Textile producers

AN ACT Relating to establishing producer responsibility for 1
textiles; reenacting and amending RCW 43.21B.110 and 43.21B.300; 2
adding a new chapter to Title 70A RCW; and prescribing penalties.3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The intent of this chapter is to establish 5
a statewide extended producer responsibility program for apparel and 6
textile articles that emphasizes repair and reuse, and minimizes 7
generation of hazardous waste, generation of greenhouse gases, 8
environmental impacts, environmental justice impacts, and public 9
health impacts.10
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The definitions in this section apply 11
throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires 12
otherwise.13
(1)(a) "Apparel" means clothing and accessory items intended for 14
regular wear or formal occasions and outdoor activities.15
(b) "Apparel" includes undergarments, shirts, pants, skirts, 16
dresses, overalls, bodysuits, costumes, vests, dancewear, suits, 17
saris, scarves, tops, leggings, school uniforms, leisurewear, 18
athletic wear, sports uniforms, swimwear, formal wear, onesies, bibs, 19
footwear, handbags, backpacks, knitted and woven accessories, 20
H-0503.1
HOUSE BILL 1420
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Reeves, Berry, Mena, Peterson, Ramel, Doglio,
Pollet, Ormsby, and Hill
Read first time 01/20/25. Referred to Committee on Environment &
Energy.
p. 1 HB 1420
jackets, coats, snow pants, ski pants, and everyday uniforms for 1
workwear. 2
(c) "Apparel" does not include any of the following:3
(i) Personal protective equipment worn to protect the wearer from 4
health or environmental hazards; 5
(ii) Personal protective equipment or clothing items for use by 6
the United States military; or 7
(iii) Reusable products designed to collect and absorb urine and 8
feces, or reusable products regulated by the United States food and 9
drug administration that are designed to collect and absorb 10
menstruation or vaginal discharge. 11
(2) "Authorized collector" means a person or entity that has 12
entered into an agreement with a producer responsibility organization 13
to collect covered products. 14
(3) "Authorized sorter" means a person or entity that has entered 15
into an agreement with a producer responsibility organization to sort 16
covered products collected by authorized collectors.17
(4) "Brand" means a trademark, including both a registered 18
trademark and an unregistered trademark, a logo, a name, a symbol, a 19
word, an identifier, or a traceable mark that identifies a covered 20
product and identifies the owner or licensee of the brand.21
(5) "Collection box" means an unattended container, box, 22
receptacle, or similar device used for soliciting and collecting 23
donations of covered products, including apparel or textile articles.24
(6) "Collection site" means a permanent or temporary location 25
operated by an authorized collector at which covered products are 26
collected and prepared for transport in accordance with the 27
requirements of this chapter. 28
(7) "Consumer" means an owner of a covered product, including a 29
person, business, corporation, limited partnership, nonprofit 30
organization, or governmental entity, and includes the ultimate 31
purchaser, owner, or lessee of a covered product who is not, as to 32
that covered product, the distributor, importer, producer, recycler, 33
retailer, or producer responsibility organization.34
(8) "Covered product" means an apparel or textile article 35
introduced into the state. 36
(9) "Department" means the department of ecology.37
(10) "Distributor" means a company that has a contractual 38
relationship with one or more producers to market and sell covered 39
products to a retailer. 40
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(11) "Importer" means either: 1
(a) A person qualifying as an importer of record for purposes of 2
19 U.S.C. Sec. 1484 (a)(2)(B), as it existed as of January 1, 2025, 3
with regard to the import of a covered product that is sold, 4
distributed for sale, or offered for sale in or into the state that 5
was manufactured or assembled by a company outside of the United 6
States; or 7
(b) A person importing into the state for sale, distributing for 8
sale, or offering for sale in the state a covered product for use in 9
the state that was manufactured or assembled by a company physically 10
located outside of the state. 11
(12) "Introduce" means to sell, offer for sale, distribute, or 12
ship a product within or into this state. 13
(13) "Local jurisdiction" means a county, city, or other 14
political subdivision of the state that provides solid waste 15
collection services. 16
(14) "Mail-back program" means a method of collecting covered 17
products using prepaid, preaddressed, mailing envelopes, boxes, or 18
other means that are reusable, recyclable, or compostable.19
(15) "Needs assessment" means a needs assessment prepared under 20
section 5 of this act. 21
(16) "Online marketplace" means a consumer-directed, 22
electronically accessed platform for which all of the following are 23
true: 24
(a) The platform includes features that allow for, facilitate, or 25
enable third-party sellers to engage in the sale, purchase, payment, 26
storage, shipping, or delivery of a covered product in this state;27
(b) The features described in (a) of this subsection are used by 28
third-party sellers; and 29
(c) The platform has a contractual relationship with consumers 30
governing their use of the platform to purchase consumer products.31
(17)(a) "Producer" means: 32
(i) A person who manufactures a covered product and owns or is 33
the licensee of the brand or trademark under which that covered 34
product is introduced in or into the state; 35
(ii) If there is no person in Washington who is the producer for 36
purposes of (a)(i) of this subsection, the producer of the covered 37
product is the owner of a brand or trademark or, if the owner is not 38
in the state, the exclusive licensee of a brand or trademark under 39
which the covered product is sold, imported for sale, offered for 40
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sale, or distributed for sale in or into the state, regardless of 1
whether the trademark is registered. For purposes of this subsection, 2
an exclusive licensee is a person holding the exclusive right to use 3
a trademark or brand in the state in connection with the manufacture, 4
sale, or distribution for sale in or into the state of the covered 5
product; 6
(iii) If there is no person in the state who is the producer for 7
purposes of (a)(i) or (ii) of this subsection, then the producer of 8
the covered product is the person that imports the covered product 9
into the state for sale or distribution; 10
(iv) If there is no other person in the state who is the producer 11
for purposes of (a)(i), (ii), or (iii) of this subsection, the 12
producer of the covered product is the distributor, retailer, or 13
wholesaler who sells the product in or into the state; or14
(v) A person is the "producer" of a covered material introduced 15
in or into this state, as defined in (a)(i) through (iv) of this 16
subsection, except where another person has mutually signed an 17
agreement with a producer as defined in (a)(i) through (iv) of this 18
subsection that contractually assigns responsibility to the person as 19
the producer, and the person has joined a registered producer 20
responsibility organization as the responsible producer for that 21
covered material under this chapter. If another person is assigned 22
responsibility as the producer under this subsection, the producer 23
under (a)(i) through (v) of this subsection must provide written 24
certification of that contractual agreement to the producer 25
responsibility organization; (b) For purposes of this chapter, the 26
sale of a covered product must be deemed to occur in the state if the 27
covered product is delivered to the customer in the state;28
(c) "Producer" does not include: 29
(i) A seller that sells only secondhand covered products;30
(ii)(A) A seller with less than $1,000,000 in annual aggregate 31
global turnover as annually adjusted for inflation. The department 32
must use the consumer price index for urban wage earners to calculate 33
the annual rate of inflation adjustment effective January 1st of each 34
year. 35
(B) The aggregate global turnover of a producer must be 36
calculated by adding together the respective turnovers of all of the 37
following: 38
(I) The producer concerned; 39
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(II) Those entities in which the producer is concerned directly 1
or indirectly, through ownership of more than one-half of the capital 2
or business assets, through the power to exercise more than one-half 3
of the voting rights, through the power to appoint more than one-half 4
of the members of the supervisory board, the administrative board, or 5
bodies legally representing the undertakings, or through the right to 6
manage the entities' affairs; 7
(III) Those entities that have the rights or powers identified in 8
(c)(ii)(B)(II) of this subsection; 9
(IV) Those entities in which an entity referred to in 10
(c)(ii)(B)(III) of this subsection has the rights or powers listed in 11
(c)(ii)(B)(II) of this subsection; or 12
(V) Those entities in which two or more entities referred to in 13
(c)(ii)(B)(I) through (IV) of this subsection jointly have the rights 14
or powers listed in (c)(ii)(B) of this subsection.15
(18) "Producer responsibility organization" means:16
(a) An organization that is exempt from taxation under section 17
501(c)(3) of the federal internal revenue code of 1986, is formed for 18
the purpose of implementing a plan to meet the requirements of this 19
chapter, and is approved by the department; or 20
(b) A producer that registers with the department as a producer 21
responsibility organization and implements an individual plan 22
addressing the covered products of the producer. 23
(19) "Plan" means the plan developed by the producer 24
responsibility organization for the collection, transportation, 25
repair, recycling, and safe and proper management of covered products 26
under this chapter containing the contents specified in section 6 of 27
this act and submitted to the department for approval under section 7 28
of this act. 29
(20) "Repair" means any alteration or improvement of damaged 30
covered product deemed worth the cost of repair by criteria 31
