Mattress producer resp.

AN ACT Relating to mattress producer responsibility 1
organizations; reenacting and amending RCW 43.21B.110 and 43.21B.300; 2
adding a new section to chapter 82.04 RCW; and adding a new chapter 3
to Title 70A RCW. 4
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that:6
(1) While mattresses are generally made of recyclable materials, 7
the majority of mattresses are landfilled. There are few options for 8
mattress recycling in Washington. 9
(2) Mattresses are bulky products that are difficult to handle, 10
on average weighing 55 pounds and taking up about one cubic yard of 11
landfill space, float to the surface of landfills and are challenging 12
to manage at transfer stations. They are illegally dumped along our 13
roadways and in remote locations. 14
(3) There are economic benefits to increasing mattress recycling. 15
Most mattress recyclers use manual labor to dismantle a mattress, 16
which involves cutting it open, separating the components, and 17
bailing them to then be recycled by other commodity recyclers into 18
useful products elsewhere. Increasing the number of mattresses 19
recycled will increase recycling jobs and reduce the environmental 20
and economic costs of landfilling and illegal dumping.21
S-4035.2
SENATE BILL 6271
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Senators Hunt, Lovelett, Conway, Nobles, and Shewmake
Read first time 01/21/26. Referred to Committee on Environment,
Energy & Technology.
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(4) There are environmental benefits to increasing mattress 1
recycling, which captures useful materials such as metal, foam, wood, 2
and cotton for recycling, reduces climate emissions associated with 3
production of new materials, and avoids their placement in landfills. 4
Mattress recycling also avoids damage to solid waste equipment.5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The definitions in this section apply 6
throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires 7
otherwise.8
(1) "Brand" means a name, symbol, word, or mark that attributes a 9
mattress as the producer of the mattress. 10
(2) "Consumer" means a person, including individuals and business 11
entities, that purchase a mattress for use in this state.12
(3)(a) "Discarded mattress" means a mattress that has been used 13
and abandoned or discarded in this state. 14
(b) "Discarded mattress" does not include a mattress transported 15
from outside of the state to be discarded in this state.16
(4) "Department" means the department of ecology.17
(5) "Distributor" means a person that has a contractual 18
relationship with one or more manufacturers to market and sell 19
mattresses to retailers in Washington. 20
(6) "Environmentally sound management practices" means practices 21
that include, but are not limited to: 22
(a) Keeping detailed documentation of the methods used to:23
(i) Manage discarded mattresses to the extent feasible, cost-24
effective, and environmentally efficient; and 25
(ii) Track and document the fate of discarded mattresses from 26
collection through final disposition within this state;27
(b) Adequate record keeping; 28
(c) Performance audits and inspections of recyclers, haulers, and 29
other parties as determined by a stewardship organization;30
(d) Compliance with worker health and safety requirements; and31
(e) Maintenance of adequate liability insurance for a stewardship 32
organization and contractors working for the stewardship 33
organization. 34
(7) "Final disposition" means the point beyond which no further 35
processing takes place and a discarded mattress and its components 36
have been recycled, renovated, or disposed of. 37
(8) "Foundation" means a ticking-covered structure that is used 38
to support a mattress or sleep surface and that may be constructed of 39
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frames, foam, box springs, or other materials, used alone or in 1
combination. 2
(9) "Government entity" means any: 3
(a) County, city, town, or other local government, including any 4
municipal corporation, quasi-municipal corporation, or special 5
purpose district, or any office, department, division, bureau, board, 6
commission, or agency thereof, or other local public agency;7
(b) State office, department, division, bureau, board, 8
commission, or other state agency; 9
(c) Federally recognized Indian tribe whose traditional lands and 10
territories include parts of Washington; or 11
(d) Federal office, department, division, bureau, board, 12
commission, or other federal agency. 13
(10) "Introduce" means to sell, offer for sale, distribute, or 14
ship a product within or into this state, irrespective of the selling 15
technique used, including that of remote sale. 16
(11)(a) "Mattress" means: 17
(i) A resilient material or combination of materials that is 18
enclosed by ticking, is used alone or in combination with other 19
products, and is intended or promoted for sleeping upon;20
(ii) A foundation; or 21
(iii) The mattress component of a mattress-containing furniture 22
piece, such as a sofa bed, where the mattress is easily separable 23
from the rest of the furniture piece without specialized tools.24
(b) "Mattress" does not include: 25
(i) A sleeping bag; 26
(ii) A pillow; 27
(iii) A waterbed, air mattress, or other product that contains 28
liquid or gas-filled ticking and that does not contain upholstery 29
material between the ticking and the mattress core; or30
(iv) A mattress-containing furniture piece, such as a sofa bed, 31
where the mattress component is: 32
(A) Not easily separable from the rest of the furniture piece 33
without specialized tools; or 34
(B) No longer included in the furniture piece.35
(12) "Mattress management hierarchy" means a management system of 36
mattresses prioritized in descending order as follows:37
(a) Waste prevention and reduction; 38
(b) Reuse, when reuse is appropriate; 39
(c) Recycling, as defined in this chapter; and40
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(d) Other means of end-of-life management, which may only be 1
utilized after demonstrating to the department that it is not 2
feasible to manage the mattresses under the higher priority options 3
in (a) through (c) of this subsection. 4
(13) "Person" means an individual, firm, corporation, 5
association, partnership, consortium, joint venture, or commercial 6
entity. 7
(14) "Plan" means a description of the approach and activities 8
developed by a producer responsibility organization to fulfill the 9
requirements and to carry out the responsibilities of producers under 10
this chapter. 11
(15) "Producer" means the person responsible for compliance with 12
requirements under this chapter for a covered mattress introduced 13
into the state that: 14
(a) Is the owner of a trademark or brand under which a mattress 15
is introduced, whether or not such trademark or brand is registered 16
in this state; 17
(b) If there is no person to which (a) of this subsection 18
applies, is the person who manufactures the mattress;19
(c) If there is no person to which (a) or (b) of this subsection 20
applies, is the person who imports the mattress into the United 21
States; 22
(d) If there is no person described in (a) through (c) of this 23
subsection with a commercial presence within the state, is the person 24
who first introduces the mattress in this state. 25
(16) "Producer responsibility organization" means:26
(a) A nonprofit organization that qualifies for a tax exemption 27
under 26 U.S.C. Sec. 501 (c)(3) of the federal internal revenue code 28
and is designated by a producer or group of producers to fulfill the 29
requirements of this chapter; 30
(b) A producer that registers with the department as a producer 31
responsibility organization; or 32
(c) An organization as defined by the department by rule.33
(17) "Program" means a mattress stewardship program implemented 34
by a producer responsibility organization consistent with an approved 35
producer responsibility plan under this chapter. 36
(18) "Recycler" means a person that recycles discarded 37
mattresses. 38
(19) "Recycling" means any process in which discarded mattresses, 39
components, and by-products may lose their original identity or form 40
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as they are dismantled and their materials transformed into new, 1
usable, or marketable materials. 2
(20)(a) "Renovate" means to alter a discarded mattress for resale 3
through adding to or replacing the ticking or filling, adding 4
additional filling, or replacing components. 5
(b) "Renovate" does not mean: 6
(i) Stripping a discarded mattress of the ticking or filling 7
without adding new material; or 8
(ii) The sanitization or sterilization of a discarded mattress 9
without other alteration to the discarded mattress.10
(21) "Retailer" means any person that offers a mattress for sale 11
at retail in Washington. 12
(22) "Service provider" means an entity that serves as a 13
collection site for mattresses or a processor of mattresses. A 14
