Contact: Josh Weiss, Legislative/Legal Affairs Coordinator (360) 902-2226

Situation

The Department of Fisheries and the Department of Game were merged into the Department of Fish and Wildlife, in 1994. Before the merger, the laws that governed food fish were contained in Title 75, and the laws that governed wildlife and game fish were contained in Title 77. Because a single title was needed to reflect the merger and add clarity to the statute, the 2000 Legislature merged these titles by passing one massive bill containing almost 300 sections (Chapter 107, Laws of 2000).

Problem

Merging two titles is a highly technical and complex task. Not unexpectedly, when the titles were merged, the new bill contained certain errors, omissions, oversights and redundancies which, if left uncorrected, will impede efficient administration of the code, especially in the area of law enforcement.

Solution

The agency proposes changes, not intended to be substantive but rather to refine the 2000 bill, so it achieves a seamless melding of two very different codes. The proposal is to make four types of changes :

• correct statutory references;
• eliminate or replace obsolete terms;
• standardize terminology for consistency within the code; and
• include references to all species over which the department has authority.

Return to Legislature 2001