SHB 2749 -
By Committee on Natural Resources, Ocean & Recreation
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"Sec. 1 RCW 76.48.020 and 2005 c 401 s 1 are each amended to read
as follows:
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter
unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
(1) "Authorization" means a properly completed preprinted form
authorizing the transportation or possession of Christmas trees which
contains the information required by RCW 76.48.080, a sample of which
is filed before the harvesting occurs with the sheriff of the county in
which the harvesting is to occur.
(2) "Bill of lading" means a written or printed itemized list or
statement of particulars pertinent to the transportation or possession
of a specialized forest product.
(3) "Cascara bark" means the bark of a Cascara tree.
(4) "Cedar processor" means any person who purchases, takes, or
retains possession of cedar products or cedar salvage for later sale in
the same or modified form following removal and delivery from the land
where harvested.
(5) "Cedar products" means cedar shakeboards, shake and shingle
bolts, and rounds one to three feet in length.
(6) "Cedar salvage" means cedar chunks, slabs, stumps, and logs
having a volume greater than one cubic foot and being harvested or
transported from areas not associated with the concurrent logging of
timber stands (a) under a forest practices application approved or
notification received by the department of natural resources, or (b)
under a contract or permit issued by an agency of the United States
government.
(7) "Christmas trees" means any evergreen trees or the top thereof,
commonly known as Christmas trees, with limbs and branches, with or
without roots, including fir, pine, spruce, cedar, and other coniferous
species.
(8) "Cut or picked evergreen foliage," commonly known as brush,
means evergreen boughs, huckleberry foliage, salal, fern, Oregon grape,
rhododendron, mosses, bear grass, scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius), and
other cut or picked evergreen products. "Cut or picked evergreen
foliage" does not mean cones, berries, any foliage that does not remain
green year-round, or seeds.
(9) "Harvest" means to separate, by cutting, prying, picking,
peeling, breaking, pulling, splitting, or otherwise removing, a
specialized forest product (a) from its physical connection or contact
with the land or vegetation upon which it is or was growing or (b) from
the position in which it is lying upon the land.
(10) "Harvest site" means each location where one or more persons
are engaged in harvesting specialized forest products close enough to
each other that communication can be conducted with an investigating
law enforcement officer in a normal conversational tone.
(11) "Huckleberry" means the edible berries of Vaccinium ovatum and
Vaccinium parvifolium that have not been nursery grown.
(12) "Landowner" means, with regard to real property, the private
owner, the state of Washington or any political subdivision, the
federal government, or a person who by deed, contract, or lease has
authority to harvest and sell forest products of the property.
"Landowner" does not include the purchaser or successful high bidder at
a public or private timber sale.
(((12))) (13) "Native ornamental trees and shrubs" means any trees
or shrubs which are not nursery grown and which have been removed from
the ground with the roots intact.
(((13))) (14) "Permit area" means a designated tract of land that
may contain single or multiple harvest sites.
(((14))) (15) "Person" includes the plural and all corporations,
foreign or domestic, copartnerships, firms, and associations of
persons.
(((15))) (16) "Processed cedar products" means cedar shakes,
shingles, fence posts, hop poles, pickets, stakes, rails, or rounds
less than one foot in length.
(((16))) (17) "Sheriff" means, for the purpose of validating
specialized forest products permits, the county sheriff, deputy
sheriff, or an authorized employee of the sheriff's office or an agent
of the office.
(((17))) (18) "Specialized forest products" means Christmas trees,
native ornamental trees and shrubs, cut or picked evergreen foliage,
huckleberries, cedar products, cedar salvage, processed cedar products,
specialty wood, wild edible mushrooms, and Cascara bark.
(((18))) (19) "Specialized forest products permit" means a printed
document in a form printed by the department of natural resources, or
true copy thereof, that is signed by a landowner or his or her
authorized agent or representative, referred to in this chapter as
"permittors" and validated by the county sheriff and authorizes a
designated person, referred to in this chapter as "permittee," who has
also signed the permit, to harvest and transport a designated
specialized forest product from land owned or controlled and specified
by the permittor and that is located in the county where the permit is
issued.