government entity that provides, contracts for, or otherwise arranges 15
for another party to provide services within its jurisdiction may be 16
a service provider regardless of whether it provided, contracted for, 17
or otherwise arranged for similar services before the approval of the 18
applicable plan. 19
(23)(a) "Ticking" means the outermost layer of fabric, or related 20
material, of a mattress. 21
(b) "Ticking" does not include any layer of fabric or material 22
quilted together with, or otherwise attached to, the outermost layer 23
of fabric or material of a mattress. 24
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) A producer of a mattress introduced 25
for use in this state shall implement a producer responsibility 26
program through participation in and appropriate funding of a 27
producer responsibility organization to develop and carry out 28
implementation of an approved producer responsibility plan.29
(2) By January 1, 2027, each producer must appoint a producer 30
responsibility organization under which it will participate.31
(3) By July 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, each producer must 32
be listed as a member in good standing in a registration submitted to 33
the department by a producer responsibility organization approved to 34
operate under this chapter. 35
(4) Beginning January 1, 2031, a producer that is not a member in 36
good standing with a registered producer responsibility organization 37
and producer responsibility plan may not introduce mattresses covered 38
by this chapter for use in this state. 39
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NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) By March 1, 2027, and annually 1
thereafter, a producer responsibility organization must register with 2
the department on behalf of its producers. A registration submission 3
by a producer responsibility organization must include the following:4
(a) Contact information for a person responsible for implementing 5
an approved plan; 6
(b) A list of all member producers that have entered into written 7
agreements to operate under an approved plan by the producer 8
responsibility organization, copies of the written agreements for 9
each member producer upon request of the department, and a list of 10
all brands of each producer's mattresses introduced;11
(c) A plan for recruiting additional member producers;12
(d) A list of current board members and the executive director if 13
different than the person responsible for implementing approved 14
plans; and 15
(e) Documentation demonstrating adequate financial responsibility 16
and financial controls to ensure proper management of funds and 17
payment of the annual registration fee to the department.18
(2)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, by May 1, 19
2028, and each May 1st thereafter, a producer responsibility 20
organization must submit the annual registration fee established in 21
section 12 of this act to fund all costs of the department to 22
implement, administer, and enforce this chapter. 23
(b) By September 1, 2027, a producer responsibility organization 24
must submit a one-time payment to the department in an amount 25
determined by the department to cover the costs of the department 26
under this chapter from the effective date of this section through 27
June 30, 2028. 28
(3) By July 1, 2029, or within six months of the adoption of 29
rules under section 12 of this act, whichever comes later, each 30
registered approved producer responsibility organization must submit 31
a plan that meets the requirements of this chapter to the department 32
for approval. A producer responsibility organization may submit a 33
plan at any time to the department for review and approval, but must 34
submit a plan no less than every five years. 35
(4) By January 1, 2031, or within one year of plan approval, 36
whichever is later, a producer responsibility organization must 37
implement the plan approved by the department. 38
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(5) By June 1, 2031, and each June 1st thereafter, a producer 1
responsibility organization must submit an annual report to the 2
department for the prior calendar year. 3
(6) A producer responsibility organization must:4
(a) Ensure that each producer operating under a plan administered 5
by the producer responsibility organization complies with the 6
requirements of the plan and this chapter; 7
(b) Consider and respond in writing to comments received from the 8
advisory council created in section 15 of this act, including 9
justifications for not incorporating advisory council 10
recommendations; 11
(c) Notify the department within 30 days of a change made to the 12
contact information for a person responsible for implementing the 13
plan, to board membership, or to the executive director;14
(d) Establish an initial producer fee structure to fund the 15
initial implementation of the program, to be used until the program 16
has an approved plan, and collect fees annually from registered 17
producers; 18
(e) Reimburse service providers in a timely manner and in 19
accordance with the terms of the contract between the service 20
provider and the producer responsibility organization;21
(f) Reimburse government entities for demonstrable costs, as 22
defined by rules adopted by the department, incurred as a result of a 23
government entity's facility or solid waste handling facility serving 24
as a collection site for a program including, but not limited to, 25
associated labor costs and other costs associated with accessibility 26
and collection site standards such as storage; 27
(g) Maintain a website and implement education and outreach 28
activities as required under section 11 of this act; and29
(h) Comply with all other applicable requirements of this 30
chapter. 31
(7) A producer responsibility organization may use the fees 32
collected in this state by the producer responsibility organization 33
to pay the costs to plan, implement, administer, and operate a 34
mattress stewardship program in this state, including a financial 35
reserve, as provided for in section 8 of this act, to prudently 36
prepare for unexpected costs. 37
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) Beginning July 1, 2029, and except as 38
provided in subsection (3) of this section, a producer, renovator, or 39
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retailer may not sell or offer for sale any mattress to any person in 1
this state unless the producer, renovator, or retailer is registered 2
with a producer responsibility organization with a plan approved by 3
the department under section 6 of this act. 4
(2) On and after the date that a mattress stewardship program is 5
implemented, a retailer: 6
(a) Shall purchase a mattress only from a producer or renovator 7
that is registered with a producer responsibility organization as of 8
the date of purchase as evidenced by information made available by a 9
producer responsibility organization pursuant to subsection (4) of 10
this section; and 11
(b) Shall provide to consumers, at the point of retail sale, 12
information on available collection opportunities for discarded 13
mattresses through the mattress stewardship program.14
(3) Following the implementation of the mattress stewardship 15
program, a retailer complies with the requirements of this section 16
if, on the date the mattress was ordered from the producer or its 17
agent, the producer of the mattress brand is listed on the 18
department's website as implementing or participating in an approved 19
mattress stewardship program. 20
(4) A producer responsibility organization shall make available 21
on the stewardship program's website and on request:22
(a) Information on the brands owned by all producers and 23
renovators registered with the producer responsibility organization;24
(b) Information on available collection opportunities; and25
(c) Any other information necessary for retailers to comply with 26
subsection (2) of this section. 27
NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. (1) A plan submitted by a producer 28
responsibility organization under this chapter must:29
(a) Describe the producer responsibility organization structure 30
and governance and each producer and mattress brand covered in the 31
plan; 32
(b) Propose performance goals, consistent with section 7 of this 33
act; 34
(c) Describe how the producer responsibility organization will 35
make retailers aware of their obligation to sell only mattresses of 36
producers participating in an approved plan; 37
(d) Describe the education and communication strategy being 38
implemented to effectively promote participation in the approved 39
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producer responsibility program and provide the information necessary 1
for the effective participation of consumers, businesses, government 2
entities, retailers, and others; 3
(e) Describe how the producer responsibility organization will 4
make available to retailers in-store signage, written materials, and 5
