FINAL BILL REPORT

                   SB 5029

                           C 32 L 97

                      Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description:  Eliminating obsolete references in the water code.

Sponsors:  Senator Morton.

Senate Committee on Agriculture & Environment

House Committee on Agriculture & Ecology

Background:  The Revised Code of Washington is intended to contain the laws now in effect in Washington State.  Periodically, the code is updated to make it easy to read with the least confusion possible.

Over the years, numerous legislative enactments have altered the state water resources statutes.  Some of these bills were intended to be only temporary in nature.  Several new sections of these bills contained expiration dates and automatically were removed from the code.  However, other sections of these same bills amended existing RCW sections, and the sections could not be made to expire without repealing the underlying section of the code.  Thus, some sections of the water code contain outdated references.

Summary:  The following is a list of temporary enactments and short-term requirements that are deleted from the code:

CReferences to the Joint Select Committee on Water Policy created in 1988 that has since expired.

CReferences to the Water Resources Data Management Task Force and reports that were to be developed by the task force.

CSeveral references to the temporary moratorium on promulgation of new agency rules covering specified water resource areas established at the same time as the Joint Select Committee on Water Policy was created.

CAuthorization to construct the East Selah Reregulating Reservoir authorized in 1983 (RCW 43.21A.460).  Since 1983, the location of a proposed reregulating reservoir has been moved to another site.

CA requirement established in 1989 for the development of an irrigation water conservation demonstration plan (RCW 90.54.190).  The requirement has since been completed.

CA requirement established in 1993 for a report to be done on irrigation district water rate structures (RCW 90.54.200).  The report was submitted to the Legislature during the 1994 session.

Votes on Final Passage:

Senate 47 0

House     92 0

Effective:  July 27, 1997