HOUSE BILL REPORT

                      HB 1688

                     As Reported By House Committee on:

                      Agriculture & Rural Development

Title:  An act relating to the registration of plant protection products for minor uses.

Brief Description:  Maintaining the registration of plant protection products for minor uses.

Sponsor(s):  Representatives Rayburn, McLean and Orr.

Brief History:

   Reported by House Committee on:

Agriculture & Rural Development, February 26, 1991, DPA.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON

AGRICULTURE & RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Majority Report: Do pass as amended.  Signed by 9 members:  Representatives Rayburn, Chair; P. Johnson, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Chandler; Grant; R. Johnson; Lisk; McLean; Rasmussen; and Roland.

Staff:  Kenneth Hirst (786-7105).

Background:  The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act requires pesticides to be registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  Recent amendments to the federal act require pesticides which were registered before November 1, 1984, to be reregistered under current registration standards and criteria.

With certain exceptions, the state's Pesticide Control Act requires every pesticide distributed within the State to be registered annually with the director of agriculture.

Summary of Amended Bill:  The Department of Agriculture must develop a program to provide assistance and information on the registration and reregistration of pesticides under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to interested grower organizations.  The information must include that concerning the federal registration and reregistration processes and testing programs and procedures.  The department must also:  monitor the availability of effective pest control products for various minor crops and minor uses; and provide technical and financial assistance to minor use research efforts at Washington State University (WSU).

The Minor Uses Advisory Committee is created.  It is made up of six members appointed by the director of agriculture, the coordinator of Interregional Project Number 4 (IRP 4) at WSU, the dean of WSU's College of Agriculture and Home Economics, and the director.  The latter two are nonvoting members of the advisory committee.  In addition to providing advice to the department, the committee must cooperate with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's IRP 4 and with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in obtaining federal registrations of plant protection products for minor uses.  It must also provide contact between the department and agricultural producers regarding research needed to support the registration of such products.  Committee members are to receive travel expenses in accordance with state law but not other compensation for their services.

The sum of $122,000 is appropriated to the department from the general fund for the current biennium for administering this act.

This act ceases to exist on April 1, 1995.

Amended Bill Compared to Original Bill:  The amendment reduces the appropriation to $122,000 from $160,000.

Fiscal Note:  Available.

Appropriation:  Yes.

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

Testimony For:  Many of the pesticides for minor uses or minor crops are very selective in nature.  Loss of the use of these pesticides would require the more frequent or more extensive use of a more generally effective pesticide.

Testimony Against:  None.

Witnesses:  Mark Triplett, Washington Agribusiness Coalition; and Bruce Ellingson, Washington Association of Apple Growers.