established by the plan including, but not limited to:32
(a) Redesigning and repurposing; 33
(b) Mending rips, holes, seams, or hems; 34
(c) Removing and repairing surface damage, such as pilling, stain 35
removal, or abrasion; 36
(d) Securing and reattaching buttons and other fastenings;37
(e) Dyeing, redyeing, overdyeing, or printing of images on 38
covered products; or 39
(f) Preparation for reuse and resale. 40
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(21) "Responsible market" means an entity that:1
(a) First produces and sells, transfers, or uses recycled product 2
or recycled content feedstock that meets the quality standards 3
necessary to be used in the creation of new or reconstituted 4
products; 5
(b) Complies with all applicable federal, state, and local 6
statutes, rules, ordinances, and other laws governing environmental, 7
health, safety, and financial responsibility; 8
(c) If the market operates in the state, manages waste according 9
to the state's solid waste management hierarchy established in RCW 10
70A.205.005(8); and 11
(d) Meets the minimum operational standards adopted under a 12
producer responsibility organization plan to protect the environment, 13
public health, worker health and safety, and minimize adverse impacts 14
to socially vulnerable populations. 15
(22) "Responsible producer" means a producer that is not excluded 16
under subsection (16)(c) of this section. 17
(23) "Retailer" means a person who sells or offers for sale a 18
covered product in or into the state to a person through any means 19
including, but not limited to, sales outlets, catalogs, the 20
telephone, the internet, or any electronic means. 21
(24) "Reuse" means the resale of a collected covered product to a 22
consumer for its original intended use with or without repair.23
(25) "Secondhand covered product" means any covered product that 24
has previously been owned by a consumer. 25
(26) "Secondhand markets" means a retailer who sells secondhand 26
covered products including, but not limited to, thrift stores, 27
collection box operators, online resale platforms, and flea markets.28
(27) "Socially vulnerable population" includes:29
(a) Any person residing in a census tract that contains a high 30
overall social vulnerability index as measured using the United 31
States center for disease control's and the agency for toxic 32
substances and disease registry's social vulnerability index, as it 33
existed as of January 1, 2025, for the most recent year such data are 34
available; and 35
(b) Any person who has an income below the minimum necessary for 36
a household based on family composition in a given geography to 37
adequately meet their basic needs without public or private 38
assistance, as measured by the University of Washington's center for 39
women's welfare, for the most recent year such data are available.40
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(28)(a) "Textile article" means an item customarily used in 1
households or businesses that are made entirely or primarily from a 2
natural, artificial, or synthetic fiber, yarn, or fabric. For 3
purposes of this chapter, "textile article" includes blankets, 4
curtains, fabric window coverings, knitted and woven accessories, 5
towels, tapestries, bedding, tablecloths, napkins, linens, and 6
pillows. 7
(b) "Textile article" does not include single-use products 8
including paper towels, paper napkins, toilet paper, facial tissue, 9
or wet or dry wipes. 10
(29) "Third-party seller" means a person or entity, independent 11
of an online marketplace, who sells, offers to sell, or contracts 12
with an online marketplace to sell a consumer product in the state by 13
or through an online marketplace. 14
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) By January 1, 2027, each producer of a 15
covered product must register with the department as a producer 16
responsibility organization, or join a producer responsibility 17
organization that registers on behalf of its member producers with 18
the department. The application of a producer responsibility 19
organization must describe how the producer responsibility 20
organization meets the registration requirements of this section. If 21
registration applications for more than one producer responsibility 22
organization, other than individual producers registering as producer 23
responsibility organizations, are submitted to the department, the 24
department must determine and register the proposed producer 25
responsibility organization that can most effectively implement this 26
chapter. 27
(2) The department must, by March 1, 2027, approve a producer 28
responsibility organization that meets the requirements of this 29
chapter and: 30
(a) The producer responsibility organization has a governing 31
board consisting of producers that are diverse in size and type and 32
that represent the diversity of covered products placed in the market 33
by those entities. The governing board may include ex officio members 34
involved in the collection, sorting, repair, reuse, recycling, or 35
management of covered products; and 36
(b) The producer responsibility organization demonstrates that it 37
has adequate financial responsibility and financial controls in 38
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place, including fraud prevention measures and an audit schedule, to 1
ensure proper management of funds. 2
(3) After January 1, 2036, the department may determine that an 3
additional producer responsibility organization would be beneficial 4
in satisfying the requirements of this chapter, and may approve the 5
registration of additional producer responsibility organizations that 6
meet the requirements of this chapter and that: 7
(a) Submits to the department, and agrees to cover the 8
department's reasonable costs to review, a petition to establish a 9
new producer responsibility organization; 10
(b) Is composed of a sufficient number of producers to jointly 11
comply with the requirements of this chapter; and 12
(c) The proposed producer responsibility organization agrees to 13
cover the costs of all of the provisions of this chapter applicable 14
to the proposed producer responsibility organization and its 15
participant producers. 16
(4) The requirements of subsections (2)(a) and (b) and (3)(a), 17
(b), and (c) of this subsection do not apply to producers registering 18
with the department as a producer responsibility organization. The 19
department may require an individual producer registering with the 20
department as a producer responsibility organization to pay 21
incremental costs to the department under this chapter associated 22
with the registration of the individual producer as a producer 23
responsibility organization. 24
(5) Each producer covered under a producer responsibility 25
organization must register with that producer responsibility 26
organization in accordance with the procedures and requirements 27
established by that producer responsibility organization and must 28
comply with those procedures and requirements. 29
(6) Upon the approval of a plan under this chapter or by July 1, 30
2031, whichever is sooner, a producer is subject to penalties under 31
this chapter unless: 32
(a) The producer is a participant of a producer responsibility 33
organization whose registration has been approved by the department 34
or the producer has received registration approval from the 35
department as a producer responsibility organization; and36
(b)(i) For producers that have joined a producer responsibility 37
organization, all covered products are accounted for in the plan; or38
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(ii) For producers that are registered as a producer 1
responsibility organization, all covered products of the producer are 2
accounted for in the plan; and 3
(c) If an entity does not meet the definition of a producer and 4
is not subject to this chapter before January 1, 2031, but at any 5
point, after January 1, 2031, meets the definition of a producer, the 6
producer must, within 90 days, become a participant of the producer 7
responsibility organization or register with the department as a 8
producer responsibility organization, and comply with the 9
requirements of this chapter. 10
(7) A producer is not in compliance with this chapter and is 11
subject to penalties under section 14 of this act if a covered 12
product sold or offered for sale by the producer is not subject to an 13
approved producer responsibility organization plan.14
(8)(a) No later than 30 days after the effective date of rules 15
adopted by the department to implement this chapter, each producer or 16
the producer responsibility organization must provide the department, 17
in a form and manner established by the department, a list of brands 18
of covered products that each producer sells, distributes for sale, 19
imports for sale, or offers for sale in or into the state;20
(b) A producer or producer responsibility organization must 21
update the list described in (a) of this subsection and provide the 22
updated list to the department on or before January 15th of each 23
year, or upon request of the department. 24
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) Each producer responsibility 25
organization whose registration has been approved by the department 26
under section 3 of this act must, individually or collaboratively, 27
prepare and cover the costs of the needs assessments described in 28
section 5 of this act. 29
(2) Each producer responsibility organization must manage 30
collection sites consistent with section 9 of this act.31
(3) Each participant of a producer responsibility organization 32
with an approved plan must comply with the requirements of this 33
chapter. The producer responsibility organization must notify the 34
department within 30 calendar days of any of the following:35
(a) The end of any three-month period in which the producer 36
responsibility organization unsuccessfully attempted to obtain a fee, 37
records, or other information from a participant producer, or 38
received incomplete or incorrect records or information;39
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(b) The date a producer no longer participates in a producer 1
responsibility organization's plan; or 2
(c) Any instance of noncompliance by a producer.3
(4)(a) Producers and a producer responsibility organization, 4
acting on behalf of producers that prepare, submit, and implement a 5
plan pursuant to this chapter and who are thereby subject to 6
