BP BHEAD INT S

AN ACT Relating to a state fish and wildlife commission; adding new sections to chapter 77.04 RCW; creating new sections; and repealing RCW 77.04.010, 77.04.020, 77.04.030, 77.04.040, 77.04.055, 77.04.060, 77.04.080, and 77.04.090.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The department of fish and wildlife is created. The department consists of the state fish and wildlife commission, the director of fish and wildlife, and such other personnel as may be necessary for the efficient performance of the functions of the department.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) There is established a state fish and wildlife commission consisting of seven members appointed by the governor.

(2) The term of office of each member is four years. Before the expiration of the term of a member, the governor shall appoint a successor. A member is eligible for reappointment. If there is a vacancy for any cause, the governor shall make an appointment to become effective immediately for the unexpired term. Terms shall be staggered.

(3) All appointments of members of the commission by the governor are subject to confirmation by the senate.

(4) No member of the commission may hold any office in any sports fishing organization or commercial fishing organization or have any ownership or other direct interest in a commercial fish processing business.

(5) No member of the commission may hold another state, county, or municipal elective or appointive office.

(6) Members shall:

(a) Have experience in fish and wildlife issues;

(b) Be able to work with professional experts to develop policy;

(d) Have knowledge of state law relating to fish and wildlife; and

(e) Have general knowledge of the habits and distribution of fish and wildlife.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) The commission shall select one of its members as chair and another as vice-chair, for such terms and with such duties and powers necessary for the performance of the functions as the commission determines appropriate.

(2) A majority of the members of the commission constitutes a quorum for the transaction of business.

(3) The commission shall meet at least once every three months at a time and place determined by the commission. The commission shall also meet at such other times and places as are specified by the call of the chair or of a majority of the members of the commission.

(4) The commission may also meet jointly with authorities of other states or of the United States to consider problems of mutual interest.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) The commission shall appoint a state fish and wildlife director to serve for a term of four years unless removed sooner by the commission.

(2) The director shall:

(a) Have substantial professional fish and wildlife experience, comparable to that of a senior professional person working in the wildlife field; and

(b) Have considerable experience in working with and managing professional wildlife persons and other personnel necessary for the efficient operation and administration of a department or agency.

(3) The commission may delegate to the director any of the administrative authority, powers, and duties granted to or imposed upon it by law.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) The director is the executive head of the state department of fish and wildlife, and shall:

(a) Be responsible to the commission for administration and enforcement of the wildlife laws;

(b) Appoint, supervise, and control all commission employees and, under the policy direction of the commission, be responsible for all of the commission's functions and activities;

(d) Be responsible for the collection, application, and dissemination of information pertinent to the management of the wildlife resources, and to the regulation of the uses of such resources.

(2) In times of emergency, the director may exercise with approval of the commission chair the full powers of the commission until such times as the emergency ends or the commission meets in formal session.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. In addition to such divisions as may be established by the director, there is established within the fish and wildlife department a fish division and a wildlife division. The wildlife division shall be responsible for the management of all wildlife, except fish and other marine life, over which the commission has regulatory jurisdiction.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. Before submitting budget requests or information to the governor, the commission shall hold public hearings on proposals for planned expenditures and enhancement packages that the commission intends to recommend to the governor for inclusion in the governor's budget.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. (1) The commission has the authority to formulate and implement the policies and programs of this state for the management of fish and wildlife, and may perform all acts necessary to administer and carry out the provisions of the fish and wildlife laws.

(2) The commission may adopt rules to carry out the provisions of the fish and wildlife laws.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. In addition to any other duties or powers provided by law, the commission may:

(1) Accept, from whatever source, appropriations, gifts, or grants of money or other property for the purposes of fish and wildlife management, and use such money or property for wildlife management purposes;

(2) Sell or exchange property owned by the state and used for wildlife management purposes when the commission determines that such sale or exchange would be advantageous to the state wildlife policy and management programs;

(3) Acquire, introduce, propagate, and stock wildlife species in such manner as the commission determines will carry out the state wildlife policy and management programs;

(4) By rule authorize the issuance of licenses, tags, and permits for angling, hunting, and trapping and may prescribe such tagging and sealing procedures as the commission determines necessary to carry out the provisions of the wildlife laws or to obtain information for use in wildlife management. Permits issued pursuant to this subsection may include special hunting permits for a person to hunt on land owned by that person in areas where permits for deer or elk are limited by quota;

(5) By rule prescribe procedures requiring the holder of any license, tag, or permit issued under the wildlife laws to keep records and make reports concerning the time, manner, and place of taking wildlife, the quantities taken, and such other information as the commission determines necessary for proper enforcement of the wildlife laws or to obtain information for use in wildlife management;

(6) Establish special hunting and angling areas or seasons in which only persons younger than eighteen years of age or older than sixty-five years of age are permitted to hunt or angle;

(7) Acquire by purchase, lease, agreement, or gift real property and all appropriate interests therein for wildlife management and wildlife-oriented recreation purposes;

