Senate Bill 5656 would change the inflation metric the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) uses to adjust annual water‑dependent lease rents from the Producer Price Index (PPI) to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), using a Seattle‑area CPI series.

DNR staff and marina‑industry witnesses told the House Agriculture & Natural Resources Committee the PPI has been more volatile than CPI, producing large year‑to‑year swings that make budgeting difficult for marinas and other lessees. The agency said the change would not alter the underlying water‑dependent rent calculations or long‑term revenue, only the annual adjustments between four‑year revaluations.

Lily Smith, committee staff, briefed members that SB 5656 is closely aligned with House substitute bill 1758 and that both use a Seattle‑area CPI. She and Thomas Gorman, Aquatic Resources Division Manager for DNR, noted the PPI has ranged over the past 30 years from about negative 8% to positive 16%, while CPI has ranged roughly from 0% to 9%; over decades the two indices average out.

Senator Deb Krishidassen, the prime sponsor, described coastal communities in her district as heavily water‑dependent and said the CPI change would offer lessees more predictable rent increases for long‑term planning. Thomas Gorman testified for DNR in support, saying the change would provide more certainty for both DNR and lessees.

Stakeholders from the marine economy supported the change. Roman Daniels Brown of the Northwest Marine Trade Association urged adoption as a way to stabilize marina budgeting; Taryn Todd, marina manager at Foss Harbor Marina in Tacoma, said the PPI drove a 16% increase on her lease in May 2024 and that the volatility left her team only weeks to adjust budgets. She and others said switching to CPI would improve predictability and support investment in marinas and services for recreational boaters.

Committee staff and witnesses said the change is chiefly about annual volatility; over 20–30 years long‑run revenue to DNR should be similar under either index. No committee vote or amendment was recorded in the transcript during the public hearing.

Ending: The committee closed public testimony and moved on; proponents argued the amendment would aid planning for marinas and coastal businesses without materially altering long‑term DNR revenue.