber. Such lands with dense forest canopies must always control weeds to the same extent as the owner of nonagricultural land (which includes eradicating all class A weeds and controlling and preventing the spread of class B weeds designated for control in the region).  Forest lands are subject to all weed control requirements for a single period of 5 years following the harvesting of the trees for timber.

WEED ASSESSMENTS.  Assessment rates shall be either uniform per acre in each land classification or a flat rate per parcel rate plus a uniform rate per acre.  Forest lands used solely for trees and with dense canopies (except following clear-cut logging) may be subject to an annual assessment that shall not exceed 1/10 of a specified weighted average of the per acre assessment levied on certain other lands.  For counties levying a per parcel assessment, the per parcel assessment on such forest lands shall not exceed 1/10 of the per parcel assessment on nonforest lands.

CIVIL INFRACTIONS.  A civil infraction for certain violations of the weed control statutes is created.  Any landowner knowing of the existence of any noxious weeds on the owner's land who fails to control the weeds as required by law or rules or any person who enters upon any land in violation of a weed quarantine has committed a civil infraction.  (Procedures are established for filing a notice of infraction, responding to notices, conducting hearings on such infractions and mitigating an infraction.)  A person found to have committed a civil infraction shall be assessed a monetary penalty not exceeding $1,000.  The State Board shall adopt a schedule of penalties and submit the schedule to the appropriate court.  Civil fines received by the courts shall be paid to the county board less any mandatory court costs and assessments.

OTHER.  A weed control assessment constitutes a lien against the property and the county legislative authority may require that it be collected in the manner provided for delinquent property taxes if not paid or appealed.

The obligations or liabilities incurred by any county or regional board for any claims against either are specified. The authority currently granted by the weed control laws for entering property and performing work without the consent of the landowner is repealed.  A warrant from superior or district court may be sought for such actions where securing such a warrant is otherwise required by law.  A person who improperly prevents or threatens to prevent such entry or interferes with the carrying out of the weed control statutes is guilty of a misdemeanor.

The uses of monies appropriated to the Department for weed control are specified and a report regarding monies disbursed to weed boards and districts is required every two years.  Compensation for expenses is authorized for regional (multi-county) weed board members. Procedures are established for deactivating a county noxious weed control board.  Provisions of law are repealed which authorize the creation of weed extermination areas.

SUBSTITUTE BILL COMPARED TO ORIGINAL:  Most of the authorities granted to the State Board by the original bill are granted to the Director of Agriculture by the substitute bill.  The composition of the State Board established by the original bill is altered by the substitute bill.  The authority of the Director to specify limits for the amount of weed seeds and toxic weeds that may be contained in certain products offered for sale is provided by the substitute bill.  The definition of forest lands provided by the original bill is altered by the substitute bill. The substitute bill establishes weed control assessments as a lien against property.  The substitute bill grants weed districts the authority to establish weed quarantines with the approval of the Director.

Fiscal Note:    Requested March 4, 1987.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:     Gary Lowe, Washington State Association of Counties; Dick Junk, Washington Forest Protection Association; John Cato, Walla Walla County Weed Board; Tom Wright, Yakima County Weed District  1; Intercounty Weed District  2; Merrill Camp, Washington Association of Conservation Districts; Mary Fries, Washington Native Plant Society; Arlie Clinkenbeard, Okanogan County Commissioner; George Turner, Grant County Farm Bureau; Rick Johnson, Thurston County Weed Board; Mike Schwisow, Department of Agriculture.

House Committee - Testified Against: Bob Gorman, Klickitat County Weed Board; Oscar Berggren, Pierce County Weed Board.

House Committee - Testimony For:     (1) The bill provides an opportunity for a quantum leap in the effectiveness of weed control in the state. The A,B,C listing of weeds will reduce some local control but will establish a comprehensive approach to control; the eradication of Class A weeds is mandatory statewide. Without such direction, local efforts are haphazard and ineffective. (2) The bill assigns a state level of effort in controlling weeds. (3) Because of the potential liability of counties under current law, this may be the last year for weed control efforts without this comprehensive change in the administrative system established by law. (4) The elections conducted under the current laws are not democratic processes. (5) The bill is largely the product of a Task Force which brought together groups with different interests to work out problems.

House Committee - Testimony Against: (1) The Department is experienced and accountable.  It should be the agency assigned the state duties by the bill, not the State Board. (2) The provisions of the bill defining forest lands based on fire protection assessment rolls are inappropriate and will significantly reduce assessment revenues from nontimbered lands that are on such rolls.