H-1526.1          _______________________________________________

 

                                  HOUSE BILL 1977

                  _______________________________________________

 

State of Washington              52nd Legislature             1991 Regular Session

 

By Representatives Belcher, Prentice, Inslee, Rayburn and Rasmussen.

 

Read first time February 18, 1991.  Referred to Committee on Agriculture & Rural Development.Increasing in-state marketing opportunities for small agricultural producers.

     AN ACT Relating to agricultural marketing; and amending RCW 43.63A.560.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

 

     Sec. 1.  RCW 43.63A.560 and 1990 1st ex.s. c 17 s 67 are each amended to read as follows:

     (1) The department shall administer a grant program which makes grants to local nonprofit organizations for rural economic development or for sharing economic growth outside the Puget Sound region.  The grants shall be used to:  (a) Develop urban-rural links; (b) build local capacity for economic growth; or (c) improve the export of products or services from rural areas to locations outside the United States.

     (2) In developing urban-rural links, the department shall seek to increase in-state direct marketing opportunities for producers of agricultural products.  Grants may be used to help small acreage producers pool their products, such as through marketing cooperatives and farmers markets, and to sell directly to major in-state commercial buyers and consumers.

     (3) The department shall consult with, and if necessary form an advisory committee including, a diverse group of private sector representatives including, but not limited to, major corporations, commercial financial institutions, venture capitalists, small businesses, natural resource businesses, and developers to determine what opportunities for new investment and business growth might be available for areas outside high-growth counties.  The department shall also consult with the department of trade and economic development and, if appropriate, the department of agriculture and Washington State University's cooperative extension.   The department shall seek to maximize and link new investment opportunities to grant projects under this section.

     (((3))) (4) The department may enact rules to carry out this section.