SB 6242

S-4004.1
  SENATE BILL 6242
State of Washington  69th Legislature      2026 Regular Session
By Senators Braun, Boehnke, Goehner, Wagoner, Warnick, and J. Wilson
Read first time 01/20/26.   Referred to Committee on Local Government.
1     AN ACT Relating to granting counties authority to enter into a
2 shared stewardship agreement; amending RCW 36.75.040; and creating a
3 new section.
4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
5     NEW SECTION.    Sec. 1.    The United States forest service has
6 several options for shared management of federal public lands.
7 However, some of these options were not structured to include revenue
8 sharing agreements. Counties are often given authority to join in
9 these shared stewardship agreements, but do not always have the
10 opportunity to receive proceeds from the work that they do. The
11 legislature finds that counties should also be able to engage with
12 the federal government to manage forestlands for wildfire prevention
13 and wildfire risk management, as well as to aid the counties in
14 receiving revenue to address lost revenues from timber sales and the
15 loss of revenue for rural schools. The legislature finds that the
16 counties may choose to manage lands near roads on federal land as
17 fuel breaks and as an additional revenue source.
18     Sec. 2. RCW 36.75.040 and 1969 ex.s. c 182 s 15 are each amended
19 to read as follows:
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1     The board of county commissioners of each county, in relation to
2 roads and bridges, shall have the power and it shall be its duty to:
3     (1) Acquire in the manner provided by law property real and
4 personal and acquire or erect structures necessary for the
5 administration of the county roads of such county;
6     (2) Maintain a county engineering office and keep record of all
7 proceedings and orders pertaining to the county roads of such county;
8     (3) Acquire land for county road purposes by purchase, gift, or
9 condemnation, and exercise the right of eminent domain as by law
10 provided for the taking of land for public use by counties of this
11 state;
12     (4) Perform all acts necessary and proper for the administration
13 of the county roads of such county as by law provided;
14     (5) In its discretion rent or lease any lands, improvements or
15 air space above or below any county road or unused county roads to
16 any person or entity, public or private: PROVIDED, That the said
17 renting or leasing will not interfere with vehicular traffic along
18 said county road or adversely affect the safety of the traveling
19 public: PROVIDED FURTHER, That any such sale, lease or rental shall
20 be by public bid in the manner provided by law: AND PROVIDED FURTHER,
21 That nothing herein shall prohibit any county from granting easements
22 of necessity.
23     (6) Enter into a shared stewardship agreement with any federal
24 agency engaged in land management including, but not limited to, the
25 United States forest service, to maintain and manage fuel breaks on
26 federally owned land up to one mile on either side of any road
27 including interstate highways, intrastate highways, and any other
28 roads that the county chooses to include. The shared stewardship
29 agreement must include a revenue sharing agreement in which the
30 county retains the proceeds from any timber sales.
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