(8) Acquire by purchase, lease, agreement, gift, exercise of eminent domain, or otherwise real property and all interests therein and establish, operate, and maintain thereon public hunting areas;

(9) Establish and develop wildlife refuge and management areas and prescribe rules governing the use of such areas and the use of wildlife refuge and management areas established and developed under any other law;

(10) By rule prescribe fees for licenses, tags, permits, and applications issued or required under the wildlife laws, and user charges for angling, hunting, or other recreational uses of lands owned or managed by the commission, unless such fees or user charges are otherwise prescribed by law. Except for licenses issued under subsection (14) of this section, no fee or user charge prescribed by the commission under this subsection may exceed ten dollars;

(11) Enter into contracts with any person or governmental agency for the development and encouragement of wildlife research and management programs and projects;

(12) Perform such acts as may be necessary for the establishment and implementation of cooperative wildlife management programs with agencies of the federal government;

(13) Offer and pay rewards for the arrest and conviction of any person who has violated any of the wildlife laws. No such reward may exceed one hundred dollars for any one arrest and conviction;

(14) By rule prescribe fees for falconry licenses issued under wildlife laws, unless such fees are otherwise prescribed by law. Fees prescribed by the commission under this subsection shall be based on actual or projected costs of administering falconry rules and shall not exceed two hundred fifty dollars; and

(15) Establish special hunting seasons and bag limits applicable only to those persons who are permanently unable to be mobile without the assistance of a wheelchair.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. In carrying out duties, functions, and powers regarding the propagation of anadromous fish prescribed in the wildlife laws and the commercial fishing laws, the commission shall give high priority to expenditures for propagation assistance by means of transportation of upstream and downstream migrants in those areas where dams and other such obstacles present a passage problem to juvenile or adult salmonids.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. (1) After investigation of the supply and condition of fish and wildlife, the commission, at appropriate times each year, shall by rule:

(a) Prescribe the times, places, and manner in which fish and wildlife may be taken by angling, hunting, or trapping and the amounts of each of those fish and wildlife species that may be taken and possessed;

(b) Prescribe such other restrictions or procedures regarding the angling, hunting, trapping, or possessing of fish and wildlife as the commission determines will carry out the wildlife laws.

(2) In carrying out subsection (1) of this section, the power of the commission includes, but is not limited to:

(a) Prescribing the amount of each fish and wildlife species that may be taken and possessed in terms of sex, size, and other physical characteristics;

(b) Prescribing such regular and special time periods and areas closed to the angling, hunting, and trapping of any fish and wildlife species if the commission determines such action is necessary to protect the supply of such wildlife;

(c) Prescribing regular and special time periods and areas open to the angling, hunting, and trapping of any wildlife species, and establishing procedures for regulating the number of persons eligible to participate in such angling, hunting, or trapping, if the commission determines such action is necessary to maintain properly the supply of fish and wildlife, alleviate damage to other resources, or to provide a safe and orderly recreational opportunity.

(3) In carrying out the provisions of this section, before prescribing the numbers of deer and elk to be taken, the commission shall consider:

(a) The supply and condition of deer and elk herds;

(b) The availability of forage for deer, elk, and domestic livestock on public and private range and forest lands;

(d) The effects of deer and elk herds on public and private range and forest lands.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. In carrying out the provisions of the wildlife laws with regard to the management of wildlife that is a threatened species or an endangered species, the commission:

(1) Shall conduct investigations of wildlife species native to this state and shall determine whether any such species is a threatened species or an endangered species;

(2) By rule, shall establish and publish, and from time to time may revise, a list of wildlife species that are threatened species or endangered species;

(3) By rule, shall establish programs for the protection and conservation of wildlife species that are threatened species or endangered species. As used in this section, "conservation" means the use of methods and procedures necessary to bring a species to the point at which the measures are no longer necessary. Such methods and procedures include, but are not limited to, activities associated with scientific resources management such as research, census, law enforcement, habitat acquisition and maintenance, propagation, and transplantation;

(4) By rule, shall establish a system of permits for scientific taking of threatened species and endangered species under such terms and conditions as the commission determines will minimize the impact on the species taken; and

(5) Shall set priorities for establishing programs under this section after consideration of available funds and the immediacy and seriousness of the threat to any listed species. In proposing and implementing programs for those species that are secure outside this state, the commission shall give preference to cooperative agreements, acquisitions and similar methods.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. (1) The commission, by rule, may add or remove any wildlife species from either list, or change the status of any species on the lists, upon a determination that the species is or is not a threatened species or an endangered species.

(2) A determination that a species is a threatened species or an endangered species shall be based on documented and verifiable scientific information about the species' biological status. To list a species as a threatened species or an endangered species, the commission shall determine that the natural reproductive potential of the species is in danger of failure due to limited population numbers, disease, predation, or other natural or the human-made factors affecting its continued existence.