regulation by the department, are hereby granted immunity from state 7
laws relating to antitrust, restraint of trade, unfair trade 8
practices, and other regulation of trade and commerce, for the 9
limited purpose of planning, reporting, and operating the stewardship 10
program, including: 11
(i) The creation, implementation, or management of the producer 12
responsibility organization and any plan regardless of whether it is 13
submitted, denied, or approved; 14
(ii) The cost and structure of a plan; and 15
(iii) The types or quantities of covered products being managed 16
pursuant to this chapter. 17
(b) The immunity granted in (a) of this subsection does not apply 18
to: 19
(i) Fixing a price of or for covered products, except for an 20
agreement related to costs or charges associated with participation 21
in a plan approved by the department; 22
(ii) Fixing the output or production of covered products; or23
(iii) Restricting the geographic area in which, or customers to 24
whom, covered products will be sold. 25
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1)(a) Each statewide needs assessment 26
carried out by a producer responsibility organization must be 27
designed to determine the necessary steps and investment needed for 28
covered products to achieve the requirements of this chapter. 29
(b) An initial needs assessment for covered products must be 30
completed prior to the completion and approval of a plan for covered 31
products under this chapter. The initial needs assessment must be 32
submitted to the department by March 1, 2028. The department must 33
review and approve, conditionally approve, or disapprove the needs 34
assessment as meeting the requirements of this section within 90 days 35
of submission. 36
(c) Needs assessments must be updated, in whole or in part, at 37
least every five years, and as necessary to ensure the requirements 38
of this chapter are met. 39
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(d) A producer responsibility organization may select an 1
independent third-party contractor to complete the needs assessment.2
(e) A producer responsibility organization may prepare more than 3
one needs assessment, with each assessment specific to one or more 4
covered products under this chapter, or may prepare one comprehensive 5
needs assessment that includes all covered products under this 6
chapter. 7
(2) Each needs assessment must comply with all of the following:8
(a) Be designed to inform the program budget and plan; and9
(b) Include an evaluation of all of the following with respect to 10
covered products and covered product categories: 11
(i) Existing scope and scale of annual covered products diverted 12
to landfill or incineration in the state by type of covered product, 13
material composition, and volume and annual covered product recovery 14
diverted to reuse, repair, or recycling in the state or from the 15
state by type of covered product, material composition, and volume;16
(ii) The current repair, reuse, recycling, collection, sorting, 17
and hauling system in the state and the expanded access and 18
additional repair, reuse, recycling, collection, sorting, 19
disassembly, and hauling options needed to meet the requirements of 20
this chapter; 21
(iii) Current market conditions and the need to create 22
responsible and economically viable end markets in the state, 23
regionally, and globally; 24
(iv) Existing state statutory provisions and funding sources 25
related to market development and financial incentives to help 26
achieve the state's goals related to repair, reuse, recycling, 27
collection, sorting, disassembly, and hauling; 28
(v) Consumer education needs and the methods by which the 29
producer responsibility organization can best reach customers with 30
educational messaging; 31
(vi) Consumer behaviors to drive repair, reuse, and recycling and 32
to achieve the requirements of this chapter; 33
(vii) Funding needs and incentive mechanisms necessary to achieve 34
the requirements of this chapter, including coverage of the operation 35
of the stewardship program; 36
(viii) Fee reduction or redistribution mechanism necessary to 37
achieve the requirements of this chapter, in a manner that equitably 38
distributes the costs among participating producers that reflects 39
production and sales volumes relevant to the Washington market. Fee 40
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reduction or redistribution mechanisms may consider existing producer 1
collection, repair, reuse, and recycling programs that help achieve 2
the purpose of this chapter; 3
(ix) Actions and investments necessary to provide sufficient 4
access to collection, recycling, composting, processing, and 5
transportation to responsible and economically viable end markets;6
(x) An assessment of the availability of existing nonprofit 7
organizations that repair and upcycle covered products;8
(xi) An evaluation of the availability or lack of availability of 9
responsible markets for recycled covered products, the need to 10
incentivize reused products or recycled material market development, 11
and the associated investments or actions needed to ensure that the 12
covered products are reused or recycled and have responsible and 13
economically viable and sufficient end markets; 14
(xii) The needs assessment must include an evaluation of the 15
factors contributing to the presence of perfluoroalkyl and 16
polyfluoroalkyl chemicals and other chemicals identified or regulated 17
under chapters 70A.350 and 70A.430 RCW, and the actions and 18
investments needed to avoid contamination related to recycling. This 19
must include available end markets for recycled material that cannot 20
be remanufactured into textiles or textile articles in Washington; 21
and 22
(xiii) Evaluate what factors will be important to successfully 23
implement the eco-modulated fee structure required by section 10 of 24
this act, and what associated data collection will be necessary as 25
part of the plan. 26
(3) The department must guide development of each needs 27
assessment. A producer responsibility organization must develop the 28
needs assessment in consultation with a broad diversity of local 29
jurisdictions, federally recognized Indian tribes, recycling service 30
providers, and processors that reflect the different needs and 31
challenges presented by managing different covered products through 32
final disposition. 33
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. (1) Plans must be submitted, reviewed, and 34
approved consistent with section 7 of this act.35
(2) Plans for covered products must be designed to accept and 36
manage all postconsumer covered products and must include all of the 37
following: 38
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(a) The names and contact information, including email address, 1
phone number, and mailing and physical addresses, of producers and 2
brands of covered products under the plan; 3
(b)(i) A description of the method to establish and administer a 4
means for fully funding the producer responsibility organization, 5
consistent with section 10 of this act, including a proposed five-6
year budget; 7
(c) Quantifiable five-year and annual performance standards and 8
metrics unless or until the department publishes performance 9
standards under section 8 of this act. The producer responsibility 10
organization must amend its plan to meet or exceed the performance 11
standards published by the department; 12
(d) A description of how the producer responsibility organization 13
will provide for a free and convenient drop-off or collection system 14
for covered products consistent with section 9 of this act;15
(e) A description of how the collection sites will be authorized 16
and managed, including: 17
(i) How local jurisdictions and federally recognized Indian 18
tribes can request to be a collection site under section 10 of this 19
act; 20
(ii) How the producer responsibility organization will provide to 21
collection sites at no cost the appropriate containers for covered 22
products, training, signage, safety guidance, and educational 23
materials; 24
(iii) The process by which the producer responsibility 25
organization will provide for the transport of covered products at no 26
cost from collection sites to an authorized sorter, or directly to an 27
authorized repair business, nonprofit organization, or recycling 28
facility; 29
(iv) How collection sites will be allowed to divert covered 30
products to secondhand markets for reuse; 31
(v) A list of all proposed rules, conditions, and requirements 32
for authorized collectors, authorized sorters, and authorized repair 33
businesses, including a template proposed agreement for each of those 34
types of entities, as applicable; 35
(vi) How the producer responsibility organization will prioritize 36
the use of secondhand markets and nonprofit retail resellers of 37
covered products, when establishing collection sites to meet the 38
minimum requirements in section 9(2) of this act; and39
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(vii) How collection sites will be instructed to identify and 1
reject counterfeit covered products. 2
(f) A description of how covered products will be sorted, 3
transported, processed, reused, and recycled following collection at 4
collection sites, consistent with section 9 of this act;5
(g) A description of the comprehensive statewide education and 6
outreach program designed to educate consumers and promote 7
participation in the program offered by the producer responsibility 8
organization, consistent with section 11 of this act. This 9
description must include a description of the strategies, goals, and 10
metric the producer responsibility organization will use to annually 11
assess and evaluate the efficacy of the comprehensive statewide 12
education and outreach program required by section 11 of this act;13
(h) A description of how the producer responsibility organization 14
will coordinate with other producer responsibility organizations to 15
avoid confusion to the public regarding program activities including, 16
but not limited to, education and outreach, including establishing 17
point-of-sale messaging, a joint website, and toll-free telephone 18
number for purposes of providing information on the program;19
(i) Coordination with and compensation for, and description of 20
the efforts and methods used to coordinate activities with and 21
compensate for, entities who are responsive to a request from the 22
