BILL REQ. #:  H-4903.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/06/04.   

     AN ACT Relating to the management of state-owned forest land; amending RCW 79.10.320; creating new sections; providing an expiration date; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that the management of the state-owned forests, including the calculation of sustainable harvest levels, must be carefully balanced to provide economic benefits to the trust beneficiaries, protection to the state's natural resources, and support to the state's rural communities.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1) There is created the joint legislative forest management work group to meet in the interim preceding the 2005 legislative session to study, investigate, and weigh the options available to the state with regard to third-party certification of state-owned forests.
     (2) The work group shall examine various third-party forest certification organizations and standards, conduct a comparison of the standards of the various organizations with the forest management practices being utilized on the state-owned forests consistent with habitat conservation plans and the forest practice rules adopted under the forests and fish report, examine the results of any certification audits that have been completed for the state-owned forests, and explore the costs and benefits associated with third-party certification of state-owned forests.
     (3) The work group consists of up to twelve members. The speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint up to six members from the house of representatives, with equal representation between the two major political parties, and the president of the senate shall appoint up to six members from the senate, with equal representation between the two major political parties.
     (4) Any recommendations from the work group must be reported to the legislature in the form of suggested legislation prior to the start of the 2005 legislative session.
     (5) Staff for the work group must be provided by the office of program research and senate committee services.
     (6) This section expires February 1, 2005.

Sec. 3   RCW 79.10.320 and 2003 c 334 s 538 are each amended to read as follows:
     The department shall manage the state-owned lands under its jurisdiction which are primarily valuable for the purpose of growing forest crops on a sustained yield basis insofar as compatible with other statutory directives. To this end, the department shall periodically adjust the acreages designated for inclusion in the sustained yield management program and calculate a sustainable harvest level. Prior to adopting a final sustainable harvest level, the board must, at a minimum, have prepared an analysis of the costs and benefits of its preferred final sustainable harvest level as outlined in RCW 34.05.328(1)(c), and a small business economic impact statement as outlined in RCW 19.85.040, and conduct at least one public hearing on the required documents after the final form of the documents have been released to the public.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   (1) The department of natural resources shall prepare a report by December 13, 2004, for the joint legislative forest management work group created in section 2 of this act that compares the preferred final sustainable harvest level identified by the board of natural resources with the standards identified by any third-party sustainable forestry certification organizations that have completed a full or partial certification audit by the date the report required by this section is due of the forest management practices applied to state-owned forest lands.
     (2) The report required by this section must compare the forest management practices required to be utilized by the department of natural resources, including requirements of the applicable forest practice rules, habitat conservation plans, and the preferred final sustainable harvest level identified by the board of natural resources, with the forest practices indicated by the applicable third-party certification organizations that are required for the state to achieve certification from that organization.
     (3) If the board of natural resources has not identified a preferred final sustainable harvest level by March 15, 2004, the report must include all possible alternative sustainable harvest levels identified by the department of natural resources.
     (4) The board of natural resources shall not adopt a new final sustainable harvest level until the report required by this section is completed and has been submitted to the joint legislative forest management work group.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.