AN ACT Relating to the northeast Washington wolf-livestock management account;
Summary
SB 5343 revises Washington’s northeast Washington wolf-livestock management account. The bill makes the account a nonappropriated account in the custody of the state treasurer and directs that all receipts, including legislative appropriations, private donations, and other public or private funds directed to the account, be deposited there. It limits spending from the account to specified wolf-management purposes, including deployment of nonlethal wolf deterrence resources, wolf-livestock management activities, and grants to the Stevens and Ferry county sheriffs’ offices to support a local wildlife specialist assisting the Department of Fish and Wildlife with wolf management.
The bill also authorizes the director to approve expenditures only in consultation with the advisory board created in the underlying statute, and it allows the advisory board to solicit and receive gifts and grants from public and private sources. For the 2023-25 and 2025-27 fiscal biennia, the bill expands the uses of the account to include wolf-livestock management and the county sheriff grants. A new expiration date is added, ending the act on July 1, 2027.
Impact
The bill amends RCW provisions governing the northeast Washington wolf-livestock management account and changes how funds in that account are held, deposited, and spent. It creates a dedicated, nonappropriated account structure, preserves interest earnings in the account, and clarifies that expenditures do not require a separate legislative appropriation. It also broadens the statutory uses of the account for a limited period and adds a sunset date, which means the special funding and spending authority will expire unless extended by future legislation.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported throughout the legislative process. It passed the Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee unanimously, cleared the Senate on final passage without opposition, and later passed the House and returned to the Senate with overwhelming support. The only recorded dissent was a single no vote in the House Appropriations Committee, suggesting general agreement on the need for a dedicated wolf-livestock management funding mechanism.
Contention
The main policy issue is how to structure and use public and private money for wolf-livestock conflict management in northeast Washington. Support appears to center on giving the Department of Fish and Wildlife and local counties flexible, dedicated funding for nonlethal deterrence, wolf management, and local wildlife specialist support. The limited recorded opposition likely reflects concern about the scope of spending authority, the use of funds for county sheriff offices, or the broader wolf-management approach, but the available record does not identify the specific objection.
Enacting an excise tax on large operating companies on the amount of payroll expenses above the minimum wage threshold of the additional medicare tax to fund services to benefit Washingtonians and establishing the Well Washington fund account.
Enacting an excise tax on large operating companies on the amount of payroll expenses above the minimum wage threshold of the additional medicare tax to fund services to benefit Washingtonians and establishing the Well Washington fund account.
Rename the Livestock Brand Act as the Livestock Protection Act, eliminate the Nebraska Brand Committee, and change, provide, and eliminate provisions relating to livestock branding and livestock protection