BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to timber sales; and amending RCW 79.01.132.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 79.01.132 and 1997 c 116 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

When any timber, fallen timber, stone, gravel, or other valuable material on state lands is sold separate from the land, it may be sold as a lump sum sale or as a scale sale. Lump sum sales under five thousand dollars appraised value shall be paid for in cash. The initial deposits required in RCW 79.01.204, not to exceed twenty-five percent of the actual or projected purchase price, but in the case of lump sum sales over five thousand dollars not less than five thousand dollars, shall be made on the day of the sale, and in the case of those sales appraised below the amount specified in RCW 79.01.200, the department of natural resources may require full cash payment on the day of sale. The purchaser shall notify the department of natural resources before any timber is cut and before removal or processing of any valuable materials on the sale area, at which time the department of natural resources may require, in the amount determined by the department, advance payment for the removal, processing, and/or cutting of timber or other valuable materials, or bank letters of credit, payment bonds, or assignments of savings accounts acceptable to the department as adequate security. The amount of such advance payments and/or security shall at all times equal or exceed the value of timber cut and other valuable materials processed or removed until paid for. The initial deposit shall be maintained until all contract obligations of the purchaser are satisfied: PROVIDED HOWEVER, That all or a portion of said initial deposit may be applied as the final payment for said materials in the event the department of natural resources determines that adequate security exists for the performance or fulfillment of any remaining obligations of the purchaser under the sale contract.

In all cases where timber, fallen timber, stone, gravel, or other valuable material is sold separate from the land, the same shall revert to the state if not removed from the land within the period specified in the sale contract. Said specified period shall not exceed five years from the date of the purchase thereof: PROVIDED, That the specified periods in the sale contract for stone, sand, fill material, or building stone shall not exceed twenty years: PROVIDED FURTHER, That in all cases where, in the judgment of the department of natural resources, the purchaser is acting in good faith and endeavoring to remove such materials, the department of natural resources may extend the time for the removal thereof for any period not exceeding twenty years from the date of purchase for the stone, sand, fill material or building stone or for a total of ten years beyond the normal termination date specified in the original sale contract for all other material, upon payment to the state of a sum to be fixed by the department of natural resources, based on the estimated loss of income per acre to the state resulting from the granting of the extension but in no event less than fifty dollars per extension, plus interest on the unpaid portion of the contract. The interest rate shall be fixed, from time to time, by rule adopted by the board of natural resources and shall not be less than six percent per annum. The applicable rate of interest as fixed at the date of sale and the maximum extension payment shall be set forth in the contract. The method for calculating the unpaid portion of the contract upon which such interest shall be paid by the purchaser shall be set forth in the contract. The department of natural resources shall pay into the state treasury all sums received for such extension and the same shall be credited to the fund to which was credited the original purchase price of the material so sold. However, a direct sale of valuable materials may be sold to the applicant for cash at full appraised value without notice or advertising. The board of natural resources shall, by resolution, establish the value amount of a direct sale not to exceed twenty thousand dollars in appraised sale value, and establish procedures to assure that competitive market prices and accountability will be guaranteed.

Any time that the department of natural resources sells timber by contract that includes a performance bond, the department shall require the purchaser to present proof of any and all taxes paid prior to the release of the performance bond. The county treasurer shall provide to the purchaser certified evidence of taxes paid that clearly discloses the sale contract number.

The provisions of this section apply unless otherwise provided by statute.

The board of natural resources shall establish procedures to protect against cedar theft and to ensure adequate notice is given for persons interested in purchasing cedar.