other promotional materials that retailers will use to inform 6
customers of the available reuse and end-of-life management options 7
for mattresses offered through the producer responsibility program;8
(f) List promotional activities to be undertaken, and the 9
identification of consumer awareness goals and strategies that the 10
program will employ to achieve these goals after the program is 11
implemented; 12
(g) Describe how the producer responsibility organization will 13
pay for activities undertaken by collection sites associated with 14
implementation of the program, and include an example template 15
service agreement and any other forms, contracts, or other documents 16
for use as payment for services; 17
(h) Describe how the program will collect all mattress types and 18
brands on a continuous, convenient, visible, and accessible basis, 19
and consistent with the requirements of section 9 of this act, 20
include a description of how the statewide convenience standard will 21
be met and a list of collection sites, the addresses of collection 22
sites, and how the program will discourage and address illegal 23
dumping; 24
(i) Describe the criteria to be used in the program to determine 25
whether an entity may serve as a collection site for mattresses under 26
the program; 27
(j) Identify proposed brokers, transporters, processors, and 28
facilities to be used by the program for the reuse, recycling, or 29
final disposition of mattresses and how collected mattresses will be 30
managed at facilities operating in compliance with all applicable 31
local, state, and federal laws and regulations. For any materials 32
from collected mattresses that are managed outside of the United 33
States, identify how the program will ensure that facilities operate 34
in accordance with human health, labor, and environmental protection 35
standards that are broadly equivalent to or better than those 36
required in the United States; 37
(k) Detail how the program will achieve its target recycling 38
rates, consistent with the requirements of section 7 of this act, 39
including by conducting research, as needed, related to improving 40
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used mattress collection, dismantling, and recycling operations, 1
including pilot programs to test new processes, methods, or equipment 2
on a local, regional, or otherwise limited basis; 3
(l) Describe how the public education and outreach components of 4
the program under section 10 of this act will be implemented and how 5
public awareness goals will be met; 6
(m) Propose actions to be taken to make the mattress collection 7
and reuse and recycling system more efficient, such as providing 8
incentives for collection, reducing illegal dumping through campaigns 9
and labeling, and additional collection opportunities; and10
(n) Provide a summary of consultations held with the advisory 11
council created in section 15 of this act and other interested 12
parties to provide input to the plan, a list of recommendations that 13
were incorporated into the plan as a result, and a list of rejected 14
recommendations and the reasons for rejection. 15
(2) The plan must describe the method to establish and administer 16
a means for fully funding the program in a manner that equitably 17
distributes the program's costs among the producers that are part of 18
the producer responsibility organization and includes plans and 19
funding for infrastructure and market development. For producers that 20
elect to meet the requirements of this chapter individually, the plan 21
must describe the proposed method to establish and administer a means 22
for fully funding the program. For a producer responsibility 23
organization implementing a plan on behalf of multiple producers, the 24
plan must describe the financing methods used to implement the plan, 25
consistent with section 8 of this act, including: 26
(a) An anticipated annual operating budget for the mattress 27
stewardship program for two years of operation of the program, 28
beginning with the year in which the plan is submitted to the 29
department; and 30
(b) The proposed method for collecting the producer 31
responsibility organization fees from retailers and a method for 32
ensuring the fees are remitted to the producer responsibility 33
organization. The producer responsibility organization fees must be 34
sufficient to recover, but not exceed, the costs of establishing and 35
administering the mattress stewardship program. 36
(3) The plan must provide the anticipated annual operating budget 37
for a mattress stewardship program. The operating budget shall 38
include, but need not be limited to, budget line items relating to:39
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(a) The collection, transportation, and processing of program 1
mattresses; 2
(b) How the stewardship program will comply with the reserve 3
funds requirements in section 8 of this act; and 4
(c) The annual fee to be paid to the department pursuant to 5
section 12 of this act. 6
(4) A producer responsibility organization must submit a new plan 7
to the department for approval under the following conditions:8
(a) If there are significant changes to the methods of 9
collection, transport, or end-of-life management of mattresses under 10
section 9 of this act that are not provided for in the plan. The 11
department may, by rule, identify the types of significant changes 12
that require a new plan to be submitted to the department for 13
approval. For purposes of this subsection, adding or removing a 14
processor or transporter under the plan is not considered a 15
significant change that requires a plan resubmittal; and16
(b) No less than every five years. 17
(5)(a) As part of a producer responsibility organization plan, a 18
producer responsibility organization must submit to the department a 19
contingency plan. The contingency plan must demonstrate how the 20
activities in the plan will continue to be carried out by some other 21
entity, such as an escrow company, if needed: 22
(i) Until such time as a new or updated plan is submitted and 23
approved by the department; 24
(ii) Upon the expiration of an approved plan; 25
(iii) If the producer responsibility organization notifies the 26
department that it will cease to implement an approved plan; or27
(iv) In any other event that the producer responsibility 28
organization can no longer carry out plan implementation.29
(b) The requirements of (a) of this subsection do not require a 30
producer responsibility organization to hold funds in a dedicated 31
account until such time as the contingency plan must be implemented.32
(c) The department must follow the same process and timelines for 33
reviewing and approving the contingency plan as it follows for the 34
plan. The department may require a producer responsibility 35
organization to revise the contingency plan coincident with any plan 36
submittal. 37
(6) If required by the department, a producer responsibility 38
organization must provide plan amendments to the department for 39
approval: 40
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(a) When proposing changes to the performance goals under section 1
7 of this act based on the up-to-date experience of the program;2
(b) When there is a change to the method of financing plan 3
implementation under section 8 of this act. This does not include 4
changes to the fees or fee structure established in the plan; or5
(c) When adding or removing a processor or transporter.6
(7) No earlier than five years after the initial approval of a 7
plan, the department may require a producer responsibility 8
organization to submit a revised plan, which may include improvements 9
to the collection site network or increased expenditures dedicated to 10
education and outreach if the approved plan has not met the 11
performance goals under section 7 of this act. 12
NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. (1) A plan submitted by a producer 13
responsibility organization must include performance goals that 14
measure, on an annual basis, the achievements of the program. 15
Performance goals must take into consideration technical feasibility 16
and economic practicality in achieving continuous, meaningful 17
progress in improving:18
(a) The rate of mattress collection for recycling in Washington;19
(b) The reuse and renovation rate of the program;20
(c) The recycling rate of the program; and 21
(d) Public awareness of the program. 22
(2) The performance goals established in each producer 23
responsibility plan must include, but are not limited to:24
(a) Target annual collection rates; 25
(b) Target recycling rates of at least 70 percent; and26
(c) Goals for public awareness of the program established in 27
section 10 of this act, including subgoals applicable to public 28
awareness of the program in vulnerable populations and overburdened 29
communities identified by the department under chapter 70A.02 RCW.30
NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. (1) Each producer responsibility 31
