BILL REQ. #:  S-0364.1 

Read first time 01/15/2007.   Referred to Committee on Natural Resources, Ocean & Recreation.

     AN ACT Relating to public lands management; and adding a new section to chapter 79A.25 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 79A.25 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The habitat and recreation lands coordinating group is established. The habitat and recreation lands coordinating group must include representatives from the committee, the state parks and recreation commission, the department of natural resources, and the Washington state department of fish and wildlife. The members of the habitat and recreation lands coordinating group must have subject matter expertise with the issues presented in this section. Representatives from appropriate stakeholder organizations and local government must also be considered for participation on the habitat and recreation lands coordinating group.
     (2) To ensure timely completion of the duties assigned to the habitat and recreation lands coordinating group, yearly progress reports to either the office of financial management or the director are required.
     (3) The habitat and recreation lands coordinating group must:
     (a) Develop language to amend agency land acquisition, management, and disposal plans and policies to help provide for statewide coordination of habitat and recreation land acquisitions and disposals;
     (b) Develop standards for producing an interagency, statewide biennial forecast of habitat and recreation land acquisitions and disposals;
     (c) Establish procedures for submitting the biennial acquisition and disposal plans;
     (d) Develop and convene an annual forum for agencies to coordinate their near-term acquisition and disposal plans;
     (e) Develop a recommended standard for interagency geographic information system-based documentation of habitat and recreation lands in cooperation with other state agencies using geographic information systems;
     (f) Standardize acquisition and disposal recordkeeping;
     (g) Identify a preferred process for centralizing acquisition data;
     (h) Develop an approach for monitoring the success of acquisitions;
     (i) Identify and commence a dialogue with key state and federal partners to develop an inventory of potential public lands for transfer into habitat and recreation land management status;
     (j) Review existing and proposed habitat conservation plans on a regular basis to achieve statewide coordination and save costs.
     (4) The committee shall revisit the committee's and Washington wildlife and recreation program's planning requirements to determine whether coordination of state agency habitat and recreation land acquisition and disposal could be improved by modifying those requirements.
     (5) The committee must develop options for centralizing coordination of habitat and recreation land acquisition made with funds from federal grants. The advantages and drawbacks of the following options, at a minimum, must be developed:
     (a) Requiring agencies simply to provide early communication on the status of federal grant applications to the committee, the office of financial management, or directly to the legislature;
     (b) Establishing a centralized pass-through agency for federal funds, where individual agencies would be the primary applicants.