HOUSE BILL REPORT

HB 1880

BYRepresentatives Rayburn, P. King, Nealey and Doty

Requiring certain record keeping and safety procedures for pesticide use.

House Committe on Agriculture & Rural Development

Majority Report:  The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass.  (11)

      Signed by Representatives Rayburn, Chair; Kremen, Vice Chair; Nealey, Ranking Republican Member; Baugher, Chandler, Grant, Jesernig, McLean, H. Myers, Rasmussen and Youngsman.

House Staff:Kenneth Hirst (786-7105)

AS REPORTED BY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE & RURAL DEVELOPMENT

FEBRUARY 28, 1989

BACKGROUND:

With certain exceptions, the Pesticide Application Act requires each person who commercially applies pesticides on the lands of others to be licensed as a pesticide applicator.  A person employed by an applicator who applies pesticides must be licensed as a pesticide operator.  The act also requires licenses for private-commercial applicators and for demonstration and research use, regulates the use of pesticides by public entities and operators, and requires persons who apply or supervise the application of restricted use pesticides on their own agricultural lands to be certified regarding that use.

The act requires pesticide applicators to maintain certain records.

SUMMARY:

SUBSTITUTE BILL:  The records that must be maintained by a pesticide applicator are altered.  All persons who apply pesticides to more than one acre of agricultural land must also keep these records regarding the use of pesticides.  Included among the information to be contained in these records are:  the name appearing on the registered label of the pesticide, its federal registration number, the crop or site it was applied to, and the amount applied.

These records must be readily available to medical personnel initiating diagnostic testing or therapy for a patient with a suspected case of pesticide poisoning.  They must also be available to the Department of Agriculture.  The period of time during which an applicator must respond to requests for the records is specified.

SUBSTITUTE BILL COMPARED TO ORIGINAL:  The original bill contains provisions requiring the department to establish certain intervals during which an area may not be entered after a pesticide application and requiring employers to provide certain protective clothing and equipment to employees; the substitute bill does not contain such provisions. The records which have to be maintained and access to those records are altered by the substitute bill.

Fiscal Note:      Requested on substitute March 1, 1989.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    DeWayne Harper, Washington Pesticide Consultants' Association; Louis Meissner, Pesticide Advisory Board; Steve McGonigal, Washington State Nursery & Landscape Association; Bruce Briggs, Briggs Nursery; Mike Schwisow, Department of Agriculture; Errett Deck, Washington Agri-Business Coalition; Frank DeLong, Washington State Horticulture Association; Bill Schwerin, Washington Association of Wheat Growers; and Bill Roberts, Washington State Farm Bureau.

House Committee - Testified Against:      None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:    (1) The bill keeps the authority regarding pesticide records in the proper state agency, the Department of Agriculture.  (2) By ensuring that the department is involved in pesticide records administration, the state links regulations for growers with those for commodity export requirements in the same agency.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      None Presented.