READ FIRST TIME 02/04/08.   

     AN ACT Relating to climate change research, preparation, and adaptation; and adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   (1) While significant efforts to reduce the rate of climate change are underway in the state and throughout the nation, significant adverse impacts are likely inevitable over the course of the twenty-first century. Therefore it is in the public interest for Washington state to be actively working to both mitigate the effects of climate change as well as to prepare for the impacts that cannot be avoided. While the legislature in chapter 307, Laws of 2007, has adopted goals for reducing emissions of climate change gases, and work is underway to establish a comprehensive program to achieve these goals, there is not yet a comprehensive program to coordinate the research and information being compiled on localized impacts of climate change, and to assist local and state entities and the public generally in preparing for and adapting to such impacts.
     (2) It is the purpose of this chapter to authorize a study that will recommend the elements of such a comprehensive program of climate change research, preparation, and adaptation.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Department" means the department of ecology.
     (2) "Institute" means the joint institute for the study of the atmosphere and ocean, within the University of Washington.
     (3) "Work groups" means preparation and adaptation working groups created under executive order 07-02 and other participants who may be added under section 4 of this act. All members of work groups must live in the state of Washington.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   (1) Not later than November 1, 2008, the department shall prepare a report and deliver it to the governor and the climate-related policy and fiscal committees of the senate and house of representatives. The report must contain the department's recommendations for the creation of a comprehensive climate change research, preparation, and adaptation program.
     (2) The department shall develop the report required in subsection (1) of this section using the work groups efforts on public health, agriculture, the coast line, forestry, and infrastructure as a foundation, and include recommendations for specific steps to prepare for impacts to water resources and management, flood response, protection of ecosystems, and biodiversity, including the protection of threatened or endangered species and species of economic importance to the state.
     (3) The report must include recommendations for at least the following:
     (a) Criteria to establish state-funded research priorities;
     (b) Methods to ensure data and information systems will be most effective for and accessible to relevant planning jurisdictions and the public generally;
     (c) Delivering technical and financial assistance to and integrating data and analyses into state and local programs and planning;
     (d) Funding that may be needed by local, regional, state, and other planning jurisdictions to incorporate climate change into their planning processes, including requirements for such integration when receiving state funding;
     (e) The range of time horizons and geographic scales to be addressed in climate impact research and analysis;
     (f) Phasing in implementation of the program in the 2009-2011 biennium, including funding and legislation necessary to implement each component of this initial phase; and
     (g) Any specific projects or pilot projects that the work groups and the institute have identified to ensure the state is adequately prepared for the impacts of climate change and the necessary funding for those projects or pilot projects.
     (4) In developing the report required under subsection (1) of this section, the department shall, in consultation with the institute, use the comprehensive state climate change assessment prepared under section 404, chapter 348, Laws of 2007, and the reports prepared by the work groups. The department shall make both reports and the report required under subsection (1) of this section available to the public and ensure they are available on the department's web site or otherwise widely disseminated.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4    In preparing the report required under section 3 of this act, the department shall consider if other private, public, or tribal interests who may be impacted by the recommendations of the report or by the specific impacts of climate change being considered by the work groups are represented and shall invite those interests to participate. The department shall include in its report a list of interests represented in the work groups and which interests were invited but did not participate. In order to allow for broad participation by all areas of the state, the department shall hold as many meetings as possible by teleconference, video conference, or other means that do not require travel. In the event that meetings are held so that interested parties may attend in person, the meetings shall alternate between eastern and western Washington.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   (1) The office of Washington state climatologist is created within the University of Washington.
     (2) The office of Washington state climatologist consists of the director of the office, who is the state climatologist, and appropriate staff and administrative support as necessary to carry out the powers and duties of the office as enumerated in this section.
     (3) The director of the office must be appointed by the president of the University of Washington.
     (4) The office of Washington state climatologist has the following powers and duties:
     (a) To serve as a credible and expert source of climate and weather information for state and local decision makers and agencies working on drought, flooding, climate change, and other related issues;
     (b) To gather and disseminate, and where practicable archive, in the most cost-effective manner possible, all climate and weather information that is or could be of value to policy and decision makers in the state;
     (c) To act as the representative of the state in all climatological and meteorological matters, both within and outside of the state, when requested by the legislative or executive branches of the state government;
     (d) To prepare, publish, and disseminate climate summaries for those individuals, agencies, and organizations whose activities are related to the welfare of the state and are affected by climate and weather;
     (e) To supply critical information for drought preparedness and emergency response as needed to implement the state's drought contingency response plan maintained by the department under RCW 43.83B.410, and to serve as a member of the state's drought water supply and emergency response committees as may be formed in response to a drought event;
     (f) To conduct and report on studies of climate and weather phenomena of significant socioeconomic importance to the state; and
     (g) To evaluate the significance of natural and man-made changes in important features of the climate affecting the state, and to report this information to those agencies and organizations in the state who are likely to be affected by these changes.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   (1) Sections 1 through 5 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.
     (2) If chapter --- ([House] [Senate] Bill No. ---), Laws of 2008 becomes law and is codified as a new chapter in Title 43 RCW, sections 1 through 5 of this act shall be codified in the same new chapter in Title 43 RCW.