FINAL BILL REPORT

                 ESHB 2741

PARTIAL VETO

                         C 239 L 94

Brief Description:  Coordinating watershed‑based natural resource planning.

By House Committee on Natural Resources & Parks (originally sponsored by Representatives Linville, Pruitt, King, Rust, Valle, R. Johnson, Roland, Rayburn, R. Meyers, J. Kohl, Kremen, L. Johnson and Karahalios).

House Committee on Natural Resources & Parks

Senate Committee on Natural Resources

Background:  A number of federal, state, and local government agencies, tribes, individuals, and organizations are exploring natural resource management issues using watersheds as the unit of management.  A survey of significant watershed-based activity compiled this fall by the Governor's office indicates that there are several hundred such watershed-based efforts going on in the state.

Summary:  The Watershed Coordinating Council is created, comprised of the Commissioner of Public Lands or the commissioner's designee, and the director or designee from the following departments: Transportation; Agriculture; Ecology; Fish and Wildlife; Health; Community, Trade and Economic Development; the Interagency Committee for Outdoor Recreation; the Puget Sound Water Quality Authority; and the Conservation Commission.  The council is to coordinate state agency watershed planning and implementation activities.  The council will also coordinate its activities with federal, local, and tribal governments.  The council expires in June 1997.

By December 15, 1994, the Watershed Coordinating Council is to provide to the Legislature a summary of all state agency watershed programs and recommendations on the following:  a definition of the geographical unit for watershed planning and implementation processes; common protocols for data collection and analysis; the availability of data on the condition of the state's watersheds; ways to overcome barriers to state agency cooperation in watershed planning and implementation; ways to minimize duplication and overlap and to improve efficiency in watershed planning and implementation; and new sources of funding and reallocation of existing funding for watershed planning and implementation activities.

The Watershed Policy Task Force is also created and directed to complete the following tasks:  development of goals and measurable objectives for watersheds in the state; identification of strategies for establishing and funding locally or regionally based watershed planning and implementation activities to help achieve these goals and objectives; identification of barriers to cooperation and possible incentives to encourage various entities to participate in watershed planning and implementation; recommendations for integration of state watershed planning and implementation with local land use planning; and recommendations for coordination with student and citizen watershed protection efforts.  Members of the task force come from the Watershed Coordinating Council, the House of Representatives, the Senate, and various interest groups.  The task force is to complete its tasks and report to the Legislature by December 1995. The task force expires in June 1996.

Votes on Final Passage:

House  95 0

Senate 42 4 (Senate amended)

House            (House refused to concur)

Conference Committee

Senate 46 0

House  94 0

Effective:  June 9, 1994

Partial Veto Summary:  The partial veto removes the section in the bill creating and assigning tasks to the Watershed Policy Task Force.  The veto message indicates that a forthcoming executive order will direct the Watershed Coordinating Council to assume many of the duties originally assigned to the task force.