organization must ensure adequate funding is available to fully 32
implement approved producer responsibility plans. The fee collected 33
by the producer responsibility organization must generate revenue 34
sufficient to pay in full the costs of implementing an approved plan, 35
including:36
(a) The fee to the department required under section 3 of this 37
act; 38
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(b) The financial obligations to complete activities described in 1
an approved plan and meet the performance goals described in section 2
7 of this act including, but not limited to: 3
(i) Mattress collection, transporting, and processing, including 4
disposal of nonrecyclable mattresses collected for recycling;5
(ii) Education and outreach; and 6
(iii) Program evaluation; 7
(c) The operating costs of the producer responsibility 8
organization; and 9
(d) Establishment and maintenance of a financial reserve that is 10
sufficient to operate the program in a fiscally prudent and 11
responsible manner in accordance with the guidelines provided in 12
subsection (8) of this section. 13
(2) A registered producer responsibility organization may charge 14
each member producer a fee by a method it determines to be an 15
equitable determination of each producer's payment obligation, so 16
that the aggregate fees charged to member producers are sufficient to 17
pay the producer responsibility organization's costs in full until 18
the producer responsibility organization has an approved plan.19
(3) A producer responsibility organization with an approved plan 20
must develop, and continually improve over the years of program 21
implementation, a system to collect charges from participating 22
producers to cover the costs of plan implementation in an 23
environmentally sound and socially just manner that encourages the 24
use of design attributes that reduce the environmental impacts of 25
mattresses, such as through the use of eco-modulated fees. Examples 26
of fee structures that meet the requirements of this subsection 27
include using eco-modulated fees to: 28
(a) Encourage designs intended to facilitate reuse and recycling;29
(b) Encourage the use of recycled content; 30
(c) Discourage the use of problematic materials that increase 31
system costs of managing mattresses; 32
(d) Encourage other design attributes that reduce the 33
environmental impacts of mattresses; and 34
(e) Encourage the responsible management of mattresses in 35
accordance with this chapter and discourage the illegal dumping of 36
mattresses. 37
(4) Revenues collected under this section that exceed the amount 38
needed to pay the costs described in subsection (1) of this section 39
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must be used to improve or enhance program outcomes or to reduce 1
producer fees according to provisions of an approved plan.2
(5) A nonreimburseable point of sale fee may not be charged by 3
retail establishments to consumers to recoup the costs of meeting 4
producer obligations under this chapter. 5
(6)(a) Each producer responsibility organization is responsible 6
for all costs of participating in mattress collection, 7
transportation, processing, education, administration, agency 8
reimbursement, recycling, and end-of-life management in accordance 9
with the mattress management hierarchy and environmentally sound 10
management practices. 11
(b) Each producer responsibility organization must meet the 12
collection goals as specified in section 7 of this act.13
(c) A producer responsibility organization is not authorized to 14
reduce or cease collection, education and outreach, or other 15
activities implemented under an approved plan based on achievement of 16
program performance goals. 17
(7)(a) A producer responsibility organization must reimburse 18
government entities for demonstrable costs, as defined by rules 19
adopted by the department, incurred as a result of a government 20
entity's facility or solid waste handling facility serving as a 21
collection site for a program including, but not limited to, 22
associated labor costs and other costs associated with accessibility 23
and collection site standards such as storage. 24
(b) Except as to the costs of containers and other materials and 25
services requirements addressed by a government entity or local 26
government facility exercising the authority granted by section 9 (4) 27
of this act, a producer responsibility organization shall at a 28
minimum provide collection sites with appropriate containers for 29
mattresses subject to its program, signage, safety guidance, and 30
educational materials, at no cost to the collection sites.31
(c) A producer responsibility organization must include in its 32
producer responsibility plan an example template of the service 33
agreement and any other forms, contracts, or other documents for use 34
in payment for services. The entities seeking to provide services 35
from the producer responsibility organization are not required to use 36
the template agreement included in the program plan and are not 37
limited to the terms of the template agreement included in the 38
program plan. 39
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(8) A producer responsibility organization must maintain a 1
prudent financial reserve that may not be less than two months in 2
aggregate operating expenses and not more than six months in 3
aggregate operating expenses. If the financial reserve falls below or 4
exceeds the requirements under this subsection, the department may 5
take actions it deems appropriate to ensure the program goals in 6
section 7 of this act are met. 7
(9) Fees collected under this section may not be used for 8
lobbying or political advocacy activities that would require 9
reporting under chapter 42.17A RCW or under the federal election 10
campaign act, 2 U.S.C. chapter 14. 11
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. (1) Producer responsibility organizations 12
implementing a producer responsibility program must provide for the 13
collection of all mattresses, including all types and brands of 14
mattresses, on a continuous, convenient, visible, and accessible 15
basis to any person, business, government agency, or nonprofit 16
organization. Each producer responsibility program plan must:17
(a) Allow any person, business, government agency, or nonprofit 18
organization in the state to discard each type and brand of mattress 19
at each collection site in the state that counts towards the 20
satisfaction of the collection site criteria in subsection (3) of 21
this section; 22
(b) Incentivize the responsible management of mattresses in 23
accordance with this chapter and discourage the illegal dumping of 24
mattresses; and 25
(c) Provide a collection mechanism for capturing mattresses 26
illegally dumped. 27
(2) For each collection site utilized by the program, each 28
producer responsibility organization must provide suitable collection 29
containers for mattresses that are segregated from other solid waste 30
or make mutually agreeable alternative arrangements for the 31
collection of mattresses at the site. The location of collection 32
containers at each collection site used by the program must be 33
accompanied by signage made available to the collection site by the 34
producer responsibility organization that informs customers regarding 35
the end-of-life management options for mattresses provided by the 36
collection site under this chapter. Each collection site must adhere 37
to the operations manual and other safety information provided to the 38
collection site by the producer responsibility organization.39
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(3) Each producer responsibility organization implementing a 1
producer responsibility program plan shall ensure statewide 2
collection opportunities for all mattresses. Producer responsibility 3
organizations shall coordinate activities with other program 4
operators, including mattress collection and recycle programs, with 5
regard to the proper management or recycling of collected mattresses, 6
for purposes of providing the efficient delivery of services and 7
avoiding unnecessary duplication of effort and expense. Statewide 8
collection opportunities must be determined by geographic information 9
modeling that considers permanent collection sites.10
(4) Each program shall provide for convenient consumer access to 11
the program, including permanent mattress drop-off locations 12
throughout the state, collection events in underserved areas of the 13
state, and a convenient way for the public to access a list of 14
mattress collection opportunities. The program must provide:15
(a) Service to areas without a permanent collection site, 16
including service to island and geographically isolated communities 17
without a permanent collection site; and 18
(b) Bulk pickup service at no cost to collect a minimum of 100 19
properly source separated mattresses at a single time.20
(5) The producer responsibility organization may use curbside 21
collection services in lieu of permanent collection sites as required 22
