(1) Notwithstanding RCW
84.36.010 or other statutes to the contrary, the state treasurer, on behalf of the department, must distribute to counties by April 30th of each year on game lands, regardless of acreage, in each county, if requested by an election under RCW
77.12.201, an amount in lieu of real property taxes equal to that amount paid on similar parcels of open space land taxable under chapter
84.34 RCW or the greater of seventy cents per acre per year or the amount paid in 1984 plus an additional amount for control of noxious weeds equal to that which would be paid if such lands were privately owned. This amount may not be assessed or paid on department buildings, structures, facilities, game farms, fish hatcheries, water access sites, tidelands, or public fishing areas.
(2) "Game lands," as used in this section and RCW
77.12.201, means those tracts, regardless of acreage, owned in fee by the department and used for wildlife habitat and public recreational purposes. All lands purchased for wildlife habitat, public access, or recreation purposes with federal funds in the Snake River drainage basin are considered game lands regardless of acreage.
(3) This section does not apply to lands transferred after April 23, 1990, to the department from other state agencies.
(4) The county must distribute the amount received under this section in lieu of real property taxes to all property taxing districts except the state in appropriate tax code areas the same way it would distribute local property taxes from private property. The county must distribute the amount received under this section for weed control to the appropriate weed district.