producer responsibility organization, including other producer 23
responsibility organizations, existing collection, reuse, and 24
recycling programs, and community-based organizations, including 25
nonprofit retail establishments that sell reused and repaired covered 26
products, and that contact the producer responsibility organization 27
and are qualified to run or support collection events;28
(j) A description of how the plan will address the presence of 29
perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals and other chemicals 30
identified or regulated under chapters 70A.350 and 70A.430 RCW, 31
including but not limited to the actions and investments needed to 32
avoid contamination in the recycling process and available end 33
markets for recycled material that cannot be remanufactured into 34
textiles or textile articles in Washington; 35
(k) A description of how the producer responsibility organization 36
will minimize the negative environmental and human health impacts of 37
all operations associated with the plan, including impacts from 38
collected covered products exported outside of Washington; and39
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(l) A process by which the financial activities of the producer 1
responsibility organization or individual producers that are related 2
to implementation of the plan will be subject to an independent audit 3
consistent with generally accepted accounting principles.4
(3) Under the plan, a producer responsibility organization must:5
(a) Develop a program to support laundries for laundering covered 6
products that includes funding for technology that reduces water 7
consumption and improves microfiber and microplastic filtration; and8
(b) Develop strategies to address design challenges for covered 9
products including, but not limited to, compostability, reduction and 10
removal of harmful chemicals, microfiber and microplastic shedding, 11
and mixed material blends. 12
(4) Plans approved by the department are public records for 13
purposes of chapter 42.56 RCW, except that financial or sales data 14
reported to the department is not a public record consistent with RCW 15
42.56.270, and is not subject to inspection or copying under chapter 16
42.56 RCW. 17
(5)(a) The plan submitted under this section must be accompanied 18
by a contingency plan demonstrating how the activities in the plan 19
will continue to be carried out by some other entity, if needed, such 20
as a trustee: 21
(i) Until such time as a new plan is submitted and approved by 22
the department; 23
(ii) Upon the expiration of an approved plan; 24
(iii) If the producer responsibility organization notifies the 25
department that it will cease to implement an approved plan; or26
(iv) In any other event that the producer responsibility 27
organization can no longer carry out plan implementation.28
(b) The contingency plan must guarantee that the contracts, 29
financial data, and other necessary authority and assets to operate 30
the program will vest in a trustee or other entity approved by the 31
department. The trustee must operate the most recently approved plan, 32
subject to the direction of the department, until such time as a new 33
plan is approved. Upon plan expiration or revocation of the plan, the 34
balance of the producer responsibility organization's operating 35
reserves must be transferred to the control of the trustee within 36
five calendar days. All documents, digital records, contracts, and 37
files related to the operation of the plan must be transferred to the 38
control of the trustee within five calendar days. 39
p. 15 HB 1420
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. (1)(a) By January 1, 2029, a producer 1
responsibility organization must develop and submit to the department 2
a complete plan, in a form and manner determined by the department, 3
in accordance with the requirements of this chapter, for the 4
collection, transportation, repair, sorting, recycling, and the safe 5
and proper management of covered products in Washington.6
(b)(i) The department must review each submitted plan for 7
compliance with this chapter and must approve, disapprove, or 8
conditionally approve the plan within 120 days of receipt.9
(ii) If the department disapproves of a plan submitted by a 10
producer responsibility organization, the department must explain how 11
the plan does not comply with this chapter and provide written notice 12
to the producer responsibility organization within 60 days of 13
disapproval. The producer responsibility organization may resubmit to 14
the department a revised plan within 30 days of the date the written 15
notice was issued, and the department must review the revised plan 16
within 60 days of resubmittal. 17
(iii) If the department disapproves a revised plan submitted by a 18
producer responsibility organization, the department must explain how 19
the plan does not comply with this chapter and provide written notice 20
to the producer responsibility organization within 60 days of 21
disapproval. The producer responsibility organization must then 22
revise and resubmit the plan consistent with the department's 23
direction within 30 days. A producer responsibility organization that 24
does not revise and resubmit the plan within 30 days consistent with 25
the department's direction is ineligible to submit further revisions 26
and is not in compliance with the requirements of this chapter, and 27
member producers are subject to penalties under this chapter.28
(2) A producer responsibility organization comprised of more than 29
one member producer may not limit its plan for covered products to 30
the covered products of the producer participating in that plan.31
(3)(a) By January 1, 2031, a producer responsibility organization 32
must have a complete plan approved by the department and each 33
producer must be subject to an approved plan in order to be in 34
compliance with this chapter. 35
(b) By April 1, 2031, each producer responsibility organization 36
must begin to implement its approved plan. By January 1, 2032, the 37
producer responsibility organization must fully implement its 38
approved plan. 39
p. 16 HB 1420
(c) A producer responsibility organization with an approved plan 1
must submit any proposed substantial change to the plan to the 2
department for approval following the process in subsection (1) of 3
this section. 4
(4)(a) A producer responsibility organization must review its 5
plan at least every five years after approved by the department and 6
determine whether revisions are necessary. 7
(b) If a producer responsibility organization determines that 8
revisions to the plan are necessary, the producer responsibility 9
organization must submit to the department a revised plan for review 10
and approval consistent with subsections (1) through (3) of this 11
section. The producer responsibility organization must submit the 12
revised plan to the department under this subsection at least 12 13
months prior to the review deadline identified in (a) of this 14
subsection. The revised plan must include a cover letter that 15
summarizes revisions to the plan within 90 days of the review 16
deadline outlined under this subsection. 17
(c) If a producer responsibility organization determines that 18
revisions to the plan are not necessary, the producer responsibility 19
organization must send a letter to the department 12 months prior to 20
the review deadline in (a) of this subsection, explaining that the 21
producer responsibility organization has reviewed the plan and 22
determined that revisions are not needed. The department may 23
disapprove of the producer responsibility organization's 24
determination within 30 days of receipt if the department concludes 25
that the producer responsibility organization cannot implement the 26
requirements of this chapter without revising the plan. If the 27
department disapproves the producer responsibility organization's 28
determination, the producer responsibility organization must submit 29
to the department a revised plan for review and approval consistent 30
with subsections (1) through (3) of this section. The producer 31
responsibility organization must submit the revised plan under this 32
subsection within 60 days of receipt of the department's disapproval, 33
unless the department determines that additional time is needed.34
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. (1)(a) A producer of a covered product 35
introduced for use in this state must achieve the quantifiable five-36
year and annual performance standards and metrics performance 37
standards established in its plan.38
p. 17 HB 1420
(b) After March 1, 2033, a producer of a covered product 1
introduced for use in this state must achieve the performance 2
standards adopted by the department under subsection (2) of this 3
section. 4
(2) After March 1, 2033, the department may establish, review, 5
and adjust performance standards and the dates by which they are 6
required to be achieved based on information included in plans and 7
annual reports, other information provided by producer responsibility 8
organizations, department waste characterization studies, needs 9
assessments, and economic and any other relevant information, as 10
determined by the department. 11
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. (1)(a) A producer responsibility 12
organization must approve collection sites under its program that 13
agree to comply with all applicable state, federal, or municipal 14
laws, regulations, and rules and conditions adopted by the producer 15
responsibility organization. 16
(b) A producer responsibility organization must include as a 17
collection site under its program any local jurisdiction or federally 18
recognized Indian tribe that offers in writing to participate in the 19
program and agrees to comply with any producer responsibility 20
organization requirements that are consistent with its approved plan, 21
even if the minimum thresholds described in subsection (2) of this 22
section have been achieved. A producer responsibility organization 23
must include the local jurisdiction or federally recognized Indian 24
tribe as a collection site in the program within 90 days of receiving 25
the written offer to participate. The producer responsibility 26
organization is not required to respond to offers to participate 27
until a plan has been approved by the department. 28
(c) A producer responsibility organization may suspend or 29
terminate a collection site that does not comply with all applicable 30
