1009-S2.E

AN ACT Relating to the commission on pesticide registration; amending RCW 15.92.010 and 15.92.060; and adding new sections to chapter 15.92 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 15.92 RCW to read as follows:

(1) A commission on pesticide registration is established. The commission shall be composed of twelve voting members appointed by the dean of the college of agriculture at Washington State University and approved by the governor from the following segments of the state's agricultural industry: (a) The tree fruit industry, (b) hop growers, (c) potato growers, (d) the forest protection industry, (e) the agricultural chemical industry, (f) food processors, (g) wheat growers, (h) vegetable and seed growers, (i) berry growers, (j) wine grape growers, (k) the nursery and landscape industry, and (l) professional pesticide applicators. One member shall be appointed for each such segment of the industry and shall, except as provided by this subsection, be nominated by a state-wide, private association of that segment of the industry. The representative of the agricultural chemical industry shall be involved in the manufacture of agricultural chemicals. The nomination for a representative of vegetable and seed growers shall be made jointly by the Washington portion of an association of vegetable growers that may be multistate in nature and associations of seed growers in this state. The nomination for a representative of berry growers shall be made jointly by associations of the berry industry. Although members are appointed from various segments of the agricultural industry, they are appointed to represent and advance the interests of the industry as a whole.

The following shall be ex officio, nonvoting members of the commission: The coordinator of the interregional project number four at Washington State University; the director of the department of ecology or the director's designee; the director of the department of agriculture or the director's designee; the director of the department of labor and industries or the director's designee; and the secretary of the department of health or the secretary's designee.

(2) Each voting member of the commission shall serve a term of three years. However, the first appointments in the first year shall be made by the dean for one, two, and three-year terms so that, in subsequent years, approximately one-third of the voting members shall be appointed each year. The dean shall assign the initial one, two, and three-year terms to members by lot. A vacancy shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired term in the same manner provided for an appointment to the full term. The dean may remove any member of the commission for malfeasance or misfeasance in office or for having at least five unexcused absences during the person's term of office, which constitute twenty percent or more of the meetings that have been conducted by the commission during the term. A person's absence from a meeting may be excused: By the chair of the commission if a written request to do so is received by the chair before the meeting from which the member is to be absent; or by a majority vote of the members of the commission at the meeting during which the member is absent. Each member of the commission shall receive travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060 for attending meetings of the commission and for performing special duties, in the way of official commission business, specifically assigned to the person by the commission. The voting members of the commission serve without compensation from the state other than such travel expenses.

(3) The commission shall elect a chair from among its voting members each calendar year. After its original organizational meeting, the commission shall meet at the call of the chair. A majority of the voting members of the commission constitutes a quorum and an official action of the commission may be taken by a majority vote of the voting members present at a meeting.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 15.92 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The following apply to the use of state general fund moneys appropriated to Washington State University specifically and expressly for studies or activities regarding the registration of pesticides:

(a) The moneys may not be expended without the express approval of the commission on pesticide registration;

(b) The moneys may be used for: (i) Evaluations, studies, or investigations approved by the commission on pesticide registration regarding the registration or reregistration of pesticides for minor crops or minor uses or regarding the availability of pesticides for emergency uses. These evaluations, studies, or investigations may be conducted by the food and environmental quality laboratory or may be secured by the commission from other qualified laboratories, researchers, or contractors by contract, which contracts may include, but are not limited to, those purchasing the use of proprietary information; (ii) the tracking system described in RCW 15.92.060; and (iii) the support of the commission on pesticide registration and its activities; and

(c) Not less than twenty-five percent of such moneys shall be dedicated to studies or investigations concerning the registration or use of pesticides for crops that are not among the top twenty agricultural commodities in production value produced in the state, as determined annually by the Washington agricultural statistics service.

