BILL REQ. #:  H-1708.1 

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

     AN ACT Relating to creating a mobile custom farm slaughtering unit loan program; and adding a new chapter to Title 15 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   FINDINGS. The legislature finds that:
     (1) The loss of livestock slaughter facilities has significantly impeded local meat production in many regions of the state;
     (2) Mobile custom farm slaughtering units, capable of visiting farms and ranches to slaughter animals humanely and inexpensively, can assist in reviving local meat production; and
     (3) Establishing a loan program that enables local governments to purchase mobile custom farm slaughtering units for lease to livestock producers, conditioned upon producers' donation of a portion of meat processed by the units to local food banks, will both support Washington's disadvantaged citizens and reinvigorate rural economies.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   DEFINITIONS. The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Applicant" means any political subdivision of the state, including but not limited to conservation districts, counties, cities, towns, special purpose districts, and other municipal corporations or quasi-municipal corporations.
     (2) "Application" means a proposal submitted by an applicant for a loan to purchase a mobile custom farm slaughtering unit for lease to livestock producers.
     (3) "Department" means the department of agriculture.
     (4) "Director" means the director of the department of agriculture.
     (5) "Mobile custom farm slaughtering unit" or "unit" means a transportable structure used for livestock slaughtering operations and consisting of a completely covered van body, which may exclude a driver's cab and a hoist, a hoist of two thousand pound capacity, a sterilizing tank large enough to allow complete sanitizing of tools used in slaughtering operations, and a water tank built into the vehicle.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   PROGRAM CREATED--LOAN AGREEMENTS. (1) The mobile custom farm slaughtering unit loan program is established within the department. The director may establish policies and procedures necessary for processing, reviewing, and approving applications for loans from the mobile custom farm slaughtering unit loan account created pursuant to section 6 of this act.
     (2) The director may approve an application only if a unit funded by a loan will produce long-term economic benefits to a region, county, or community in the state and will not require continuing state support.
     (3) The director shall enter into agreements with approved applicants to fix loan terms and rates. A loan agreement must:
     (a) Provide for adequate reporting or disclosure of economic benefit data to the director and authorize the director to conduct an annual or other periodic audit of the data;
     (b) Require that at least five percent of the meat annually processed by a funded unit be donated to food banks within a county or counties served by the unit; and
     (c) Grant the state an option to purchase a portion of the meat processed by a funded unit.
     (4) The director may defer loan repayments for up to twenty-four months or until a loan recipient begins to receive lease revenue, whichever is sooner.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   SUSPENSION OR CANCELLATION OF LOAN AGREEMENT--REPAYMENT. (1) Upon written notice to a loan recipient, the director may suspend or cancel a loan agreement if the recipient has:
     (a) Made misrepresentations in any information furnished to the director concerning the application or loan agreement; or
     (b) Failed to make satisfactory and reasonable progress to complete the terms of the loan agreement.
     (2) In the event that any loan funding has been awarded to the recipient at the time of the suspension or cancellation of the loan agreement, the director may require that the full amount of the loan, or a portion thereof, be repaid within a period specified by the director.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   LOAN PRIORITY. If loan funding requested in applications meeting the criteria specified in section 3 of this act exceeds the amount available in the mobile custom farm slaughtering unit loan account created in section 6 of this act, applications must be prioritized based upon projected long-term economic benefits.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   ACCOUNT CREATED. The mobile custom farm slaughtering unit loan account is created in the state treasury. All receipts from appropriations made to the account and any loan payments of principal and interest derived from loans made under this chapter must be deposited into the account. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation. Expenditures from the account may be used only for loans consistent with this chapter.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   REPORT TO LEGISLATURE. The director shall report to the legislature and the governor on the status of the program created under this chapter on or before December 1, 2010, and annually thereafter. The report must include information on applications that have been funded and the status of funded units.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   CAPTIONS NOT LAW. Captions used in this act are not any part of the law.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9   Sections 1 through 8 and 10 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 15 RCW.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 10   If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.