under subsection (4) of this section provided that no fee is charged 23
for this service. 24
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. (1) Each producer responsibility 25
organization must carry out promotional activities in support of plan 26
implementation including, but not limited to, the development:27
(a) And maintenance of a website; 28
(b) And distribution of periodic press releases and articles;29
(c) And placement of advertisements for use on social media or 30
other relevant media platforms; 31
(d) Of promotional materials about the program and the 32
restriction on the disposal of mattresses to be used by retailers, 33
government agencies, and nonprofit organizations; 34
(e) And implementation of outreach and educational resources 35
targeted to overburdened communities and vulnerable populations 36
identified by the department under chapter 70A.02 RCW that are 37
conceptually, linguistically, and culturally accurate for the 38
communities served and reach the state's diverse ethnic populations, 39
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including through meaningful consultation with communities that bear 1
disproportionately higher levels of adverse environmental and social 2
justice impacts. 3
(2) Each producer responsibility organization must provide 4
consumer-focused educational promotional materials to each collection 5
site used by the program and retailers that sell mattresses, and make 6
them directly accessible to customers on the organization's own 7
website. 8
(3) Each producer responsibility organization must provide 9
outreach and educational resources to service providers for the 10
management of mattresses prior to the implementation of the program.11
(4) Upon request by a retailer, the producer responsibility 12
organization must provide the retailer with educational materials 13
describing collection opportunities for mattresses.14
(5) If multiple producer responsibility organizations are 15
implementing plans approved by the department, the producer 16
responsibility organizations must coordinate in carrying out their 17
education and outreach responsibilities under this section and must 18
include in their annual reports to the department under section 11 of 19
this act a summary of their coordinated education and outreach 20
efforts. 21
(6) During the fourth year of program implementation and every 22
five years thereafter, each producer responsibility organization must 23
carry out a survey of public awareness regarding the requirements of 24
the program established under this chapter. Each producer 25
responsibility organization must share the results of the public 26
awareness surveys with the department. 27
NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. (1) By June 1, 2031, and each June 1st 28
thereafter, each producer responsibility organization must submit an 29
annual report to the department covering the preceding calendar year 30
of producer responsibility plan implementation. The report must 31
include the following elements, based on information provided by each 32
participating producer:33
(a) An independent financial assessment of a program implemented 34
by the producer responsibility organization, including a breakdown of 35
the program's expenses, such as collection, reuse, recycling, 36
education, and overhead, when required by the department;37
(b) A summary financial statement documenting the financing of a 38
producer responsibility organization's program and an analysis of 39
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program costs and expenditures, including an analysis of the 1
program's expenses, such as collection, transportation, reuse, 2
recycling, education, and administrative overhead, and activities and 3
investments undertaken related to infrastructure and market 4
development. The summary financial statement must be sufficiently 5
detailed to provide transparency that funds collected from producers 6
as a result of their activities in this state are spent on program 7
implementation in this state. Producer responsibility organizations 8
implementing similar producer responsibility programs in multiple 9
states may submit a financial statement including all covered states, 10
as long as the statement breaks out financial information pertinent 11
to this state; 12
(c) The unit and weight, by type, the number of mattresses 13
collected under the program, and the collection rate achieved under 14
the program, including a description of how this collection rate was 15
calculated; 16
(d) The number of mattresses managed relative to the state's 17
mattress management hierarchy, including weight of materials recycled 18
from mattresses collected under the program, in total, and by method 19
of mattress recycling; 20
(e) A calculation of the recycling rates, as measured consistent 21
with subsection (2) of this section; 22
(f) Information on the number and tonnage of discarded mattresses 23
collected pursuant to the program for recycling during the previous 24
calendar year at a sufficient level of disaggregation to determine 25
how the program is performing in different regions of the state;26
(g) The weight of mattress materials recycled and the final 27
disposition of mattress materials, by weight and by material, sold as 28
commodities in secondary markets; 29
(h) The weight of program mattress materials sent for disposal at 30
each of the following: 31
(i) Waste-to-energy facilities; 32
(ii) Landfills; and 33
(iii) Any other facilities; 34
(i) An evaluation of why the mattress materials sent for disposal 35
were not recycled and a description of program efforts that will be 36
taken to increase the recycling rate of mattress materials under the 37
program; 38
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(j) The strategies the stewardship organization will take to 1
address discarded mattresses that are not program mattresses and 2
discarded mattresses that are illegally dumped; 3
(k) A description of the education and outreach efforts 4
supporting the program plan implementation including a:5
(i) Summary of education and outreach provided to consumers, 6
including to diverse populations and through culturally and 7
linguistically appropriate materials, collection sites, government 8
entities, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers by the producer 9
responsibility organization for the purpose of promoting the 10
collection and reuse or recycling of mattresses; 11
(ii) Description of how the education and outreach met the 12
requirements of section 10 of this act and samples of education and 13
outreach materials; 14
(iii) Summary of coordinated education and outreach efforts with 15
any other producer responsibility organization implementing a plan 16
approved by the department; and 17
(iv) Summary of any changes made during the previous calendar 18
year to education and outreach activities; 19
(l) A list of all collection sites, including an accompanying 20
address for each listed site, and an up-to-date map indicating the 21
location of all collection sites used to implement the program and 22
the consumer information associated with those sites;23
(m) A description of methods and services used to collect, 24
transport, and reuse and recycle mattresses by the producer 25
responsibility organization, including population coverage and 26
accessibility in accordance with section 9 of this act;27
(n) A summary on progress made towards the program performance 28
goals established under section 7 of this act, and an explanation of 29
why any performance goals were not met; and 30
(o) An evaluation of the effectiveness of education and outreach 31
activities and customer service efforts. 32
(2) The weight of mattresses or recovered resources from those 33
mattresses must only be counted once and may not be counted by more 34
than one producer responsibility organization. 35
(3) In addition to the requirements of subsection (1) of this 36
section, with respect to each facility used in the processing or 37
disposition of mattresses collected under the program, the producer 38
responsibility organization must report: 39
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(a) Whether the facility is located domestically, in an 1
organization for economic cooperation and development country, or in 2
a country that meets organization for economic cooperation and 3
development operating standards; and 4
(b) What facilities processed the mattresses, including a summary 5
of any violations of environmental or labor laws and regulations over 6
the previous three years at each facility. 7
(4) If a producer responsibility organization has disposed of 8
mattresses through energy recovery, incineration, or landfilling 9
during the preceding calendar year of program implementation, the 10
annual report must specify the steps that the producer responsibility 11
organization will take to make the reuse or recycling of mattresses 12
cost-effective, where possible, or to otherwise increase mattress 13