state, federal, or municipal laws and regulations or adhere to the 31
rules and conditions imposed by the producer responsibility 32
organization. 33
(d) A collection site must be operated and managed to ensure that 34
covered products are collected safely and handled in accordance with 35
all applicable state, federal, and municipal laws and regulations and 36
the rules and conditions of the plan. A producer responsibility 37
organization must allow authorized collectors and authorized sorters 38
to divert reusable covered products for sale in secondhand markets, 39
p. 18 HB 1420
in a manner consistent with rules established by the producer 1
responsibility organization in an approved plan. 2
(e) A producer responsibility organization must require all 3
contractors to pay at least the Washington minimum wage.4
(2) A producer responsibility organization must provide for a 5
free and convenient drop-off or collection system for covered 6
products that may include temporary collection sites and mail-back 7
options, and that must include permanent collection sites in each 8
county that: 9
(a) Provides for a minimum of 10 permanent collection sites or 10
one permanent collection site per 25,000 people, whichever is 11
greater, except that: 12
(i) A county with a population of 18,000 and under, as reported 13
annually by the office of financial management, must have a minimum 14
of three collection locations; 15
(ii) A county with a population of between 18,001 and 50,000, 16
inclusive, as reported annually by the office of financial 17
management, must have a minimum of four collection locations; and18
(iii) A county with a population of between 50,001 and 100,000, 19
inclusive, as reported annually by the office of financial 20
management, must have a minimum of eight collection locations;21
(b) Provides for a reasonable geographic spread of permanent 22
collection sites, as justified by a description in the plan.23
(3) Following collection at a collection site, covered products 24
must: 25
(a) Be handled and managed consistent with the waste management 26
hierarchy established in RCW 70A.205.005(8), including prioritization 27
of reuse, including repair, of collected covered products;28
(b) Include incentive payments, grants, and market development 29
investments to encourage reuse over recycling and other methods and 30
to support the infrastructure necessary to implement the plan, which 31
must include incentive payments, grants, and market development 32
investments that prioritize infrastructure closer to the point of 33
generation under (e) of this subsection and ensure that covered 34
products are reused or recycled and have responsible and economically 35
viable end markets; 36
(c) Be sorted by authorized sorters and the flow of covered 37
products to and from authorized collectors, authorized sorters, 38
authorized repair businesses, and recyclers must be tracked through 39
final disposition; 40
p. 19 HB 1420
(d) Be managed by the producer responsibility organization to 1
maximize the reuse and recycling of all covered products, and to 2
minimize disposal of covered products collected by the producer 3
responsibility organization; and 4
(e) Be managed by the producer responsibility organization in a 5
manner that prioritizes, to the extent feasible, the use and 6
development of sorting, repair, and recycling facilities located 7
closer to the point of collection to minimize transportation-related 8
emissions and increase accountability for the ultimate disposition of 9
covered products. 10
(4) The producer responsibility organization must conduct an 11
annual assessment, using metrics described in its plan, to determine 12
how collection, sorting, and transportation outcomes aligned with 13
projections. 14
(5) Products designed by use for infants and children under 12 15
years of age with components that pose a risk of detachment, thus 16
creating choking hazards, or containing components subject to 16 17
C.F.R. Part 1303 and 1307, including, but not limited to, metallic, 18
vinyl, or plastic snaps, zippers, grommets, closures, or appliques, 19
may be excluded from the reuse and repair under subsection (3)(a) of 20
this section by a producer responsibility organization.21
(6) Nothing in this chapter limits the authority of the utilities 22
and transportation commission to regulate collection of solid waste, 23
including curbside collection of residential recyclable materials, in 24
accordance with chapter 81.77 RCW. 25
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. (1) Each producer responsibility 26
organization must pay all administrative and operational costs 27
associated with establishing and implementing the program including, 28
but not limited to, the cost of collection, transportation, sorting, 29
repairing, recycling, and the safe and proper management of covered 30
products. 31
(2)(a) A producer responsibility organization must establish a 32
method for fully funding the producer responsibility organization in 33
a manner that distributes the program's costs among participating 34
producers. Upon plan approval, the funding mechanism approved in the 35
plan must reflect: 36
(i) Sales volumes; and 37
(ii) A per-unit eco-modulated fee that reflects Washington sales 38
volume, existing producer collection, repair, reuse, and recycling 39
p. 20 HB 1420
programs that help achieve the purposes of this chapter, and the cost 1
of reusing, repairing, recycling, or otherwise managing covered 2
products under this chapter. The intent of the eco-modulated fee is 3
to incentivize design choices that facilitate the achievement of 4
goals outlined in the plan, including reuse, repair, and recycling 5
through reduced fees, while using malus fees to disincentivize 6
practices and materials incongruent with the plan. The producer 7
responsibility organization must consider existing producer 8
collection, repair, reuse, and recycling programs in developing the 9
eco-modulated fee structure. 10
(b) The funding mechanism must demonstrate adequate funding for 11
all administrative and operational costs of the program, to be borne 12
by participating producers, and must distribute participating 13
producers costs in consideration of the cost of managing their 14
specific covered products under the approved plan.15
(3)(a) A producer responsibility organization must propose in its 16
plan a five-year budget that establishes a funding level sufficient 17
to operate the producer responsibility organization in a prudent and 18
responsible manner. The budget must demonstrate how estimated 19
revenues will cover all budgeted costs for each cost category, and 20
the plan must describe the types of activities related to each line 21
item cost category. 22
(b) Budgeted costs categories must include, but are not limited 23
to: 24
(i) Administrative costs, which include the department's actual 25
and reasonable regulatory costs, which include full personnel costs 26
to implement and enforce this chapter and actual regulatory 27
development costs and other startup costs incurred prior to plan 28
submittal and approval; 29
(ii) Education and outreach costs; 30
(iii) Operational costs; 31
(iv) Capital costs; and 32
(v) A reserve to operate the producer responsibility organization 33
should there be unexpected events, such as losses of income, and 34
large unbudgeted expenses in order to protect the recycling 35
infrastructure the producer responsibility organization relies upon 36
in its plan, during any lapse in producer participating during the 37
life of the program. This cost category must include a reserve level 38
amount that is justified by a description in the plan. The producer 39
responsibility organization must maintain reserve funds sufficient to 40
p. 21 HB 1420
operate the plan for no less than six months. If a new plan submitted 1
by a producer responsibility organization is approved by the 2
department, the producer responsibility organization must establish 3
its reserve and maintain the required reserve fund balance by the end 4
of the second year of plan operation. 5
(4) Retailers, producers, or producer responsibility 6
organizations may not charge a specific point-of-sale fee to 7
consumers to cover the administrative or operational costs of the 8
producer responsibility organization or the program.9
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. (1) A producer responsibility 10
organization must develop and implement a comprehensive statewide 11
education and outreach program that, at minimum, includes:12
(a) An education and communications strategy to effectively 13
promote participation in the program and provide the information 14
necessary for effective participation by consumers, retailers, 15
distributors, wholesalers, local jurisdictions, federally recognized 16
Indian tribes, and others; 17
(b) A joint internet website, in coordination with all other 18
producer responsibility organizations registered with the department, 19
that publicizes the location of collection sites and provides 20
information to consumers on how to drop off covered products at the 21
free and convenient network of collection sites offered by the 22
producer responsibility organization, including any information 23
reasonably necessary to safely and conveniently access the 24
collection, repair, and recycling services offered by the producer 25
responsibility organization; 26
(c) Signage that is prominently displayed and easily visible;27
(d) Signage and materials that are required by the producer 28
responsibility organization for collection sites, and a method for 29
collection sites to access replacement materials at no cost to the 30
collection site; 31
(e) A strategy to support participation by all Washington 32
communities, including a strategy to communicate with consumers in 33
languages other than English; 34
(f) Promotional materials and activities, or both, that explain 35
the purpose of the producer responsibility organization and the means 36
by which the program is being carried out; 37
(g) A strategy to encourage users to separate products that are 38
not covered products from covered products, when appropriate, before 39
p. 22 HB 1420
submitting the covered products to an authorized collection site or 1
mail-back program; 2
(h) Materials designed to inform third-party sellers on online 3
platforms of their duty to comply with this chapter and how to join 4
the producer responsibility organization; and 5
(i) Information for the public on secondhand markets and the 6
