H-2818.1
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2336
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2024 Regular Session
By House Agriculture and Natural Resources (originally sponsored by
Representatives Morgan, Dent, Chapman, Kloba, Orcutt, Ormsby, Wylie,
Doglio, Fey, Street, Stearns, Riccelli, Gregerson, Mena, Walen,
Peterson, Berg, Fosse, Davis, Reed, Duerr, Entenman, Leavitt,
Springer, Ryu, Waters, Ortiz-Self, Bronoske, Bateman, Simmons, Berry,
Kretz, Schmick, Ramel, Macri, Caldier, Abbarno, Cheney, Goehner,
Jacobsen, Klicker, Eslick, Barnard, Walsh, McEntire, Bergquist,
Sandlin, Christian, Nance, and Pollet)
READ FIRST TIME 01/26/24.
1 AN ACT Relating to assessing the suitability of lands in
2 Washington for agricultural and renewable energy purposes; adding a
3 new section to chapter 43.23 RCW; and creating a new section.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
5 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 43.23
6 RCW to read as follows:
7 (1)(a)(i) The department, in consultation with the state
8 conservation commission, shall perform an assessment of unused and
9 underutilized state-owned lands to determine the suitability of such
10 lands for agricultural purposes, including grazing.
11 (ii) For the purposes of this assessment, "underutilized state-
12 owned lands" means lands that do not assist in meeting the goals of
13 the state agency that owns or manages the land and that are already
14 being considered for sale or surplus. "Underutilized state-owned
15 lands" does not include state-owned lands held under lease or that
16 are otherwise intended for specific purposes.
17 (b) The assessment must be completed no later than June 30, 2025.
18 (c) The department shall submit the results of the assessment to
19 the office of the governor, to the commissioner of public lands, to
20 the director of the Washington State University energy program, to
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 1 the director of the department of commerce, and to the committees of
2 the legislature with jurisdiction over agricultural matters.
3 (2) For unused and underutilized state-owned lands that the
4 department determines to be suitable for agricultural purposes,
5 including grazing, the department shall engage in a campaign to
6 promote agricultural production opportunities on such lands. The
7 department's promotional campaign must include outreach, education,
8 and technical assistance. The department shall ensure that the
9 promotional campaign reaches new and emerging agricultural producers,
10 with an emphasis on reaching communities that historically may have
11 lacked access to opportunities as agricultural producers.
12 (3)(a) The department shall assess and evaluate, on an ongoing
13 basis, land utilization in the state for agricultural purposes,
14 including grazing. The assessment and evaluation must include
15 identification and mapping of agricultural land uses and water
16 resources throughout the state, including data regarding surface
17 water and groundwater resource availability and water quality.
18 (b) The department shall use the data obtained from this
19 assessment and evaluation to support and expand agricultural
20 opportunities throughout the state.
21 NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1)(a) The Washington State University
22 energy program, utilizing data obtained from the department of
23 agriculture pursuant to section 1 of this act, shall perform an
24 assessment of unused and underutilized state-owned lands that are not
25 suitable for agricultural purposes to determine the suitability of
26 such lands for renewable energy production purposes, including the
27 use of such lands for agrivoltaics.
28 (b) For the purposes of this assessment, "agrivoltaics" means the
29 use of land for both agriculture and solar photovoltaic energy
30 generation.
31 (2) The assessment must be completed by June 30, 2026.
32 (3) The Washington State University energy program shall submit
33 the results of the assessment to the office of the governor, to the
34 commissioner of public lands, to the director of the departments of
35 commerce and agriculture, and to the committees of the legislature
36 with jurisdiction over energy matters.
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