recycling rates achieved by the producer responsibility organization.14
(5) Each producer must submit all information and records 15
necessary for the producer responsibility organization to meet the 16
reporting requirements of this section. 17
(6) A producer or producer responsibility organization that 18
submits information or records to the department under this chapter 19
may request that the information or records be made available only 20
for the confidential use of the department, the director of the 21
department, or the appropriate division of the department. The 22
director of the department must consider the request and, if this 23
action is not detrimental to the public interest and is otherwise in 24
accordance with the policies and purposes of chapter 43.21A RCW, the 25
director must grant the request for the information to remain 26
confidential as authorized in RCW 43.21A.160. 27
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. (1) The department must adopt rules as 28
necessary for the purpose of implementing, administering, and 29
enforcing this chapter.30
(2) The department must: 31
(a) By March 31, 2027, determine the one-time payment to the 32
department to cover the costs of the department under this chapter 33
from the effective date of this section through June 30, 2028;34
(b) By March 31, 2028, and each March 31st thereafter:35
(i) Determine the total annual registration fee to be paid by 36
each producer responsibility organization that is adequate to cover, 37
but not exceed, the costs to implement, administer, and enforce this 38
chapter in the next fiscal year; and 39
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(ii) Adjust the fee to account for funds received during the 1
previous year by: 2
(A) Applying any remaining annual fee payment funds from the 3
current year to the annual fee for the coming fiscal year if the 4
collected annual fee exceeds the costs for a given year; and5
(B) Increasing annual fees for the coming fiscal year to cover 6
the costs if the collected annual fee was less than the amount 7
required to cover costs for a given year; 8
(c) By January 1, 2029, adopt rules to equitably determine annual 9
registration fees for producer responsibility organizations if the 10
department has approved the registration of more than one producer 11
responsibility organization; and 12
(d) Send notice to each producer responsibility organization of 13
fee amounts due. 14
(3) The responsibilities of the department in implementing, 15
administering, and enforcing this chapter include, but are not 16
limited to: 17
(a) By January 1, 2027, appointing the initial membership of the 18
advisory council, and providing administrative and operating support 19
to the advisory council, as required under section 15 of this act;20
(b) By March 1, 2027, accepting the registration of producer 21
responsibility organizations; 22
(c) Reviewing submitted producer responsibility plans and plan 23
amendments and making determinations as to whether to approve the 24
plan or plan amendment: 25
(i) The department must provide a letter of approval for the plan 26
or plan amendment if it provides for the establishment of a producer 27
responsibility program that meets the requirements of sections 3 28
through 9 of this act; 29
(ii) If a plan or plan amendment is rejected, the department must 30
provide the reasons for rejecting the plan to the producer 31
responsibility organization. The producer responsibility organization 32
must submit a new plan within 60 days after receipt of the letter of 33
disapproval; and 34
(iii) When a plan or an amendment to an approved plan is 35
submitted under this section, the department shall make the proposed 36
plan or amendment available for public review and comment for at 37
least 30 days; 38
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(d) Reviewing annual reports submitted under section 11 of this 1
act within 90 days of submission to ensure compliance with that 2
section; 3
(e)(i) Maintaining a website that lists producers and their 4
brands that are participating in an approved plan, and that makes 5
available to the public each plan, plan amendment, and annual report 6
received by the department under this chapter; 7
(ii) Upon the date the first plan is approved, the department 8
must post on its website a list of producers and their brands for 9
which the department has approved a plan. The department must update 10
the list of producers and brands participating under an approved 11
program plan based on information provided to the department from 12
producer responsibility organizations; and 13
(f) Providing technical assistance to producers and retailers 14
related to the requirements of this chapter and issuing orders or 15
imposing civil penalties authorized under section 13 of this act 16
where the technical assistance efforts do not lead to compliance by a 17
producer or retailer. 18
(4) Beginning January 1, 2034, and every five years thereafter, 19
after consultation with producer responsibility organizations, the 20
department may by rule increase the minimum recycling rates 21
established in section 7 of this act based on the most economically 22
and technically feasible processes and methodologies available.23
NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. (1)(a) The department may 24
administratively impose a civil penalty on a person who violates this 25
chapter in an amount of up to $1,000 per violation per day.26
(b) The department may administratively impose a civil penalty of 27
up to $10,000 per violation per day on a person for repeated 28
violations of this chapter or failure to comply with an order issued 29
under (c) of this subsection. 30
(c) Whenever on the basis of any information the department 31
determines that a person has violated or is in violation of this 32
chapter, the department may issue an order requiring compliance. A 33
person who fails to take corrective action as specified in a 34
compliance order is liable for a civil penalty as provided in (b) of 35
this subsection, without receiving a written warning prescribed in 36
(e) of this subsection. 37
p. 22 SB 6271
(d) A person who is issued an order or incurs a penalty under 1
this section may appeal the order or penalty to the pollution control 2
hearings board established in chapter 43.21B RCW. 3
(e) Prior to imposing penalties under this section, the 4
department must provide a producer, retailer, or producer 5
responsibility organization with a written warning for the first 6
violation by the producer, retailer, or producer responsibility 7
organization of the requirements of this chapter. The written warning 8
must inform a producer, retailer, or producer responsibility 9
organization that it must participate in an approved plan or 10
otherwise come into compliance with the requirements of this chapter 11
within 30 days of the notice. A producer, retailer, or producer 12
responsibility organization that violates a provision of this chapter 13
after the initial written warning may be assessed a penalty as 14
provided in this subsection. 15
(2) Penalties levied under subsection (1) of this section must be 16
deposited in the responsible mattress management account created in 17
section 14 of this act. 18
NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. The responsible mattress management 19
account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. All 20
receipts from fees paid under this chapter must be deposited in the 21
account. Only the director of the department or the director's 22
designee may authorize expenditures from the account. The account is 23
subject to allotment procedures under chapter 43.88 RCW, but an 24
appropriation is not required for expenditures. Moneys in the account 25
may be used solely by the department for administering, implementing, 26
and enforcing the requirements of this chapter. Funds in the account 27
may not be diverted for any purpose or activity other than those 28
specified in this section.29
NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. (1) The advisory council on responsible 30
management of mattresses is created.31
(2)(a) The advisory council on responsible management of 32
mattresses consists of not more than 12 members appointed by the 33
department to represent the interests of the following entities:34
(i) Government entities representing geographic areas across the 35
state representative of urban and rural communities, including at 36
least one representative of counties and at least one representative 37
of cities; 38
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(ii) The solid waste industry, including a representative of 1
tribal or indigenous solid waste services organizations;2
(iii) Service providers that serve as collectors, transporters, 3
or processors of mattresses; 4
(iv) The environmental community; 5
(v) A small business not otherwise eligible for representation 6
under this subsection; 7
(vi) Producers, producer trade associations, or producer 8
responsibility organizations; 9
