H-4118.1 _______________________________________________
HOUSE BILL 2723
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State of Washington 54th Legislature 1996 Regular Session
By Representatives Chandler and Chappell
Read first time 01/17/96. Referred to Committee on Agriculture & Ecology.
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 as agricultural activities and when they should be regulated as other activities. For this purpose, an agricultural activity 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; the raising of livestock, bees, fur-bearing animals, or poultry; and any practices, including but not limited to forestry or lumbering operations, 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.
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