Brief Description: Providing an alternative method for weight tickets for transporting hay or straw.

Sponsors: By Representatives Hinkle, Warnick, Blake, Chandler, Hailey, Schmick, Kretz, Williams, Eickmeyer, Condotta, McCune, VanDeWege and Newhouse.

House Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources
Senate Committee on Agriculture & Rural Economic Development

Background:

State law requires that every dealer and commission merchant dealing in hay or straw must obtain a certified vehicle tare weight and a certified vehicle gross weight for each load hauled and must furnish the consignor with a copy of the certified weight ticket within 72 hours after taking delivery. It is a statutory violation for any licensee to transport hay or straw purchased by weight without the licensee having obtained a certified weight ticket from the first licensed public weighmaster encountered on the ordinary route to the destination for unloading the hay or straw.

A dealer is any person who is not a cash buyer and who solicits for the purposes of reselling. A commission merchant is any person who receives agricultural purchases on consignment for resale. A consignor is any producer who sells, ships, or delivers agricultural product to any dealer or commission agent. A licensee is any person or business licensed under state law as, among other things, a dealer or commission agent.

Tare weight is the weight of a vehicle or container when it is empty. Generally, to calculate the net weight of a load, the container is weighed to establish the tare weight and then weighed again for the gross weight, and the tare is subtracted from the gross to determine how heavy the load is.

Summary:

If the dealer or commission merchant and a consignor agree in advance and in writing, a certified vehicle tare weight and certified vehicle gross weight may be obtained from a hay or straw processing facility, using a scale approved by the Director of the Washington State Department of Agriculture.

Votes on Final Passage:

House   97   0
Senate   47   0

Effective: June 12, 2008