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SUBSTITUTE
HOUSE BILL 2758
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Passed
Legislature - 2002 Regular Session
State
of Washington 57th Legislature 2002 Regular Session
By
Read
first time 02/08/2002. Referred to Committee on .
Establishing the agricultural conservation easements
program.
AN
ACT Relating to establishing the agricultural conservation easements program;
adding new sections to chapter 89.08 RCW; and creating a new section.
BE IT
ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 1. Among
the rising costs that are increasingly driving Washington farmers out of
business is the cost of land. Many of our oldest, well-established farms,
often on the fringes of established communities, are under growing pressure to
be sold for uses other than agriculture. In the face of these rising land
costs, new farmers are finding it increasingly difficult to be able to afford
to purchase farmland.
At
the same time, the conversion of these prime farmlands to development costs our
communities open and green space, reduces our access to local quality food,
diminishes our cultural and historic roots, often represents a fiscal loss for
governments, and frequently results in environmental costs including reduced
flood detention, loss of surface water filtration, diminished aquifer recharge,
loss of habitat and connective wildlife migration corridors, and loss of
opportunities to protect riparian lands.
These
concerns, among others, are leading the federal government and local
jurisdictions around our state to provide funding for local programs to
purchase agricultural conservation easements that help keep farmers in farming
and farmland in agriculture. It is the intent of the legislature to create a
Washington purchase of agricultural conservation easements program that will
facilitate the use of federal funds, ease the burdens of local governments
launching similar programs at the local level, and help local governments fight
the conversion of agricultural lands they have not otherwise protected through their
planning processes.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 2. A
new section is added to chapter 89.08 RCW to read as follows:
(1)
The agricultural conservation easements program is created. The state
conservation commission shall manage the program and adopt rules as necessary
to implement the legislature's intent.
(2)
The commission shall report to the legislature on an on-going basis regarding
potential funding sources for the purchase of agricultural conservation
easements under the program and recommend changes to existing funding
authorized by the legislature.
(3)
All funding for the program shall be deposited into the agricultural
conservation easements account created in section 3 of this act. Expenditures
from the account shall be made to local governments and private nonprofits on a
match or no match required basis at the discretion of the commission.
(4)
Easements purchased with money from the agricultural conservation easements
account run with the land.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 3. A
new section is added to chapter 89.08 RCW to read as follows:
(1)
The agricultural conservation easements account is created in the custody of
the state treasurer. All receipts from legislative appropriations, other
sources as directed by the legislature, and gifts, grants, or endowments from
public or private sources must be deposited into the account. Expenditures
from the account may be used only for the purchase of easements under the
agricultural conservation easements program. Only the state conservation
commission, or the executive director of the commission on the commission's
behalf, may authorize expenditures from the account. The account is subject to
allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but an appropriation is not
required for expenditures.
(2)
The commission is authorized to receive and expend gifts, grants, or endowments
from public or private sources that are made available, in trust or otherwise,
for the use and benefit of the agricultural conservation easements program.
Passed the House February 14, 2002.
Passed the Senate March 4, 2002.
Approved by the Governor
April 1, 2002.
Filed
in Office of Secretary of State April 1, 2002.