(2) The commission on pesticide registration shall establish priorities to guide it in approving the use of moneys for evaluations, studies, and investigations under this section. Each biennium, the commission shall prepare a contingency plan for providing funding for laboratory studies or investigations that are necessary to pesticide registrations or related processes that will address emergency conditions for agricultural crops that are not generally predicted at the beginning of the biennium.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 15.92 RCW to read as follows:

The commission on pesticide registration shall:

(1) Provide guidance to the food and environmental quality laboratory established in RCW 15.92.050 regarding the laboratory's studies, investigations, and evaluations concerning the registration of pesticides for use in this state for minor crops and minor uses and concerning the availability of pesticides for emergency uses;

(2) Encourage agricultural organizations to assist in providing funding, in-kind services, or materials for laboratory studies and investigations concerning the registration of pesticides for minor crops and minor uses that would benefit the organizations;

(3) Provide guidance to the laboratory regarding a program for: Tracking the availability of effective pesticides for minor crops, minor uses, and emergency uses; providing this information to organizations of agricultural producers; and maintaining close contact between the laboratory, the department of agriculture, and organizations of agricultural producers regarding the need for research to support the registration of pesticides for minor crops and minor uses and the availability of pesticides for emergency uses; and

(4) Ensure that the activities of the commission and the laboratory are coordinated with the activities of other laboratories in the Pacific Northwest, the United States department of agriculture, and the United States environmental protection agency to maximize the effectiveness of regional efforts to assist in the registration of pesticides for minor crops and minor uses and in providing for the availability of pesticides for emergency uses for the region and the state.

Sec. 4. RCW 15.92.010 and 1991 c 341 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Center" means the center for sustaining agriculture and natural resources established at Washington State University.

(2) "Laboratory" means the food and environmental quality laboratory established at Washington State University at Tri-Cities.

(3) "Integrated pest management" is a strategy that uses various combinations of pest control methods, biological, cultural, and chemical, in a compatible manner to achieve satisfactory control and ensure favorable economic and environmental consequences.

(4) "IR‑4 program" means interregional research project number four, clearances of chemicals and biologics for minor or special uses, established in 1963 by the cooperative state research service of the United States department of agriculture, the coordinated national program involving land-grant universities and the United States department of agriculture to provide data required for the registration of pesticides needed for the production of minor crops.

(5) "Minor crop" means an agricultural crop considered to be minor in the national context of registering pesticides.

(6) "Minor use" means a pesticide use considered to be minor in the national context of registering pesticides including, but not limited to, a use for a special local need.

(7) "Natural resources" means soil, water, air, forests, wetlands, wildlands, and wildlife.

((~~(6)~~)) (8) "Pesticide" means chemical or biologic used to control pests such as insect, rodent, nematode, snail, slug, weed, virus, or any organism the director of agriculture may declare to be a pest.

((~~(7)~~)) (9) "Registration" means use of a pesticide approved by the state department of agriculture.

((~~(8)~~)) (10) "Sustainable agriculture" means a systems approach to farming, ranching, and natural resource production that builds on and supports the physical, biological, and ecological resource base upon which agriculture depends. The goals of sustainable agriculture are to provide human food and fiber needs in an economically viable manner for the agriculture industry and in a manner which protects the environment and contributes to the overall safety and quality of life.

Sec. 5. RCW 15.92.060 and 1991 c 341 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:

The responsibilities of the laboratory shall include:

(1) Evaluating regional requirements for minor crop registration through the federal IR‑4 program;

(2) Providing a program for tracking the availability of effective pesticides for minor crops, minor uses, and emergency uses in this state;

(3) Conducting studies on the fate of pesticides on crops and in the environment, including soil, air, and water;

((~~(3)~~)) (4) Improving pesticide information and education programs; ((~~and~~

~~(4)~~)) (5) Assisting federal and state agencies with questions regarding registration of pesticides which are deemed critical to crop production, consistent with priorities established in RCW 15.92.070; and

((~~(5)~~)) (6) Assisting in the registration of biopesticides, pheromones, and other alternative chemical and biological methods.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 15.92 RCW to read as follows:

By December 15, 2002, the commission shall file with the legislature a report on the activities supported by the commission for the period beginning on the effective date of this act and ending on December 1, 2002. The report shall include an identification of: The priorities that have been set by the commission; the state appropriations made to Washington State University that have been within the jurisdiction of the commission; the evaluations, studies, and investigations funded in whole or in part by such moneys and the registrations and uses of pesticides made possible in large part by those evaluations, studies, and investigations; the matching moneys, in-kind services, and materials provided by agricultural organizations for those evaluations, studies, and investigations; and the program or programs for tracking pesticide availability provided by the laboratory under the guidance of the commission and the means used for providing this information to organizations of agricultural producers.

During the regular session of the legislature in the year 2003, the appropriate committees of the house of representatives and senate shall evaluate the effectiveness of the commission in fulfilling its statutory responsibilities. The commission shall cease operations as of June 30, 2003, unless legislation reauthorizing the commission is enacted by that date.