HOUSE BILL REPORT

                  SB 6155

             As Reported By House Committee on:

               Agriculture & Rural Development

Title:  An act relating to state milk marketing orders.

Brief Description:  Clarifying milk marketing order regulations.

Sponsor(s):  Senators Bailey, Gaspard, Anderson, Conner, Newhouse and Barr.

Brief History:

  Reported by House Committee on:

Agriculture & Rural Development, February 27, 1992, DP.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON

AGRICULTURE & RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Majority Report: Do pass.  Signed by 11 members:  Representatives Rayburn, Chair; Kremen, Vice Chair; Nealey, Ranking Minority Member; P. Johnson, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Chandler; Grant; R. Johnson; Lisk; McLean; Rasmussen; and Roland.

Staff:  Kenneth Hirst (786-7105).

Background:  The Washington State Milk Pooling Act of 1971 granted the director of the Department of Agriculture the authority to establish milk pooling and marketing plans.  Such plans had to be approved by milk producers by referendum.  In 1991, the act was amended to permit the director to set non-retail prices, or formulae for prices, for milk under such a pooling plan.  The 1991 amendments also require a pooling plan to be approved by both milk producers and milk dealers.

Summary of Bill:  The only milk which may be subject to a pooling plan under the state's milk pooling act is cows' milk which satisfies, as much as practicable, federal food and drug administration standards for milk and milk products.  The milk dealers who may vote in a referendum to approve such a plan are those who receive unprocessed milk from dairy farms and process the milk into milk or milk products.

Fiscal Note:  Not requested.

Effective Date:  Ninety days after adjournment of session in which bill is passed.

Testimony For:  The bill is needed to clarify who gets to vote on a referendum to create a milk pooling agreement.

Testimony Against:  None.

Witnesses:  Dan Coyne, Washington State Dairy Federation (in favor); and Mike Schwisow, Department of Agriculture (in favor).