(3) The commission shall periodically review the status of all threatened species and endangered species. Each species shall be reviewed at least once every five years to determine whether substantial documented scientific information exists to justify its reclassification or removal from the list according to the criteria in subsection (2) of this section. If a determination is made to reclassify a species or remove it from the list, the commission, within ninety days, shall commence rule making to change the status of the species.

(4) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, the commission may decide not to list a species that otherwise qualifies as a threatened or endangered species within this state if the commission determines that the species is secure outside this state and the species is not of cultural, scientific, or commercial significance to the people of this state.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. In developing protection and conservation programs, the commission shall consult with other states having a common interest in particular threatened species or endangered species and with other affected state agencies.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. Any person may apply to the department of fish and wildlife for preliminary certification of a fish habitat improvement project. The department shall develop rules and procedures for administering its responsibilities. Such rules shall clarify the criteria used to evaluate fish improvement projects. Applications for preliminary certification shall be made in writing on a form provided by the department.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. The department of fish and wildlife shall have access to and control of the moneys held in the nongame wildlife fund, but shall use such moneys only to protect and preserve nongame wildlife and their habitat.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. The director and any deputies of the director and all other peace officers of this state or any political subdivision thereof have jurisdiction of and may enforce any of the provisions of the wildlife laws.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 18. The department of fisheries and the department of wildlife are hereby abolished and their powers, duties, and functions are hereby transferred to the department of fish and wildlife. All references to the director or department of fisheries or wildlife in the Revised Code of Washington shall be construed to mean the director or department of fish and wildlife.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 19. All reports, documents, surveys, books, records, files, papers, or written material in the possession of the department of fisheries and the department of wildlife shall be delivered to the custody of the department of fish and wildlife. All cabinets, furniture, office equipment, motor vehicles, and other tangible property employed by the department of fisheries and the department of wildlife shall be made available to the department of fish and wildlife. All funds, credits, or other assets held by the department of fisheries and the department of wildlife shall be assigned to the department of fish and wildlife.

Any appropriations made to the department of fisheries and the department of wildlife shall, on the effective date of this section, be transferred and credited to the department of fish and wildlife.

Whenever any question arises as to the transfer of any personnel, funds, books, documents, records, papers, files, equipment, or other tangible property used or held in the exercise of the powers and the performance of the duties and functions transferred, the director of financial management shall make a determination as to the proper allocation and certify the same to the state agencies concerned.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 20. All employees of the department of fisheries and the department of wildlife are transferred to the jurisdiction of the department of fish and wildlife. All employees classified under chapter 41.06 RCW, the state civil service law, are assigned to the department of fish and wildlife to perform their usual duties upon the same terms as formerly, without any loss of rights, subject to any action that may be appropriate thereafter in accordance with the laws and rules governing state civil service.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 21. All rules and all pending business before the department of fisheries and the department of wildlife shall be continued and acted upon by the department of fish and wildlife. All existing contracts and obligations shall remain in full force and shall be performed by the department of fish and wildlife.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 22. The transfer of the powers, duties, functions, and personnel of the department of fisheries and the department of wildlife shall not affect the validity of any act performed prior to the effective date of this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 23. If apportionments of budgeted funds are required because of the transfers directed by sections 19 through 22 of this act, the director of financial management shall certify the apportionments to the agencies affected, the state auditor, and the state treasurer. Each of these shall make the appropriate transfer and adjustments in funds and appropriation accounts and equipment records in accordance with the certification.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 24. Nothing contained in sections 18 through 23 of this act may be construed to alter any existing collective bargaining unit or the provisions of any existing collective bargaining agreement until the agreement has expired or until the bargaining unit has been modified by action of the personnel board as provided by law.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 25. The following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:

(1) RCW 77.04.010 and 1990 c 84 s 1, 1980 c 78 s 2, & 1955 c 36 s 77.04.010;

(2) RCW 77.04.020 and 1987 c 506 s 4, 1980 c 78 s 3, & 1955 c 36 s 77.04.020;

(3) RCW 77.04.030 and 1987 c 506 s 5, 1981 c 338 s 11, 1980 c 78 s 4, & 1955 c 36 s 77.04.030;

(4) RCW 77.04.040 and 1987 c 506 s 6, 1980 c 78 s 5, & 1955 c 36 s 77.04.040;

(5) RCW 77.04.055 and 1990 c 84 s 2 & 1987 c 506 s 7;

(6) RCW 77.04.060 and 1987 c 506 s 8, 1987 c 114 s 1, 1984 c 287 s 110, 1980 c 78 s 6, 1977 c 75 s 89, 1975-'76 2nd ex.s. c 34 s 175, 1961 c 307 s 9, 1955 c 352 s 1, & 1955 c 36 s 77.04.060;

(7) RCW 77.04.080 and 1987 c 506 s 9, 1980 c 78 s 8, & 1955 c 36 s 77.04.080; and

(8) RCW 77.04.090 and 1984 c 240 s 1, 1980 c 78 s 16, & 1955 c 36 s 77.12.050.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 26. Sections 1 through 18 of this act are each added to chapter 77.04 RCW.