| VETO MESSAGE ON E2SHB 2844 |
| April 1, 2008 |
| To the Honorable Speaker and Members, |
| The House of Representatives of the State of Washington |
| Ladies and Gentlemen: |
| I am returning, without my approval as to Section 1, Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 2844 entitled: |
"AN ACT Relating to preventing air and water pollution through urban forestry partnerships." |
| Section 1 is an unnecessarily prescriptive and detailed intent section. For this reason, I have vetoed Section 1 of Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 2844 |
| I must note that the legislative budget only partially funds this bill. The Department of Community Trade and Economic Development (CTED) received funds for developing the Evergreen Communities grant program, model ordinances and plans. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is partially funded to provide CTED with technical expertise, to develop an urban forest inventory implementation plan, and to conduct two pilot inventories. |
| The highest priorities for these limited dollars are for DNR to (1) provide technical expertise to CTED and local governments, (2) develop the urban forest inventory implementation plan -- focusing on the use of existing data and current inventory technologies, and (3) then to begin the pilot projects. |
| Conducting the community and urban forest inventories statewide is premature until DNR develops and tests an efficient inventory process. Funding for subsequent inventories should be considered as a separate policy decision in the future. |
| With the exception of Section 1, Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 2844 is approved. |
| Respectfully submitted, |
| Christine Gregoire |
| Governor |