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ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2723
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State of Washington 54th Legislature 1996 Regular Session
By House Committee on Agriculture & Ecology (originally sponsored by Representatives Chandler and Chappell)
Read first time 02/02/96.
AN ACT Relating to agriculture; and adding a new section to chapter 49.17 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 49.17 RCW to read as follows:
(1) The legislature finds that the production, processing, and distribution of agricultural products involves a variety of activities, some of which are very closely related to the production and harvesting of the products by farmers and some of which are more closely related to the handling of finished commercial goods. The legislature further finds that the department needs guidance in determining when activities related to agricultural products are to be regulated under this chapter as agricultural operations under safety standards for agriculture referred to in RCW 49.17.041 and when they should be regulated as other activities under other safety standards. For this purpose, an agricultural operation is to be interpreted broadly, based on the definition of "agriculture" provided by subsection (2) of this section.
(2) For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, "agriculture" means farming in all its branches and, among other things, includes but is not limited to the cultivation and tillage of the soil and dairying; the production, cultivation, growing, and harvesting of any agricultural or horticultural commodity, including but not limited to a commodity that is a private sector cultured aquatic product as defined in RCW 15.85.020; the raising of livestock, bees, fur-bearing animals, or poultry; and practices performed by a farmer or on a farm as an incident to or in conjunction with such farming operations, including but not limited to preparation for market, and delivery to storage or to market or to carriers for transportation to market. For the purposes of subsection (1) of this section, "agriculture" does not mean forestry or lumbering operations, whether such operations are or are not incidental to or conducted in conjunction with farming operations.
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