HOUSE BILL REPORT
HB 1303
BYRepresentatives Rayburn, McLean, Nealey, Jesernig, Baugher, Peery, Valle, P. King, Pruitt and Rasmussen; by request of Department of Agriculture
Making major modifications to pesticide statutes.
House Committe on Agriculture & Rural Development
Majority Report: The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass. (10)
Signed by Representatives Rayburn, Chair; Kremen, Vice Chair; Nealey, Ranking Republican Member; Baugher, Doty, Grant, Jesernig, McLean, H. Myers and Youngsman.
Minority Report: Do not pass. (1)
Signed by Representative Chandler.
House Staff:Kenneth Hirst (786-7105)
AS REPORTED BY COMMITTEE ON AGRICULTURE & RURAL DEVELOPMENT
JANUARY 26, 1989
BACKGROUND:
The Washington Pesticide Control Act and the Washington Pesticide Application Act are administered by the Department of Agriculture. With certain exceptions, the Pesticide Control Act requires every pesticide distributed within the state to be registered annually with the Director of the Department. It also requires pesticide dealers, dealer managers, and pest control consultants to be licensed.
With certain exceptions, the Pesticide Application Act requires each person who commercially applies pesticides on the lands of others to be licensed as a pesticide applicator. A person employed by an applicator who applies pesticides must be licensed as a pesticide operator. The Act also requires licenses for private-commercial applicators and for demonstration and research use, regulates the use of pesticides by public entities and operators, and requires persons who apply or supervise the application of restricted use pesticides on their own agricultural lands to be certified regarding that use.
The Director of Agriculture may levy a civil penalty of up to $1,000 for a violation of either Act.
SUMMARY:
SUBSTITUTE BILL: Provisions of the state's Pesticide Control Act and Pesticide Application Act are amended. The maximum civil penalty that may be levied by the Director of Agriculture for a violation of either Act is raised to $10,000 from $1,000.
PESTICIDE CONTROL ACT. The categories of persons who must be licensed as pesticide dealers are expanded to include persons who distribute spray adjuvants. (Spray adjuvants include wetting agents, emulsifiers, and similar agents intended to be used with pesticides to aid the application or effect of the pesticides.) The category of pesticides intended for experimental use, for which a written permit from the Director is required as an alternative to registration, is expanded.
The fee for registering a pesticide is increased. Rather than being $20 per year, it is from $50 to $125, based upon the number of pesticides registered for a person during a calendar year. The additional fee charged for the late renewal of a registration is raised to $25 (from $10). The annual fees for a pesticide dealer's license and for a pest control consultant's license are each increased to $30 (from $20) The fee for a dealer manager's license is raised to $50 (from $10). A fee of $15 is established for a public pest control consultant's license and the license is required annually. The director is authorized to establish license examination fees by rule. A user of a pesticide is permitted to transfer the pesticide to another user in certain circumstances without obtaining a dealer's license if the sole purpose of the transfer is to keep the pesticide from becoming hazardous waste.
The Director is not required to report, for the levying of civil penalties, minor violations if the Director believes the public interest is best served by the issuance of a written warning. (This provision currently applies only to the Director's reporting such violations for prosecution or condemnation proceedings.)
PESTICIDE APPLICATION ACT. The annual licensing fee for a commercial pesticide applicator is increased to $125 (from $100); for a commercial pesticide operator it is increased to $30 (from $20). The licensing fee for a private-commercial applicator's license and for a demonstration and research license is raised to $50 (from $20). A public operator license is expressly created and the fee for such a license is established at $15/year. An annual fee for private applicator certification is established at $15. Late renewal fees are altered. Rather than being 25% of the licensing fee, they are $25 for a commercial pesticide applicator's license and equal to the licensing fee for all other licenses. The exemption from licensing provided by the Act for landscape gardeners is now applied to certain lawn and yard maintenance persons.
The Director is granted express authority to establish recordkeeping requirements for licensees, permittees and certified applicators.
It is a violation of the Act to use or supervise the use of a pesticide restricted to use by certified applicators without having a certified applicator in direct supervision. The Act does not require the Director to report for prosecution, or for the institution of civil penalties, minor violations when the Director determines that the public interest will be best served by a suitable notice of warning. A provision of the current law is repealed which requires that each apparatus licensed under the Act carry a notice regarding the classification for which the user is licensed.
The membership of the Pesticide Advisory Board is expanded to include one representative of the environmental community and one "citizen-at-large".
SUBSTITUTE BILL COMPARED TO ORIGINAL: The original bill increases the fee for registering a pesticide to $100 (from $20); the substitute bill establishes fees of $50 to $125 based upon the number of pesticides registered for a person during a single year. The original bill increases the licensing fee for a pesticide dealer to $60 (from $20); the substitute raises it to $30. The substitute bill creates an exemption from dealer licensing for persons who transfer pesticides to keep them out of the hazardous waste stream and clarifies the exemption from applicator licensing provided for lawn and yard maintenance persons.
Revenue: The bill has a revenue impact.
Fiscal Note: Requested on substitute January 27, 1989.
House Committee ‑ Testified For: Mike Schwisow, Department of Agriculture; and Errett Deck, Washington Agri-business Coalition.
House Committee - Testified Against: Larry Treleven, Sprague Pest Control; Duncan Wurm, Washington Friends of Farms and Forests; Phil Kaplan, United Farmworkers of Washington; Ed Walter, Washington Tree Service; and Bill Harlan, Eastside Spraying Service.
House Committee - Testimony For: (1) The Department's current program is at the ragged edge of providing adequate enforcement. More money is needed to provide a credible program. (2) Revisions in the federal pesticide laws place greater responsibilities on the Department regarding groundwater protection, minor use pesticides, farmworker safety, and endangered species. They also require a recertification program for "private applicators" (farmers). This bill provides much of the funding needed for these programs and an enhanced enforcement program. (3) The current maximum civil penalty is not sufficient, in some instances, to deter violations.
House Committee - Testimony Against: (1) The fine limits are too high and the fee increases are too large. A graduated scale should be established for violations based upon the number of times a person has violated the pesticide laws. (2) The bill does not address the issue of investigating human exposure and health risks. A program such as the one administered by Oregon's Pesticide Analytical and Response Center should be established in this state. (3) The law asks too much of the Department. Providing more money to do a job the Department has not done well is not the solution to the problem of protecting the public and farm workers. The Department has made decisions based on economic, not public health, considerations. (4) The Department of Ecology is better suited to protect groundwater from pesticides. (5) Membership on the Pesticide Advisory Board should be further expanded.