Passed by the House March 10, 2005 Yeas 94 Nays 0 FRANK CHOPP ________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives Passed by the Senate April 4, 2005 Yeas 46 Nays 0 BRAD OWEN ________________________________________ President of the Senate		CERTIFICATE I, Richard Nafziger, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1461 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth. RICHARD NAFZIGER ________________________________________ Chief Clerk
Approved April 13, 2005. CHRISTINE GREGOIRE ________________________________________ Governor of the State of Washington		FILED April 13, 2005 - 3:13 p.m. Secretary of State State of Washington

AN ACT Relating to the conservation assistance revolving account; and amending RCW 89.08.550.

Sec. 1   RCW 89.08.550 and 2004 c 277 s 901 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The conservation assistance revolving account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. ((~~The account shall be administered by the conservation commission.~~)) Moneys from the account may only be spent after appropriation. Moneys placed in the account shall include principal and interest from the repayment of any loans granted under this section, and any other moneys appropriated to the account by the legislature. ((~~Expenditures from the account may be used to make loans to landowners for projects enrolled in the conservation reserve enhancement program.~~)) Expenditures from the account may be used only to make loans to landowners for projects enrolled in the conservation reserve enhancement program and the continuous conservation reserve program.
     (2) In order to aid the financing of conservation reserve enhancement program projects and continuous conservation reserve program projects, the conservation commission, through the conservation districts, may make interest-free loans to ((~~conservation reserve enhancement program~~)) these enrollees from the conservation assistance revolving account. The conservation commission may require such terms and conditions as it deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this section. Loans to landowners shall be for costs associated with the installation of conservation improvements eligible for and secured by federal farm service agency practice incentive payment reimbursement. Loans under this program promote critical habitat protection and restoration by bridging the financing gap between project implementation and federal funding. The conservation commission shall give loan preferences to those projects expected to generate the greatest environmental benefits and that occur in basins with critical or depressed salmonid stocks. Money received from landowners in loan repayments made under this section shall be paid into the conservation assistance revolving account for uses consistent with this section.