benefits of reuse, including repair. 7
(2) The statewide education and outreach program must:8
(a) Promote the safe and proper management of covered products, 9
including information on where customers can purchase repaired and 10
reused covered products. This must include education and training for 11
authorized collectors to incentivize domestic resale of usable 12
covered products; 13
(b) Not promote the disposal of covered products in a manner 14
inconsistent with the services offered by the plan; and15
(c) Include information for consumers about how to avoid improper 16
disposal of covered products. 17
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. (1)(a) A producer responsibility 18
organization must keep board minutes books, and records that clearly 19
reflect the activities and transactions of the producer 20
responsibility organization.21
(b) A producer responsibility organization must include in its 22
plan a process by which the financial activities of the organization 23
or individual producers that are related to implementation of the 24
plan will be subject to an independent audit consistent with 25
generally accepted accounting principles. 26
(c) The failure of a producer responsibility organization or 27
producer, or their respective agent who holds records, to produce 28
documents or data requested by the department, required to be 29
collected or generated to carry out operation of the plan in the form 30
and manner determined by the department, as part of a department 31
audit, or review of a third-party audit, constitutes a violation of 32
this chapter. 33
(d) A producer responsibility organization must retain an 34
independent public accountant, certified in the United States, to 35
annually audit the accounting books of the producer responsibility 36
organization. The department must review the independent certified 37
public accountant audit for compliance with this chapter and 38
consistency with the producer responsibility organization's plan and 39
p. 23 HB 1420
annual report. After the department conducts its own audit, the 1
department must notify the producer responsibility organization of 2
any conduct or practice that does not comply with this chapter or of 3
any inconsistencies identified in the audit. The producer 4
responsibility organization may obtain copies of the department's 5
audit, including proprietary information contained in the 6
department's audit, upon request and may petition the department to 7
withhold from disclosure confidential proprietary information under 8
chapter 42.56 RCW. The items submitted to the department as part of 9
the independent audit must include: 10
(i) Financial statements audited in accordance with generally 11
accepted accounting principles; 12
(ii) An audit of the producer responsibility organization's 13
compliance with this chapter; and 14
(iii) An audit of the producer responsibility organization's 15
adherence to, execution of, and consistency with its plan.16
(2) A producer responsibility organization must annually submit 17
to the department, in the form and manner and by the date determined 18
by the department, an annual report and make that report publicly 19
available on the producer responsibility organization's website. The 20
report must include, at minimum, all of the following information for 21
the preceding calendar year unless otherwise specified:22
(a) The independent audit required under subsection (1)(d) of 23
this section; 24
(b) The producer responsibility organization's costs, according 25
to the cost categories established in the plan, and revenues;26
(c) A summary of any anticipated changes to allocations in cost 27
categories for the next calendar year; 28
(d) Any changes to the distribution of a participating producer's 29
costs; 30
(e) The amounts of the eco-modulated fees based on the criteria 31
established under section 10 (2) of this act and the producer 32
responsibility organization's evaluation of the effectiveness of the 33
eco-modulated fees; 34
(f) An updated list of producers participating in the plan and an 35
updated list of the names and contact information, including email 36
address, telephone number, and physical and mailing addresses of 37
producer and brands of covered products covered under the plan;38
(g) A list of the producer responsibility organization's 39
collection sites by name, location, and type; 40
p. 24 HB 1420
(h)(i) The amount of covered products sold in or into the state 1
by the producers covered by the producer responsibility 2
organization's plan; 3
(ii) The amount described in (h)(i) of this subsection must be 4
broken down by fiber type category and harmonized tariff schedule of 5
the United States (HTS) number; 6
(i) The total weight of covered products, respectively, that were 7
collected, broken down by fiber type categories; 8
(j) The total weight of covered products, by category, that were 9
collected and deemed reusable by each respective authorized collector 10
and authorized sorter; 11
(k) A list of each authorized sorter, authorized repair business, 12
and covered product recycling facility used by the producer 13
responsibility organization, including name and location and the 14
total weight of covered products handled by each location;15
(l) The total weight and number of covered products sold in or 16
into the state attributed to a producer, who is a registered 17
participant of the producer responsibility organization's plan, which 18
are collected in the state and reused or recycled by the producer 19
responsibility organization, including a description of the 20
methodology and information used to determine and calculate these 21
values; 22
(m) A complete accounting of the ultimate disposition of all 23
covered products collected by the producer responsibility 24
organization, including the total weight of covered products that 25
were repaired or recycled; 26
(n) Metrics and a description of the progress towards attaining 27
the performance standards included in the plan; 28
(o) A description of the methods used to collect, transport, 29
repair, and recycle covered products by the producer responsibility 30
organization, including a description of: 31
(i) How the producer responsibility organization handled and 32
managed covered products according to the waste hierarchy in RCW 33
70A.205.005(8); 34
(ii) How the producer responsibility organization maximized reuse 35
and recycling of all covered products; 36
(iii) How the producer responsibility organization minimized 37
disposal of all covered products collected by the producer 38
responsibility organization; and 39
p. 25 HB 1420
(iv) Results of the producer responsibility organization's 1
assessment of the efficacy of the collection, sorting, and 2
transportation process; 3
(p) A description of how the producer responsibility organization 4
provided incentive payments, grants, and market development 5
investments to support the infrastructure necessary to effectively 6
implement the plan, including how incentive payments, grants, and 7
market development investments prioritized infrastructure closer to 8
the point of generation; 9
(q) A description of outreach efforts and education including, 10
but not limited to, the producer responsibility organization's 11
evaluation of the efficacy of the comprehensive statewide education 12
and outreach program in section 11 of this act; 13
(r) A description of how the producer responsibility organization 14
coordinated with producer responsibility organizations;15
(s) A report on activities the producer responsibility 16
organization has undertaken to prioritize the use of sorting and 17
recycling facilities located closer to the point of generation to 18
minimize transportation emissions and increase accountability for the 19
ultimate disposition of collected covered products;20
(t) An analysis of whether producer responsibility organization 21
met performance standards established by the producer responsibility 22
organization or by the department under section 8 of this act;23
(u) A description of how the producer responsibility organization 24
addressed the presence of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl 25
chemicals and other chemicals identified or regulated under chapters 26
70A.350 and 70A.430 RCW, including but not limited to the actions 27
taken and investments made to avoid contamination in the recycling 28
process, and the availability of end markets for recycled material 29
that could not be remanufactured into textiles or textile articles in 30
Washington; 31
(v) Any other information deemed relevant by the producer 32
responsibility organization for the department to determine 33
compliance with the approved plan; and 34
(w) Other information required by rules adopted by the 35
department. 36
(3)(a) No later than 120 days after the date the department 37
receives the annual report submitted by a producer responsibility 38
organization under subsection (2) of this section, the department 39
p. 26 HB 1420
must notify the producer responsibility organization if the annual 1
report is compliant or noncompliant. 2
(b) If the department determines that the annual report is 3
noncompliant due to failure to meet the requirements of this chapter, 4
the department may require the resubmittal of the annual report or 5
take enforcement action. 6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. (1)(a) The department must implement, 7
administer, and enforce this chapter. By December 31, 2027, the 8
department shall adopt rules as necessary to implement, administer, 9
and enforce this chapter.10
(b) To the extent feasible, registration, recordkeeping, 11
reporting, and other logistical requirements adopted by the 12
department under this chapter must be harmonized with similar 13
requirements applicable to producers in other jurisdictions.14
(c) The rules adopted by the department must encourage recycling 15
that minimizes generation of hazardous waste, generation of 16
greenhouse gases, environmental impacts, environmental justice 17
impacts, and public health impacts. 18
(2)(a) By October 1, 2026, the department must notify each 19
registered producer responsibility organization of its estimated 20
regulatory costs to implement the program, including full personnel 21
costs, related to implementing and enforcing this chapter and the 22
actual reasonable costs associated with adopting rules and other 23
startup activities prior to plan submittal and approval.24
