Z-0557.1
SENATE BILL 5921
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2024 Regular Session
By Senators Stanford, Van De Wege, Conway, Hasegawa, Liias, Nguyen,
Nobles, Trudeau, and Valdez; by request of Conservation Commission
Prefiled 12/29/23. Read first time 01/08/24. Referred to Committee
on Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources & Parks.
1 AN ACT Relating to tribal representation on the state
2 conservation commission; and amending RCW 89.08.030.
3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
4 Sec. 1. RCW 89.08.030 and 1987 c 180 s 1 are each amended to
5 read as follows:
6 (1) There is hereby established to serve as an agency of the
7 state and to perform the functions conferred upon it by law, the
8 state conservation commission, which shall succeed to all powers,
9 duties and property of the state soil and water conservation
10 committee.
11 (2) The commission shall consist of ((ten)) 10 members, five of
12 whom are ex officio. Two members shall be appointed by the governor,
13 one of whom shall be a landowner or operator of a farm, and one shall
14 be a member or representative from a federally recognized tribe. At
15 least two of the three elected members shall be landowners or
16 operators of a farm and shall be elected as herein provided. The
17 appointed members shall serve for a term of four years.
18 (3) The three elected members shall be elected for three-year
19 terms, one shall be elected each year by the district supervisors at
20 their annual statewide meeting. One of the members shall reside in
21 eastern Washington, one in central Washington and one in western
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 1 Washington, the specific boundaries to be determined by district
2 supervisors. At the first such election, the term of the member from
3 western Washington shall be one year, central Washington two years
4 and eastern Washington three years, and successors shall be elected
5 for three years.
6 (4) Unexpired term vacancies in the office of appointed
7 commission members shall be filled by appointment by the governor in
8 the same manner as full-term appointments. Unexpired terms of elected
9 commission members shall be filled by the regional vice president of
10 the Washington association of conservation districts who is serving
11 that part of the state where the vacancy occurs, such term to
12 continue only until district supervisors can fill the unexpired term
13 by electing the commission member.
14 (5) The director of the department of ecology, the director of
15 the department of agriculture, the commissioner of public lands, the
16 president of the Washington association of conservation districts,
17 and the dean of the college of agriculture at Washington State
18 University shall be ex officio members of the commission. An ex
19 officio member of the commission shall hold office so long as he or
20 she retains the office by virtue of which he or she is a member of
21 the commission. Ex officio members may delegate their authority.
22 (6) The commission may invite appropriate officers of cooperating
23 organizations, state and federal agencies to serve as advisers to the
24 conservation commission.
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Statutes affected:
Original Bill: 89.08.030