PREPROPOSAL STATEMENT OF INQUIRY
Subject of Possible Rule Making: The department is considering amending WAC 16-237-195 Fees for warehouse audit and related services, to increase the year-end inventory fee from ten percent of the warehouse license fee to twenty percent of the warehouse license fee with a minimum of four hundred dollars.
Statutes Authorizing the Agency to Adopt Rules on this Subject: 3ESBH [3ESHB] 2127, chapter 7, Laws of 2012 2nd sp. sess. PV; chapter 22.09 RCW, Warehousing and deposits; chapter 34.05 RCW, Administrative Procedure Act.
Reasons Why Rules on this Subject may be Needed and What They Might Accomplish: The amendments to WAC 16-237-195 Fees for warehouse audit and related services, are needed to enable the grain warehouse audit program to recover the cost of performing the year-end inventory at the request of the licensed warehouse operators and dealers.
Licensed warehouses frequently request special inventories at the end of their fiscal year so they can determine the quality and quantities of their year-end inventories that licensed public accountants will use when preparing the warehouse company's year-end financial statements.
Process for Developing New Rule: Warehouse audit program staff will develop the proposed rule amendments in consultation with the program's advisory committee and other industry representatives.
Interested parties can participate in the decision to adopt the new rule and formulation of the proposed rule before publication by contacting Don Potts, Program Manager, Grain Warehouse Audit Program, (509) 533-2488, dpotts@agr.wa.gov.
May 23, 2012
Brad J. Avy
Assistant Director