(b) The producer responsibility organization must, on a schedule 25
determined by the department, pay the department fees to cover the 26
department's incurred costs. The fees must not exceed the 27
department's actual and reasonable regulatory costs to implement and 28
enforce this chapter. 29
(c) The department must deposit all moneys received from a 30
producer responsibility organization under this subsection in the 31
textile extended producer responsibility account created in section 32
17 of this act. 33
(3) The department may audit the producer responsibility 34
organization or an individual producer annually with respect to the 35
requirements of this chapter. 36
(4)(a) Within 12 months of the effective date of the rules 37
adopted under this chapter, and on or before July 1st of each year 38
thereafter, the department must post on its internet website a list 39
p. 27 HB 1420
of producers that are in compliance with this chapter. The department 1
must list, as appropriate, the reported brands of covered products 2
for each producer. 3
(b) A producer that is not listed on the department's internet 4
website under (a) of this subsection that demonstrates compliance 5
with this chapter before the next list is posted by the department 6
may either be added to the internet website or provided a 7
certification letter from the department stating that the producer of 8
a covered product is in compliance with this chapter. The 9
department's list of compliant entities must be available on the 10
department's website in a machine-readable format.11
(c) If the department determines that a producer is not in 12
compliance with this chapter, the department must remove the 13
producer, along with its brands and covered products, from the list 14
of compliant producers posted on the department's website. The 15
department must list on its internet website a producer, along with 16
its brands and covered products, if the department subsequently 17
determines that the producer is in compliance with this chapter.18
NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. (1)(a) The department may 19
administratively impose a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation 20
per day on any producer who violates this chapter and up to $10,000 21
per violation per day for the second and each subsequent violation.22
(b) For a producer out of compliance with the requirements of 23
this chapter, the department shall provide written notification and 24
offer information. For the purposes of this section, written 25
notification serves as notice of the violation. The department must 26
issue at least one notice of violation by certified mail prior to 27
assessing a penalty and the department may only impose a penalty on a 28
producer that has not met the requirements of this chapter 60 days 29
following the date the written notification of the violation was 30
sent. 31
(2)(a) The department may administratively impose a civil penalty 32
of up to $10,000 per violation per day on any producer responsibility 33
organization that violates this chapter and up to $50,000 per 34
violation per day for the second and each subsequent violation.35
(b) The department may, in addition to assessing the penalties 36
provided in (a) of this subsection, take any combination of the 37
following actions: 38
p. 28 HB 1420
(i) Issue a corrective action order to a producer responsibility 1
organization; 2
(ii) Issue an order to a producer responsibility organization to 3
provide for the continued implementation of the program in the 4
absence of an approved plan; 5
(iii) Revoke the producer responsibility organization's plan 6
approval and require implementation of the contingency plan; or7
(iv) Require a producer responsibility organization to revise or 8
resubmit a plan within a specified time frame. 9
(c) Prior to taking an action described in this subsection, the 10
department must provide the producer responsibility organization an 11
opportunity to respond to or rebut the written finding upon which the 12
action is predicated. 13
(3)(a) The department may require a producer, producer 14
responsibility organization, manufacturer, distributor, retailer, or 15
importer to: 16
(i) Provide the department with reasonable and timely access, as 17
determined by the department, to its facilities and operations, as 18
necessary to determine compliance with this chapter; or19
(ii) Require additional reporting to determine compliance with 20
this chapter. 21
(b) Records required by this chapter must be maintained and 22
accessible for five years. All reports and records provided to the 23
department under this chapter must be provided under penalty of 24
perjury. 25
(4) A person may not sell or distribute in or into the state a 26
covered product of a producer that is not participating in a producer 27
responsibility organization or that is not in compliance with the 28
requirements of this chapter or rules adopted under this chapter.29
(a) The department shall serve, or send with delivery 30
confirmation, a written warning explaining the violation to a person 31
distributing or selling covered products of a producer that is not in 32
compliance with this chapter. 33
(b) The department may assess a penalty on a person that 34
continues to sell or distribute covered products of a producer that 35
is in violation of this chapter 60 days after receipt of the written 36
warning under this subsection. The amount of the penalty that the 37
department may assess under this subsection is twice the value of the 38
covered products sold in violation of this chapter or $500, whichever 39
is greater. The department must waive the penalty upon verification 40
p. 29 HB 1420
that the person has discontinued distribution or sales of the covered 1
product within 30 days of the date the penalty is assessed.2
(5) Any person who incurs a penalty or receives an order may 3
appeal the penalty or order to the pollution control hearings board 4
created in chapter 43.21B RCW. 5
(6) Penalties levied under this section must be deposited in the 6
model toxics control operating account created in RCW 70A.305.180.7
NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. (1) Retailers, importers, distributors, 8
and online marketplaces for covered products must monitor the 9
department's internet website where compliant producers are posted 10
under section 13 (4) of this act, to determine if a producer, brand, 11
or covered product is in compliance with this chapter for that 12
producer of covered products.13
(2)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, on and after 14
the date a plan is approved by the department, a retailer, importer, 15
distributor, or online marketplace is prohibited from introducing a 16
covered product for use in the state unless the producer of the 17
covered product is listed as in compliance for that brand and covered 18
product. 19
(b) A retailer, importer, distributor, or online marketplace may 20
introduce a covered product: 21
(i) If the retailer, importer, distributor, or online marketplace 22
has fulfilled the obligations for those covered products which the 23
retailer, importer, distributor, or online marketplace sells, offers 24
for sale, imports, or distributes; 25
(ii) If, on the date the retailer or distributor sells or offers 26
for sale the covered product in or into the state, the producer, 27
brand, or covered product was listed as compliant on the department's 28
internet website; and 29
(iii) Any existing stock of a retailer or distributor before the 30
initial list was posted by the department on the department's 31
internet website. 32
(3) An online marketplace must annually do the following 33
consistent with rules adopted by the department: 34
(a) Notify the department and the producer responsibility 35
organization of all third-party sellers with sales of covered 36
products over $1,000,000 sold on their online marketplace in the 37
preceding year and provide all required information. If a third-party 38
seller does not have any sales in Washington during the preceding 39
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year, then the online marketplace must not provide their information 1
to the department. The amount of the sales described in this 2
subsection includes only those transactions through the online 3
marketplace for which payment is processed by the online marketplace 4
directly or through its payment processor; 5
(b) Provide all third-party sellers described in (a) of this 6
subsection with the information requirements of law as provided by 7
the producer responsibility organization consistent with the 8
requirements of section 11 of this act. 9
NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. A producer responsibility organization 10
may not use funds collected for purposes of implementing a plan 11
required under this chapter associated with:12
(1) The payment of an administrative penalty levied;13
(2) Administrative appeals of orders or penalties;14
(3) Litigation between the refrigerant stewardship organization 15
and the state; 16
(4) Compensation of a person whose position is primarily 17
representing the refrigerant stewardship organization relative to the 18
passage, defeat, approval, or modification of legislation that is 19
being considered by a governmental entity; or 20
(5) Paid advertisements related to encouraging the passage, 21
defeat, approval, or modification of legislation that is being 22
considered during an upcoming or current legislative session or was 23
considered during the previous legislative session.24
NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. The textile extended producer 25
responsibility account is created in the custody of the state 26
treasurer. All receipts received by the department under this chapter 27
must be deposited in the account. Only the director of the department 28
or the director's designee may authorize expenditures from the 29
account. The account is subject to the allotment procedures under 30
chapter 43.88 RCW, but an appropriation is not required for 31
expenditures. Expenditures from the account may be used by the 32
department only for implementing, administering, and enforcing the 33
requirements of this chapter.34
Sec. 18. RCW 43.21B.110 and 2024 c 347 s 5, 2024 c 340 s 4, and 35
2024 c 339 s 16 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:36
p. 31 HB 1420
(1) The hearings board shall only have jurisdiction to hear and 1
decide appeals from the following decisions of the department, the 2