(vii) Retail establishments; and 10
(viii) Consumer rights organizations. 11
(b) A member appointed to the advisory council under this 12
subsection may not be a representative or a member of the board of 13
directors of a producer responsibility organization registered with 14
the department under section 4 of this act. 15
(3) Advisory councilmembers must be appointed by the director of 16
the department by January 1, 2027. In appointing members, the 17
department shall: 18
(a) Appoint members that, to the greatest extent practicable, 19
represent diversity in race, ethnicity, age, gender, urban and rural 20
areas, and different regions of the state; 21
(b) Consider recommendations for appointments from relevant 22
represented groups or associations and from individuals interested in 23
participating on the advisory council. 24
(4)(a) The terms of initial appointments must be staggered to two 25
and three-year appointments, with subsequent terms of three years. 26
Members are eligible for reappointment. 27
(b) If there is a vacancy for any reason, the department shall 28
make an appointment to become effective immediately for the unexpired 29
term. 30
(5)(a) The advisory council shall elect one of its members to 31
serve as chairperson and another to serve as vice chairperson, for 32
the terms and with the duties and powers necessary for the 33
performance of the functions of such offices as the advisory council 34
determines. The chairperson and vice chairperson may not both be 35
members appointed under the same category as in subsection (2)(a)(i) 36
through (viii) of this section. 37
(b) The advisory council may adopt bylaws and a charter for the 38
operation of its business for the purposes of this chapter.39
p. 24 SB 6271
(6) The advisory council shall meet at least once every three 1
months for the first three years, at times and places specified by 2
the chairperson. The advisory council may also meet at other times 3
and places, including virtually, specified by the call of the 4
chairperson or of a majority of the councilmembers, as necessary, to 5
carry out the duties of the advisory council. 6
(7)(a) The department shall provide staff support and 7
facilitation as necessary for the advisory council to carry out its 8
duties. 9
(b) The department may select an impartial, third-party 10
facilitator to convene and provide administrative support to the 11
advisory council. 12
(8) The duties of the advisory council include the following:13
(a) Advise and make recommendations to any registered producer 14
responsibility organization during review of stakeholder consultation 15
on plans prior to submission as required under section 6 of this act;16
(b) Review and comment on all new and updated plans submitted by 17
a producer responsibility organization to the department, including 18
making recommendations to the department on plan approvals, as part 19
of the public comment period as established under section 12 of this 20
act; 21
(c) Advise and make recommendations to any registered producer 22
responsibility organization on annual reports prior to submission as 23
established in section 11 of this act; 24
(d) Review and comment on all annual reports submitted by 25
producer responsibility organizations to the department, including 26
making recommendations to the department regarding the need for any 27
plan amendments or other recommendations regarding program 28
activities; 29
(e) Provide input, review, and comment on rules proposed by the 30
department under this chapter. 31
(9) Advisory councilmembers that are representatives of tribes or 32
tribal and indigenous services organizations or community-based and 33
environmental nonprofit organizations must, if requested, be 34
compensated and reimbursed in accordance with RCW 43.03.050, 35
43.03.060, and 43.03.220. 36
(10) The department must include costs related to the advisory 37
council in the estimate of annual costs as established in section 12 38
of this act, including costs for: 39
(a) Department resources, including staff time;40
p. 25 SB 6271
(b) A third-party facilitator, including related costs; and1
(c) Expenses related to member participation. 2
(11) Nothing in this section limits the authority of the 3
department to approve plans or reports or carry out other duties as 4
assigned under this chapter. 5
NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. Producers, retailers, and producer 6
responsibility organizations acting on behalf of producers that 7
prepare, submit, and implement a producer responsibility program plan 8
pursuant to this chapter and who are thereby subject to regulation by 9
the department are granted immunity from federal and state laws 10
relating to antitrust, restraint of trade, unfair trade practices, 11
and other regulation of trade and commerce, for the limited purpose 12
of planning, reporting, and operating a producer responsibility 13
program, including the:14
(1) Creation, implementation, or management of a producer 15
responsibility organization and any producer responsibility plan 16
regardless of whether it is submitted, denied, or approved;17
(2) Determination of the cost and structure of a producer 18
responsibility plan; and 19
(3) Types or quantities of mattresses being recycled or otherwise 20
managed pursuant to this chapter. 21
NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. Nothing in this chapter changes or limits 22
the authority of the Washington utilities and transportation 23
commission to regulate collection of solid waste, including curbside 24
collection of residential recyclable materials, nor does this chapter 25
change or limit the authority of a city or town to provide the 26
service itself or by contract under RCW 81.77.020.27
NEW SECTION. Sec. 18. There shall be no charge at the point of 28
collection of discarded mattresses, except that the stewardship 29
organization may allow for a person that provides a premium service 30
under the program to charge for the additional cost of that premium 31
service.32
NEW SECTION. Sec. 19. A new section is added to chapter 82.04 33
RCW to read as follows: 34
(1) This chapter does not apply to the receipts of a producer 35
responsibility organization formed under chapter 70A.--- RCW (the new 36
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chapter created in section 22 of this act) from charges to 1
participating producers under a producer responsibility program as 2
provided in section 8 of this act. 3
(2) This section is not subject to the requirements of RCW 4
82.32.805 and 82.32.808 and is not subject to an expiration date.5
(3) The definitions in section 2 of this act apply throughout 6
this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.7
Sec. 20. RCW 43.21B.110 and 2025 c 327 s 1, 2025 c 319 s 6, 2025 8
c 316 s 301, 2025 c 314 s 13, 2025 c 311 s 7, and 2025 c 58 s 1008 9
are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:10
(1) The hearings board shall only have jurisdiction to hear and 11
decide appeals from the following decisions of the department, the 12
director, local conservation districts, the air pollution control 13
boards or authorities as established pursuant to chapter 70A.15 RCW, 14
local health departments, the department of natural resources, the 15
department of fish and wildlife, the parks and recreation commission, 16
and authorized public entities described in chapter 79.100 RCW:17
(a) Civil penalties imposed pursuant to chapter 70A.230 RCW and 18
RCW 18.104.155, 70A.15.3160, 70A.300.090, 70A.20.050, 70A.205.740, 19
70A.205.280, 70A.205.545, 70A.355.070, 70A.430.070, 70A.500.260, 20
70A.505.100, 70A.505.110, 70A.530.040, 70A.350.070, 70A.515.060, 21
70A.245.040, 70A.245.050, 70A.245.070, 70A.245.080, 70A.245.130, 22
70A.245.140, 70A.65.200, 70A.455.090, 70A.535.180, 70A.550.030, 23
70A.555.110, 70A.560.020, 70A.208.230, 70A.565.030, section 13 of 24
this act, 76.04.205, 76.09.170, 77.55.440, 78.44.250, 88.46.090, 25
90.03.600, 90.46.270, 90.48.144, 90.56.310, 90.56.330, and 90.64.102.26
(b) Orders issued pursuant to RCW 18.104.043, 18.104.060, 27
18.104.130, 43.27A.190, 70A.15.2520, 70A.15.3010, 70A.15.4530, 28
70A.15.6010, 70A.205.740, 70A.205.280, 70A.214.140, 70A.300.120, 29
70A.350.070, 70A.245.020, 70A.65.200, 70A.535.180, 70A.505.100, 30
70A.555.110, 70A.560.020, 70A.208.230, 70A.565.030, section 13 of 31
this act, 86.16.020, 88.46.070, 90.03.665, 90.14.130, 90.46.250, 32
90.48.120, 90.48.240, 90.56.330, and 90.64.040. 33
(c) Except as provided in RCW 90.03.210(2), the issuance, 34
modification, or termination of any permit, certificate, or license 35
by the department or any air authority in the exercise of its 36
jurisdiction, including the issuance or termination of a waste 37
disposal permit, the denial of an application for a waste disposal 38
permit, the modification of the conditions or the terms of a waste 39
p. 27 SB 6271
disposal permit, a decision to approve or deny a solid waste 1
management plan under RCW 70A.205.055, approval or denial of an 2
application for a beneficial use determination under RCW 70A.205.260, 3
