HOUSE BILL REPORT

HB 1285

BYRepresentatives Taylor, Day, Padden, S. Wilson, Prince, Bumgarner, Dellwo, Smith, May, Moyer and Silver

Providing an exception to the licensing requirement for grain dealers.

House Committe on Agriculture & Rural Development

Majority Report:  The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass.  (12)

      Signed by Representatives Rayburn, Chair; Baugher, Bristow, Brooks, Chandler, Doty, Holm, R. King, McLean, Moyer, Nealey and Rasmussen.

House Staff:Kenneth Hirst (786-7105)

AS REPORTED BY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE & RURAL DEVELOPMENT

FEBRUARY 4, 1988

BACKGROUND:

The state's laws regulating grain warehousing require grain dealers to be licensed and bonded.  A grain dealer is a person who solicits, contracts for , or obtains from a producer grain or a similar agricultural product for the purposes of resale.  The annual licensing fee for a grain dealer is $300, unless the dealer is also licensed as a grain warehouseman in which case the fee is $150.  The minimum bond required for a grain dealer is $50,000.  In lieu of a bond, a grain dealer may give the Department of Agriculture a certificate of deposit or other security acceptable to the Department and payable to the Director as trustee.

SUMMARY:

SUBSTITUTE BILL:  Grain dealers who pay for grain only in cash may be exempted by rule from the requirement of the grain warehousing laws that grain dealers provide a bond or provide other security to the Department of Agriculture.  The licensing fee for a grain dealer exempted from the bonding requirement is $75.

SUBSTITUTE BILL COMPARED TO ORIGINAL:  The original bill exempts persons who deal in less than $100,000 worth of grain in a year from all provisions of the warehousing laws concerning grain dealers; the substitute permits cash buyers to be exempted from the bonding requirements and provides a lower licensing fee for buyers who are so exempted.

Revenue:    The bill has a revenue impact.

Fiscal Note:      Available.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Representative Taylor; (commented on bill) Al Stein, Department of Agriculture.

House Committee - Testified Against:      None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:    The bill would exempt only five small dealers in the state.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      Exempting dealers from licensure would mean the Department could not keep track of them.