BILL REQ. #:  H-1635.2 

Read first time 02/10/09.   Referred to Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources.

     AN ACT Relating to voluntary participation in a state or national animal identification system; and adding a new section to chapter 16.57 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 16.57 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Voluntary participation in any state or national animal identification system must be obtained with informed written consent.
     (2) No officer, agency, or instrumentality of the state, in conjunction with the implementation of any state or national animal identification system, may:
     (a) Mandate, coerce, use exclusionary tactics, support, or otherwise force participation in a state or national animal identification system;
     (b) Register real property, assign real property identification numbers, or otherwise enroll any person in a state or national animal identification system without the person's prior knowledge and written consent;
     (c) Withhold, from any person, indemnity based on the person's status of participation in a state or national animal identification system; or
     (d) Deny, revoke, or limit services, certificates, licenses, permits, grants, or other benefits or incentives to any person based on the person's status of participation in a state or national animal identification system.
     (3) Nothing in this section prohibits:
     (a) The state from establishing or participating in disease control programs specifically designed to address a specific disease in a specific species of livestock;
     (b) Private agricultural industry organizations from establishing any source verification program; or
     (c) Any person from voluntarily participating in a state or national animal identification system.
     (4) For the purposes of this section, "voluntary" means acting or done without compulsion or obligation.