an application for a change under RCW 90.03.383, or a permit to 4
distribute reclaimed water under RCW 90.46.220. 5
(d) Decisions of local health departments regarding the granting 6
or denial of solid waste permits pursuant to chapter 70A.205 RCW, 7
including appeals by the department as provided in RCW 70A.205.130.8
(e) Decisions of local health departments regarding the issuance 9
and enforcement of permits to use or dispose of biosolids under RCW 10
70A.226.090. 11
(f) Decisions of the department regarding waste-derived 12
fertilizer or micronutrient fertilizer under RCW 15.54.820.13
(g) Decisions of local conservation districts related to the 14
denial of approval or denial of certification of a dairy nutrient 15
management plan; conditions contained in a plan; application of any 16
dairy nutrient management practices, standards, methods, and 17
technologies to a particular dairy farm; and failure to adhere to the 18
plan review and approval timelines in RCW 90.64.026 as provided in 19
RCW 90.64.028. 20
(h) Any other decision by the department or an air authority 21
which pursuant to law must be decided as an adjudicative proceeding 22
under chapter 34.05 RCW. 23
(i) Decisions of the department of natural resources, the 24
department of fish and wildlife, and the department that are 25
reviewable under chapter 76.09 RCW, and the department of natural 26
resources' appeals of county, city, or town objections under RCW 27
76.09.050(7). 28
(j) Forest health hazard orders issued by the commissioner of 29
public lands under RCW 76.06.180. 30
(k) Decisions of the department of fish and wildlife to issue, 31
deny, condition, or modify a hydraulic project approval permit under 32
chapter 77.55 RCW, to issue a stop work order, to issue a notice to 33
comply, to issue a civil penalty, or to issue a notice of intent to 34
disapprove applications. 35
(l) Decisions of the department of natural resources that are 36
reviewable under RCW 78.44.270. 37
(m) Decisions of an authorized public entity under RCW 79.100.010 38
to take temporary possession or custody of a vessel or to contest the 39
p. 28 SB 6271
amount of reimbursement owed that are reviewable by the hearings 1
board under RCW 79.100.120. 2
(n) Decisions of the department of ecology that are appealable 3
under RCW 70A.245.020 to set recycled minimum postconsumer content 4
for products or to temporarily exclude types of products in plastic 5
containers from minimum postconsumer recycled content requirements.6
(o) Orders by the department of ecology under RCW 70A.455.080.7
(p) Decisions by the department of ecology under RCW 8
70A.208.150(5) regarding a proposal by a producer responsibility 9
organization to count materials sent to an alternative recycling 10
facility towards recycling performance targets. 11
(q) Decisions of the department of natural resources under RCW 12
76.04.205. 13
(2) The following hearings shall not be conducted by the hearings 14
board: 15
(a) Hearings required by law to be conducted by the shorelines 16
hearings board pursuant to chapter 90.58 RCW, except where appeals to 17
the pollution control hearings board and appeals to the shorelines 18
hearings board have been consolidated pursuant to RCW 43.21B.340.19
(b) Hearings conducted by the department pursuant to RCW 20
70A.15.3010, 70A.15.3070, 70A.15.3080, 70A.15.3090, 70A.15.3100, 21
70A.15.3110, and 90.44.180. 22
(c) Appeals of decisions by the department under RCW 90.03.110 23
and 90.44.220. 24
(d) Hearings conducted by the department to adopt, modify, or 25
repeal rules. 26
(3) Review of rules and regulations adopted by the hearings board 27
shall be subject to review in accordance with the provisions of the 28
administrative procedure act, chapter 34.05 RCW. 29
Sec. 21. RCW 43.21B.300 and 2025 c 316 s 302 and 2025 c 58 s 30
3008 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:31
(1) Any civil penalty provided in RCW 18.104.155, 70A.15.3160, 32
70A.205.280, 70A.230.080, 70A.300.090, 70A.20.050, 70A.245.040, 33
70A.245.050, 70A.245.070, 70A.245.080, 70A.245.130, 70A.245.140, 34
70A.65.200, 70A.430.070, 70A.455.090, 70A.500.260, 70A.505.110, 35
70A.555.110, 70A.560.020, 70A.208.230, 70A.565.030, 86.16.081, 36
88.46.090, 90.03.600, 90.46.270, 90.48.144, 90.56.310, 90.56.330, and 37
90.64.102 and chapter 70A.355 RCW shall be imposed by a notice in 38
writing, either by certified mail with return receipt requested or by 39
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personal service, to the person incurring the penalty from the 1
department or the local air authority, describing the violation with 2
reasonable particularity. For penalties issued by local air 3
authorities, within 30 days after the notice is received, the person 4
incurring the penalty may apply in writing to the authority for the 5
remission or mitigation of the penalty. Upon receipt of the 6
application, the authority may remit or mitigate the penalty upon 7
whatever terms the authority in its discretion deems proper. The 8
authority may ascertain the facts regarding all such applications in 9
such reasonable manner and under such rules as it may deem proper and 10
shall remit or mitigate the penalty only upon a demonstration of 11
extraordinary circumstances such as the presence of information or 12
factors not considered in setting the original penalty.13
(2) Any penalty imposed under this section may be appealed to the 14
pollution control hearings board in accordance with this chapter if 15
the appeal is filed with the hearings board and served on the 16
department or authority 30 days after the date of receipt by the 17
person penalized of the notice imposing the penalty or 30 days after 18
the date of receipt of the notice of disposition by a local air 19
authority of the application for relief from penalty.20
(3) A penalty shall become due and payable on the later of:21
(a) 30 days after receipt of the notice imposing the penalty;22
(b) 30 days after receipt of the notice of disposition by a local 23
air authority on application for relief from penalty, if such an 24
application is made; or 25
(c) 30 days after receipt of the notice of decision of the 26
hearings board if the penalty is appealed. 27
(4) If the amount of any penalty is not paid to the department 28
within 30 days after it becomes due and payable, the attorney 29
general, upon request of the department, shall bring an action in the 30
name of the state of Washington in the superior court of Thurston 31
county, or of any county in which the violator does business, to 32
recover the penalty. If the amount of the penalty is not paid to the 33
authority within 30 days after it becomes due and payable, the 34
authority may bring an action to recover the penalty in the superior 35
court of the county of the authority's main office or of any county 36
in which the violator does business. In these actions, the procedures 37
and rules of evidence shall be the same as in an ordinary civil 38
action. 39
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(5) All penalties recovered shall be paid into the state treasury 1
and credited to the general fund except the following:2
(a) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 18.104.155 must be credited 3
to the reclamation account as provided in RCW 18.104.155(7);4
(b) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.15.3160 must be 5
disposed of pursuant to RCW 70A.15.3160; 6
(c) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.230.080, 70A.300.090, 7
70A.430.070, 70A.555.110, 70A.560.020, and 70A.565.030 must be 8
credited to the model toxics control operating account created in RCW 9
70A.305.180; 10
(d) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.245.040, 70A.245.050, 11
and chapter 70A.208 RCW must be credited to the recycling enhancement 12
account created in RCW 70A.245.100; 13
(e) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.500.260 must be 14
deposited into the electronic products recycling account created in 15
RCW 70A.500.130; 16
(f) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.65.200 must be credited 17
to the climate investment account created in RCW 70A.65.250;18
(g) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 90.56.330 must be credited 19
to the coastal protection fund established in RCW 90.48.390; ((and))20
(h) Penalties imposed pursuant to RCW 70A.355.070 must be 21
credited to the underground storage tank account created in RCW 22
70A.355.090; and23
(i) Penalties imposed pursuant to chapter 70A.--- RCW (the new 24
chapter created in section 22 of this act) must be credited to the 25
responsible mattress management account created in section 14 of this 26
act. 27
NEW SECTION. Sec. 22. Sections 1 through 18 of this act 28
constitute a new chapter in Title 70A RCW.29
NEW SECTION. Sec. 23. If any provision of this act or its 30
application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the 31
remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other 32
persons or circumstances is not affected.33
--- END ---
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