S-698                 _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 5188

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1989 Regular Session

By Senators Conner and Owen

Read first time 1/18/89 and referred to Committee on Environment & Natural Resources.

AN ACT Relating to leasing communicator sites on state lands for emergency and public service communications; and amending RCW 79.12.015 and 79.12.025.

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

        Sec. 1.  Section 1, chapter 209, Laws of 1988 and RCW 79.12.015 are each amended to read as follows:

          The department of natural resources leases state lands and space on towers located on state lands to amateur radio operators and local and state government public safety agencies for their repeater stations.  These sites are necessary to maintain emergency communications for public safety and for use in disaster relief and search and rescue support.

          The licensed amateur radio operators of the state provide thousands of hours of public communications service to the state every year.  Their communication network spans the entire state, based in individual residences and linked across the state through a series of mountain-top repeater stations.  The amateur radio operators install and maintain their radios and the electronic repeater stations at their own expense.  The amateur radio operators who use their equipment to perform public services should not bear the sole responsibility for supporting the electronic repeater stations.

          In recognition of the essential role performed by the amateur radio operators and local and state government public safety agencies in emergency communications, the legislature intends to reduce the rental fee paid by the amateur and public safety agency radio operators while assuring the department of natural resources full market rental for the use of state-owned property.

        Sec. 2.  Section 2, chapter 209, Laws of 1988 and RCW 79.12.025 are each amended to read as follows:

          The department of natural resources shall determine the lease rate for amateur radio and local and state government public safety agency electronic repeater sites and units available for public service communication.  For the first repeater unit placed at a department communication site by an amateur radio or public safety agency lessee eligible for a reduced rate under this section, the lessee shall pay fifty percent of the amateur radio rental established by the department.  For any subsequent repeater unit placed at the same facility by an eligible amateur radio or public safety agency lessee, the lessee shall pay twenty-five percent of the rental established by the department.

          The amateur radio regulatory authority approved by the federal communication commission shall assign the radio frequencies used by amateur radio lessees.  The department shall develop guidelines to determine which lessees are to receive reduced rental fees as moneys are available by legislative appropriation to pay a portion of the rent for electronic repeaters operated by amateur radio operators and public safety agencies.