(((19))) (20) "Specialty wood" means wood that is:
(a) In logs less than eight feet in length, chunks, slabs, stumps,
or burls; and
(b) One or more of the following:
(i) Of the species western red cedar, Englemann spruce, Sitka
spruce, big leaf maple, or western red alder;
(ii) Without knots in a portion of the surface area at least
twenty-one inches long and seven and a quarter inches wide when
measured from the outer surface toward the center; or
(iii) Suitable for the purposes of making musical instruments or
ornamental boxes.
(((20))) (21) "Specialty wood buyer" means the first person that
receives any specialty wood product after it leaves the harvest site.
(((21))) (22) "Specialty wood processor" means any person who
purchases, takes, or retains possession of specialty wood products or
specialty wood salvage for later sale in the same or modified form
following removal and delivery from the land where harvested.
(((22))) (23) "Transportation" means the physical conveyance of
specialized forest products outside or off of a harvest site by any
means.
(((23))) (24) "True copy" means a replica of a validated
specialized forest products permit as reproduced by a copy machine
capable of effectively reproducing the information contained on the
permittee's copy of the specialized forest products permit. A copy is
made true by the permittee or the permittee and permittor signing in
the space provided on the face of the copy. A true copy will be
effective until the expiration date of the specialized forest products
permit unless the permittee or the permittee and permittor specify an
earlier date. A permittor may require the actual signatures of both
the permittee and permittor for execution of a true copy by so
indicating in the space provided on the original copy of the
specialized forest products permit. A permittee, or, if so indicated,
the permittee and permittor, may condition the use of the true copy to
harvesting only, transportation only, possession only, or any
combination thereof.
(((24))) (25) "Wild edible mushrooms" means edible mushrooms not
cultivated or propagated by artificial means.
Sec. 2 RCW 76.48.060 and 2005 c 401 s 3 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) A specialized forest products permit validated by the county
sheriff shall be obtained by a person prior to harvesting from any
lands, including his or her own, any of the following: More than five
Christmas trees((,)); more than five native ornamental trees or
shrubs((,)); more than five pounds of cut or picked evergreen
foliage((,)); any cedar products, cedar salvage, or processed cedar
products((, or)); more than five pounds of Cascara bark((, or)); more
than five United States gallons of a single species of wild edible
mushroom; or more than three United States gallons of huckleberries.
(2) Specialized forest products permit forms shall be provided by
the department of natural resources, and shall be made available
through the office of the county sheriff to permittees or permittors in
reasonable quantities. A permit form shall be completed in triplicate
for each permittor's property on which a permittee harvests specialized
forest products. A properly completed permit form shall be mailed or
presented for validation to the sheriff of the county in which the
specialized forest products are to be harvested.
(3) Before a permit form is validated by the sheriff, sufficient
personal identification may be required to reasonably identify the
person mailing or presenting the permit form and the sheriff may
conduct other investigations as deemed necessary to determine the
validity of the information alleged on the form. When the sheriff is
reasonably satisfied as to the truth of the information, the form shall
be validated with the sheriff's validation stamp.
(4) Upon validation, the form shall become the specialized forest
products permit authorizing the harvesting, possession, or
transportation of specialized forest products, subject to any other
conditions or limitations which the permittor may specify. Two copies
of the permit shall be given or mailed to the permittor, or one copy
shall be given or mailed to the permittor and the other copy given or
mailed to the permittee. The original permit shall be retained in the
office of the county sheriff validating the permit.
(5) In the event a single land ownership is situated in two or more
counties, a specialized forest product permit shall be completed as to
the land situated in each county.
(6) While engaged in harvesting of specialized forest products,
permittees, or their agents or employees, must have readily available
at each harvest site a valid permit or true copy of the permit.
