FDA labeling

AN ACT Relating to restoring trust in public health by conforming 1
to food and drug administration labeling; and adding a new chapter to 2
Title 70 RCW. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that:5
(a) The United States food and drug administration is the federal 6
agency responsible for protecting public health by ensuring the 7
safety, efficacy, and security of human and veterinary drugs, 8
biological products, medical devices, our nation's food supply, 9
cosmetics, and products that emit radiation; 10
(b) Food and drug administration authorization and approval sets 11
forth conditions related to printed matter, advertising, and 12
promotion; 13
(c) The United States department of health and human services 14
spent nearly $1,000,000,000 hiring a behavioral change company, Fors 15
Marsh, to execute COVID-19 campaigns, promoting masking, vaccination, 16
and other measures in Washington state while ignoring the very same 17
promotional conditions the food and drug administration placed on 18
those interventions; 19
S-1552.1
SENATE BILL 5781
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Fortunato, J. Wilson, Christian, and McCune
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(d) The United States centers for disease control and prevention 1
also made recommendations and promoted products outside of the food 2
and drug administration limitations; 3
(e) The governor, the Washington state department of health, 4
local health departments, and numerous public and private 5
organizations also ignored the food and drug administration 6
promotional limitations, overstating the benefits of COVID-19 7
interventions to the public; and 8
(f) The government's response to the pandemic resulted in a 9
collapse of the public's trust in public health messaging, as 10
detailed in the October 2024 report from house energy and commerce 11
committee, chair Cathy McMorris Rogers: "We Can Do This: An 12
Assessment of the Department of Health and Human Services' COVID-19 13
Public Health Campaign" where the centers for disease control an 14
prevention's guidance went beyond the terms of food and drug 15
administration's emergency use authorization to state, without 16
evidence, that COVID-19 vaccines were highly effective against 17
transmission. This ultimately had a negative impact on vaccine 18
confidence and the centers for disease control and prevention's 19
credibility now that the unproven claim has been retracted.20
(2) Therefore, in order to restore and maintain trust in public 21
health messaging, the legislature intends that all policies and 22
communications related to food and drug administration-regulated 23
products, treatments, or devices follow the same promotional 24
instructions and limitations provided in food and drug administration 25
authorization or approval and be free from unproven claims or 26
promotional language that could mislead consumers.27
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The definitions in this section apply 28
throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires 29
otherwise.30
(1) "Department" means the department of health.31
(2) "Executive branch" means the Washington state governor, state 32
agencies, and the directors, secretaries, and staff of those 33
agencies. 34
(3) "Food and drug administration labeling" means the conditions 35
of authorization or approval as granted in letters that specify 36
conditions related to printed matter, advertising, promotion, and 37
other requirements. 38
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(4) "Food and drug administration regulated product" means any 1
drug, biological product, medical device, food, or other product 2
regulated by the food and drug administration, including the general 3
class of products when a specific product is not mentioned.4
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) The department, other executive branch 5
actors, and local health departments may only promote, distribute, or 6
endorse food and drug administration-regulated products in compliance 7
with the same terms and conditions specified in food and drug 8
administration labeling. Promotion, distribution, or endorsement 9
extends to information concerning general categories or types of food 10
and drug administration-regulated products where no specific product 11
is referenced.12
(2) All information disseminated that references a general class 13
of food and drug administration-regulated products:14
(a) Must be universally true for all products within the class 15
under current food and drug administration regulations; or16
(b) Must include qualifications or disclaimers that highlight the 17
exceptions or limitations based on individual product labels.18
(3) The department, other executive branch actors, and local 19
health departments may not use funding or other forms of inducements 20
that might lead to the dissemination of information that does not 21
conform to food and drug administration labeling. 22
(4) When the department, other executive branch actors, and local 23
health departments direct health care providers or the public to 24
information about food and drug administration-regulated products 25
from sources not covered by this section, they shall include a notice 26
stating that the entity providing this information may not comply 27
with food and drug administration labeling laws. 28
(5) All preexisting informational materials, regardless of 29
format, that do not comply with this section must be withdrawn from 30
use or public dissemination within 30 days of the effective date of 31
this section to ensure conformity with the provisions herein.32
(6) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the 33
department, other executive branch actors, or local health 34
departments from publicly expressing criticism of or disagreement 35
with product authorization, approval, or labeling decisions of the 36
food and drug administration. 37
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NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) The department, other executive branch 1
actors, and local health departments shall establish internal review 2
processes to ensure compliance with section 3 of this act in all its 3
communications, educational materials, and public health campaigns.4
(2) Upon determination of a violation of section 3 of this act, 5
the violating entity must: 6
(a) Immediately halt the dissemination of any information deemed 7
to be in violation of section 3 of this act; and 8
(b) Disseminate a correction notice, which shall:9
(i) Clearly state the nature of the violation;10
(ii) Explain the steps being taken to rectify the issue; and11
(iii) Be disseminated through the same channels, to the same 12
extent, and to the same audience as the original prohibited 13
information. 14
(3) Each state agency, the governor's office, and local health 15
departments shall submit annual reports to the state auditor 16
detailing efforts to comply with section 3 of this act, including any 17
violations and corrective actions taken. 18
(4) The state auditor shall: 19
(a) Accept and investigate complaints concerning violations of 20
section 3 of this act; 21
(b) Ensure complainants are protected against retaliation; and22
(c) Consider evidence of retaliation as a separate violation of 23
this section and investigate accordingly. 24
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. Violation of sections 3 and 4 of this act 25
by any employee of the executive branch or local health department 26
shall result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.27
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. If any provision of this act or its 28
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the 29
remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other 30
persons or circumstances is not affected.31
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. Sections 1 through 5 of this act 32
constitute a new chapter in Title 70 RCW.33
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