H-0710.1  _______________________________________________

                          HOUSE BILL 1119

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      56th Legislature     1999 Regular Session

By Representatives Pennington, Hatfield, Mielke, Doumit and Eickmeyer

Read first time 01/14/1999.  Referred to Committee on Natural Resources.

Modifying the composition of the fish and wildlife commission to allow for representation by administrative regions.

    AN ACT Relating to the fish and wildlife commission; and amending RCW 77.04.030.

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

    Sec. 1.  RCW 77.04.030 and 1994 c 264 s 52 are each amended to read as follows:

    The fish and wildlife commission consists of nine registered voters of the state appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate.  In January of each odd-numbered year, the governor shall appoint ((with the advice and consent of the senate)) two registered voters to the commission to serve for terms of six years from that January or until their successors are appointed and qualified.  If a vacancy occurs on the commission prior to the expiration of a term, the governor shall appoint a registered voter within sixty days to complete the term.  ((Three members shall be residents of that portion of the state lying east of the summit of the Cascade mountains, and three shall be residents of that portion of the state lying west of the summit of the Cascade mountains.))  Six members shall be appointed to represent the six administrative regions of the department, with each of these members representing a different administrative region.  The department shall adopt the six administrative regions by rule.  A member representing an administrative region of the department must be a resident of that region.  The governor shall appoint commissioners to achieve this balance by administrative region as terms of commissioners expire and vacancies occur.  Three additional members shall be appointed at-large ((effective July 1, 1993; one of whom shall serve a one and one-half year term to end December 31, 1994; one of whom shall serve a three and one-half year term to end December 31, 1996; and one of whom shall serve a five and one-half year term to end December 31, 1998)).  ((Thereafter)) All members are to serve a six-year term.  No two members may be residents of the same county.  The legal office of the commission is at the administrative office of the department in Olympia.

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