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SUBSTITUTE
SENATE BILL 5651
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Passed
Legislature - 1999 Regular Session
State of Washington 56th
Legislature 1999 Regular Session
By
Read first time 02/15/1999.
Requiring
a purchaser of timber by contract to provide proof of payment of all taxes
before release of a performance bond.
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. Within thirty days of payment of taxes due by the timber purchaser, the
county treasurer shall provide certified evidence of taxes paid, clearly
disclosing 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.