Sec. 3 RCW 76.48.070 and 2005 c 401 s 4 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) Except as provided in RCW 76.48.100 and 76.48.075, it is
unlawful for any person (a) to possess, (b) to transport, or (c) to
possess and transport within the state of Washington, subject to any
other conditions or limitations specified in the specialized forest
products permit by the permittor, more than five Christmas trees, more
than five native ornamental trees or shrubs, more than five pounds of
cut or picked evergreen foliage, any processed cedar products, ((or))
more than five pounds of Cascara bark, ((or)) more than five gallons of
a single species of wild edible mushroom, or more than three gallons of
huckleberries without having in his or her possession a written
authorization, sales invoice, bill of lading, or specialized forest
products permit or a true copy thereof evidencing his or her title to
or authority to have possession of specialized forest products being so
possessed or transported.
(2) It is unlawful for any person either (a) to possess, (b) to
transport, or (c) to possess and transport within the state of
Washington any cedar products, cedar salvage, or specialty wood without
having in his or her possession a specialized forest products permit or
a true copy thereof evidencing his or her title to or authority to have
possession of the materials being so possessed or transported. The
specialized forest products permit or true copy are valid to possess,
transport, or possess and transport the cedar products, cedar salvage,
or specialty wood from the harvest site to the first cedar or specialty
wood processor or buyer. For purposes of this subsection, a true copy
requires the actual signatures of both the permittee and the permittor
for the execution of a true copy.
Sec. 4 RCW 76.48.110 and 2005 c 401 s 11 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) Whenever any law enforcement officer has probable cause to
believe that a person is harvesting or is in possession of or
transporting specialized forest products in violation of the provisions
of this chapter, he or she may, at the time of making an arrest, seize
and take possession of any specialized forest products found. If the
specialized forest product is a cedar product, cedar salvage, or
specialty wood, at the time of making an arrest the law enforcement
officer may seize and take possession of any equipment, vehicles,
tools, or paperwork. The law enforcement officer shall provide
reasonable protection for the equipment, vehicles, tools, paperwork, or
specialized forest products involved during the period of litigation or
he or she shall dispose of the equipment, vehicles, tools, paperwork,
or specialized forest products at the discretion or order of the court
before which the arrested person is ordered to appear.
(2) Except as provided in subsection (3) of this section, upon any
disposition of the case by the court, the court shall make a reasonable
effort to return the equipment, vehicles, tools, paperwork, or
specialized forest products to its rightful owner or pay the proceeds
of any sale of specialized forest products less any reasonable expenses
of the sale to the rightful owner. If for any reason, the proceeds of
the sale cannot be disposed of to the rightful owner, the proceeds,
less the reasonable expenses of the sale, shall be paid to the
treasurer of the county in which the violation occurred. The county
treasurer shall deposit the same in the county general fund. The
return of the equipment, vehicles, tools, paperwork, or specialized
forest products or the payment of the proceeds of any sale of products
seized to the owner shall not preclude the court from imposing any fine
or penalty upon the violator for the violation of the provisions of
this chapter.
(3) If huckleberries seized under subsection (2) of this section
were taken from the ceded areas of a federally recognized American
Indian tribe, then the huckleberries shall be turned over to the tribe
or its agent, without charge, for ceremonial, educational, or religious
uses.
Sec. 5 RCW 76.48.030 and 1995 c 366 s 2 are each amended to read
as follows:
It is unlawful for any person to:
(1) Harvest specialized forest products as described in RCW
76.48.020, in the quantities specified in RCW 76.48.060, without first
obtaining a validated specialized forest products permit;
(2) Engage in activities or phases of harvesting specialized forest
products not authorized by the permit; ((or))
(3) Harvest specialized forest products in any lesser quantities
than those specified in RCW 76.48.060, as now or hereafter amended,
without first obtaining permission from the landowner or his or her
duly authorized agent or representative; or
(4) Harvest huckleberries in any amount using a rake, mechanical
device, or any other method that damages the huckleberry bush."
SHB 2749 -
By Committee on Natural Resources, Ocean & Recreation
On page 1, line 1 of the title, after "products;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "and amending RCW 76.48.020, 76.48.060, 76.48.070, 76.48.110, and 76.48.030."