Agriculture impacts

AN ACT Relating to protecting agriculture; and adding a new 1
chapter to Title 43 RCW. 2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:3
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature declares that it is 4
the continuing policy of the state of Washington, in cooperation with 5
federal and local governments and other concerned public and private 6
organizations, to use all practicable means and measures, including 7
financial and technical assistance, in a manner calculated to: (a) 8
Promote a stable food supply by maintaining a healthy agricultural 9
economy in Washington state; and (b) ensure that the regulatory 10
environment does not adversely affect the ability of Washington's 11
farmers to continue to grow and sell their products to feed citizens 12
of Washington state and the world.13
(2) In order to carry out the policy set forth in this chapter, 14
it is the continuing responsibility of the state of Washington and 15
all agencies of the state to use all practicable means, consistent 16
with other essential considerations of state policy, to improve and 17
coordinate plans, functions, programs, and resources in order to:18
(a) Promote agriculture while protecting public health and 19
welfare; 20
S-0433.1
SENATE BILL 5117
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Muzzall, Braun, Chapman, Christian, Dozier, King,
Schoesler, Short, Wagoner, Warnick, and J. Wilson
Prefiled 12/26/24. Read first time 01/13/25. Referred to Committee
on Agriculture & Natural Resources.
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(b) Provide opportunities for farmers and ranchers to utilize 1
agricultural land to produce agricultural products;2
(c) Aid farmers and landowners in utilizing the land for the best 3
combination of production, habitat, carbon sequestration, and any 4
combination of commercial and conservation activities; and5
(d) Preserve important historical, cultural, and natural aspects 6
of our national heritage of agriculture. 7
(3) The legislature authorizes and directs that, to the fullest 8
extent possible, the policies, regulations, and laws of the state of 9
Washington shall be interpreted and administered in accordance with 10
the policies set forth in this chapter and that all branches of 11
government of this state, including state agencies, municipal and 12
public corporations, and counties shall: 13
(a) Utilize a systematic, interdisciplinary approach to ensure 14
the integrated use of the natural and social sciences in planning and 15
decision making with respect to issues that have an impact on the 16
agricultural economy in Washington state; 17
(b) Identify and develop methods and procedures, in consultation 18
with the department of agriculture and the state conservation 19
commission, which will ensure that presently unquantified values will 20
be given appropriate consideration in decision making, along with 21
economic and technical considerations; 22
(c)(i) Include in every recommendation or report on proposals for 23
legislation and other major actions significantly affecting 24
agriculture, a detailed statement by the responsible official 25
regarding: 26
(A) The economic impact of the proposed action on the conduct of 27
agriculture in Washington; 28
(B) Any adverse effects that cannot be avoided should the 29
proposal be implemented; 30
(C) Alternatives to the proposed action; 31
(D) The relationship between local short-term uses of the 32
environment and the maintenance and enhancement of long-term 33
agricultural productivity; and 34
(E) Any irreversible and irretrievable commitments of resources 35
that would be involved in the proposed action should it be 36
implemented; 37
(ii) Prior to making any detailed statement, the responsible 38
official shall consult with and obtain the comments of any public 39
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agency that has jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect 1
to any impact on agriculture involved; and 2
(e) Study, develop, and describe appropriate alternatives to 3
recommended courses of action in any proposal that involves 4
unresolved conflicts concerning alternative uses of available 5
resources. 6
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1)(a) The director of financial 7
management or the director's designee, in cooperation with 8
appropriate legislative committees and legislative staff, must 9
establish a mechanism for the determination of the fiscal impact of 10
proposed legislation which, if enacted into law, would directly or 11
indirectly increase or decrease regulatory costs incurred by entities 12
engaged in agriculture. The office of financial management shall, 13
when requested by a member of the state legislature, report in 14
writing as to the fiscal impact and the report may be known as a 15
fiscal note.16
(b) For purposes of this subsection, "entities engaged in 17
agriculture" includes entities registered with the office of the 18
secretary of state as engaged in the manufacturing, production, or 19
processing of agricultural products. 20
(2) Fiscal notes must indicate by fiscal year the total impact on 21
the agricultural economy for the first two years the legislation 22
would be in effect and also a cumulative six-year forecast of the 23
fiscal impact. Where feasible and applicable, the fiscal note must 24
also indicate the fiscal impact on each industry or a representative 25
sampling of the industry broadly. 26
(3) A fiscal note must be provided only upon request of a member 27
of the state legislature. A request for a fiscal note on legislation 28
is considered to be a continuing request for a fiscal note on any 29
formal alteration of the legislation in the form of an amendment to 30
the legislation that are adopted by a committee or a chamber of the 31
legislature or a substitute version of the legislation that is 32
adopted by a committee and preparation of the fiscal note on the 33
prior version of the legislation must stop, unless the legislator 34
requesting the fiscal note specifies otherwise or the altered version 35
is first adopted or enacted in the last week of a legislative 36
session. 37
(4) Fiscal notes must be completed within one week of the request 38
unless an extended time period is authorized by the requesting 39
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legislator. In the event a fiscal note has not been completed within 1
one week of a request, a daily report must be prepared for the 2
requesting legislator by the director of financial management. The 3
daily report must summarize the progress in preparing the fiscal 4
note. If the request is referred to the director of commerce, the 5
daily report must also include the date and time such a referral is 6
made. 7
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1)(a) Beginning August 1, 2025, an agency 8
considering a significant agency action must conduct an assessment in 9
accordance with this chapter to inform and support the agency's 10
consideration of impacts on agricultural producers and communities 11
that rely on agriculture. The assessment performed by the agency is 12
intended to assist the agency in identifying issues and decisions 13
that impact agriculture in order to reduce economic harms to the 14
agricultural economy and the communities that rely on it.15
(b) An agency must aspire to complete the assessment for a 16
significant agency action without delaying the completion of the 17
underlying agency action. 18
(2) By August 1, 2025, and periodically thereafter, after an 19
opportunity for public comment on its determinations, each covered 20
agency must: 21
(a) Publish on its website the types of agency actions that the 22
agency has determined are significant agency actions that require an 23
agricultural economic assessment under this section;24
(b) Provide notification of the determination of the types of 25
significant agency actions in the Washington State Register; and26
(c) Prepare an agricultural economic assessment when considering 27
a listed action, after publication of the list of any additional 28
significant agency actions identified under (a) of this subsection.29
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. This chapter may be known and cited as the 30
food economics, availability, and security over time (FEAST) act.31
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. Sections 1 through 4 of this act 32
constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.33
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