director, local conservation districts, the air pollution control 3
boards or authorities as established pursuant to chapter 70A.15 RCW, 4
local health departments, the department of natural resources, the 5
department of fish and wildlife, the parks and recreation commission, 6
and authorized public entities described in chapter 79.100 RCW:7
(a) Civil penalties imposed pursuant to chapter 70A.230 RCW and 8
RCW 18.104.155, 70A.15.3160, 70A.300.090, 70A.20.050, 70A.230.020, 9
70A.205.280, 70A.355.070, 70A.430.070, 70A.500.260, 70A.505.100, 10
70A.505.110, 70A.530.040, 70A.350.070, 70A.515.060, 70A.245.040, 11
70A.245.050, 70A.245.070, 70A.245.080, 70A.245.130, 70A.245.140, 12
70A.65.200, 70A.455.090, 70A.550.030, 70A.555.110, 70A.560.020, 13
70A.565.030, section 14 of this act, 76.09.170, 77.55.440, 78.44.250, 14
88.46.090, 90.03.600, 90.46.270, 90.48.144, 90.56.310, 90.56.330, and 15
90.64.102. 16
(b) Orders issued pursuant to RCW 18.104.043, 18.104.060, 17
18.104.130, 43.27A.190, 70A.15.2520, 70A.15.3010, 70A.15.4530, 18
70A.15.6010, 70A.205.280, 70A.214.140, 70A.300.120, 70A.350.070, 19
70A.245.020, 70A.65.200, 70A.505.100, 70A.555.110, 70A.560.020, 20
70A.565.030, section 14 of this act, 86.16.020, 88.46.070, 90.03.665, 21
90.14.130, 90.46.250, 90.48.120, 90.48.240, 90.56.330, and 90.64.040.22
(c) Except as provided in RCW 90.03.210(2), the issuance, 23
modification, or termination of any permit, certificate, or license 24
by the department or any air authority in the exercise of its 25
jurisdiction, including the issuance or termination of a waste 26
disposal permit, the denial of an application for a waste disposal 27
permit, the modification of the conditions or the terms of a waste 28
disposal permit, a decision to approve or deny a solid waste 29
management plan under RCW 70A.205.055, approval or denial of an 30
application for a beneficial use determination under RCW 70A.205.260, 31
an application for a change under RCW 90.03.383, or a permit to 32
distribute reclaimed water under RCW 90.46.220. 33
(d) Decisions of local health departments regarding the granting 34
or denial of solid waste permits pursuant to chapter 70A.205 RCW, 35
including appeals by the department as provided in RCW 70A.205.130.36
(e) Decisions of local health departments regarding the issuance 37
and enforcement of permits to use or dispose of biosolids under RCW 38
70A.226.090. 39
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(f) Decisions of the department regarding waste-derived 1
fertilizer or micronutrient fertilizer under RCW 15.54.820.2
(g) Decisions of local conservation districts related to the 3
denial of approval or denial of certification of a dairy nutrient 4
management plan; conditions contained in a plan; application of any 5
dairy nutrient management practices, standards, methods, and 6
technologies to a particular dairy farm; and failure to adhere to the 7
plan review and approval timelines in RCW 90.64.026 as provided in 8
RCW 90.64.028. 9
(h) Any other decision by the department or an air authority 10
which pursuant to law must be decided as an adjudicative proceeding 11
under chapter 34.05 RCW. 12
(i) Decisions of the department of natural resources, the 13
department of fish and wildlife, and the department that are 14
reviewable under chapter 76.09 RCW, and the department of natural 15
resources' appeals of county, city, or town objections under RCW 16
76.09.050(7). 17
(j) Forest health hazard orders issued by the commissioner of 18
public lands under RCW 76.06.180. 19
(k) Decisions of the department of fish and wildlife to issue, 20
deny, condition, or modify a hydraulic project approval permit under 21
chapter 77.55 RCW, to issue a stop work order, to issue a notice to 22
comply, to issue a civil penalty, or to issue a notice of intent to 23
disapprove applications. 24
(l) Decisions of the department of natural resources that are 25
reviewable under RCW 78.44.270. 26
(m) Decisions of an authorized public entity under RCW 79.100.010 27
to take temporary possession or custody of a vessel or to contest the 28
amount of reimbursement owed that are reviewable by the hearings 29
board under RCW 79.100.120. 30
(n) Decisions of the department of ecology that are appealable 31
under RCW 70A.245.020 to set recycled minimum postconsumer content 32
for covered products or to temporarily exclude types of covered 33
products in plastic containers from minimum postconsumer recycled 34
content requirements. 35
(o) Orders by the department of ecology under RCW 70A.455.080.36
(2) The following hearings shall not be conducted by the hearings 37
board: 38
(a) Hearings required by law to be conducted by the shorelines 39
hearings board pursuant to chapter 90.58 RCW, except where appeals to 40
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the pollution control hearings board and appeals to the shorelines 1
hearings board have been consolidated pursuant to RCW 43.21B.340.2
(b) Hearings conducted by the department pursuant to RCW 3
70A.15.3010, 70A.15.3070, 70A.15.3080, 70A.15.3090, 70A.15.3100, 4
70A.15.3110, and 90.44.180. 5
(c) Appeals of decisions by the department under RCW 90.03.110 6
and 90.44.220. 7
(d) Hearings conducted by the department to adopt, modify, or 8
repeal rules. 9
(3) Review of rules and regulations adopted by the hearings board 10
shall be subject to review in accordance with the provisions of the 11
administrative procedure act, chapter 34.05 RCW. 12
Sec. 19. RCW 43.21B.300 and 2024 c 347 s 6 and 2024 c 340 s 5 13
are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:14
(1) Any civil penalty provided in RCW 18.104.155, 70A.15.3160, 15
70A.205.280, 70A.230.080, 70A.300.090, 70A.20.050, 70A.245.040, 16
70A.245.050, 70A.245.070, 70A.245.080, 70A.245.130, 70A.245.140, 17
70A.65.200, 70A.430.070, 70A.455.090, 70A.500.260, 70A.505.110, 18
70A.555.110, 70A.560.020, 70A.565.030, section 14 of this act, 19
86.16.081, 88.46.090, 90.03.600, 90.46.270, 90.48.144, 90.56.310, 20
90.56.330, and 90.64.102 and chapter 70A.355 RCW shall be imposed by 21
a notice in writing, either by certified mail with return receipt 22
requested or by personal service, to the person incurring the penalty 23
from the department or the local air authority, describing the 24
violation with reasonable particularity. For penalties issued by 25
local air authorities, within 30 days after the notice is received, 26
the person incurring the penalty may apply in writing to the 27
authority for the remission or mitigation of the penalty. Upon 28
receipt of the application, the authority may remit or mitigate the 29
penalty upon whatever terms the authority in its discretion deems 30
proper. The authority may ascertain the facts regarding all such 31
applications in such reasonable manner and under such rules as it may 32
deem proper and shall remit or mitigate the penalty only upon a 33
demonstration of extraordinary circumstances such as the presence of 34
information or factors not considered in setting the original 35
penalty. 36
(2) Any penalty imposed under this section may be appealed to the 37
pollution control hearings board in accordance with this chapter if 38
the appeal is filed with the hearings board and served on the 39
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department or authority 30 days after the date of receipt by the 1
person penalized of the notice imposing the penalty or 30 days after 2
the date of receipt of the notice of disposition by a local air 3
authority of the application for relief from penalty.4
(3) A penalty shall become due and payable on the later of:5
(a) 30 days after receipt of the notice imposing the penalty;6
(b) 30 days after receipt of the notice of disposition by a local 7
air authority on application for relief from penalty, if such an 8
application is made; or 9
(c) 30 days after receipt of the notice of decision of the 10
hearings board if the penalty is appealed. 11
(4) If the amount of any penalty is not paid to the department 12
within 30 days after it becomes due and payable, the attorney 13
general, upon request of the department, shall bring an action in the 14
name of the state of Washington in the superior court of Thurston 15
county, or of any county in which the violator does business, to 16
recover the penalty. If the amount of the penalty is not paid to the 17
authority within 30 days after it becomes due and payable, the 18
authority may bring an action to recover the penalty in the superior 19
court of the county of the authority's main office or of any county 20
in which the violator does business. In these actions, the procedures 21
and rules of evidence shall be the same as in an ordinary civil 22
action. 23
(5) All penalties recovered shall be paid into the state treasury 24
and credited to the general fund except the following:25
(a) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 18.104.155 must be credited 26
to the reclamation account as provided in RCW 18.104.155(7);27
(b) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.15.3160 must be 28
disposed of pursuant to RCW 70A.15.3160; 29
(c) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.230.080, 70A.300.090, 30
70A.430.070, 70A.555.110, 70A.560.020, and 70A.565.030 must be 31
credited to the model toxics control operating account created in RCW 32
70A.305.180; 33
(d) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.245.040 and 70A.245.050 34
must be credited to the recycling enhancement account created in RCW 35
70A.245.100; 36
(e) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.500.260 must be 37
deposited into the electronic products recycling account created in 38
RCW 70A.500.130; 39
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(f) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.65.200 must be credited 1
to the climate investment account created in RCW 70A.65.250;2
(g) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 90.56.330 must be credited 3
to the coastal protection fund established in RCW 90.48.390; and4
(h) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.355.070 must be 5
credited to the underground storage tank account created in RCW 6
70A.355.090. 7
NEW SECTION. Sec. 20. Sections 1 through 17 of this act 8
constitute a new chapter in Title 70A RCW.9
NEW SECTION. Sec. 21. If any provision of this act or its 10
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the 11
remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other 12
persons or circumstances is not affected.13
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