AN ACT Relating to farmworker housing inspection and standards; amending RCW 70.54.110; adding new sections to chapter 43.70 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 43.63A RCW; adding a new section to chapter 36.34 RCW; and making an appropriation.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 43.70 RCW to read as follows:

The legislature finds that the demand for housing for migrant and seasonal farmworkers far exceeds the supply of adequate housing in the state of Washington. In addition, increasing numbers of these housing units are in deteriorated condition because they cannot be economically maintained and repaired.

The legislature further finds that the lack of a clear program for the regulation and inspection of farmworker housing has impeded the construction and renovation of housing units in this state.

It is the purpose of this act for the various agencies involved in the regulation of farmworker housing to coordinate and consolidate their activities to provide for efficient and effective monitoring of farmworker housing. It is intended that this action will provide greater responsiveness in dealing with public concerns over farmworker housing, and allow greater numbers of housing units to be built.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 43.70 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The department of health shall be the primary inspector of labor camps and farmworker housing for the state of Washington: PROVIDED, That the department of labor and industries shall be the inspector for all farmworker housing not covered by the authority of the state board of health.

(2) The department of health, the department of labor and industries, the department of community development, the state board of health, and the employment security department shall develop an interagency agreement defining the rules and responsibilities for the inspection of farmworker housing. This agreement shall recognize the department of health as the primary inspector of labor camps for the state, and shall further be designed to provide a central information center for public information and education regarding farmworker housing. The agencies shall provide the legislature with a report on the results of this agreement by January 1, 1991.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 43.70 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The farmworker housing inspection fund is established in the custody of the state treasury. The department of health shall deposit all funds received under subsection (2) of this section and from the legislature to administer a labor camp inspection program conducted by the department of health. Disbursement from the fund shall be on authorization of the secretary of health or the secretary's designee. The fund is subject to the allotment procedure provided under chapter 43.88 RCW, but no appropriation is required for disbursements.

(2) There is imposed a fee on each operating license issued by the department of health to every operator of a labor camp that is regulated by the state board of health. The fee paid under this subsection shall include all necessary inspection of the units to ensure compliance with applicable state board of health rules on labor camps.

(a) Fifty dollars shall be charged for each labor camp containing six or less units.

(b) Seventy-five dollars shall be charged for each labor camp containing more than six units.

(3) The term of the operating license and the application procedures shall be established, by rule, by the department of health.

Sec. 4. Section 1, chapter 231, Laws of 1969 ex. sess. and RCW 70.54.110 are each amended to read as follows:

The state board of health shall develop rules for labor camps, which shall include as a minimum the standards developed under the Washington industrial safety and health act in chapter 49.17 RCW as relates to sanitation and temporary labor camps.

All new housing and new construction together with the land areas appurtenant thereto which shall be started on and after May 3, 1969, and is to be provided by employers, growers, management, or any other persons, for occupancy by workers or by workers and their dependents, in agriculture, shall comply with the rules and regulations of the state board of health pertaining to labor camps((~~, filed with the office of the code reviser on November 20, 1968 and future amendments and revisions thereof~~)).

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 43.63A RCW to read as follows:

The department shall develop, and make available to the public, model or prototype construction plans and manuals for several types of farmworker housing, including but not limited to seasonal housing for individuals and families, campgrounds, and recreational vehicle parks. Any person or organization intending to construct farmworker housing may adopt one or more of these models as the plan for the proposed housing.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 43.63A RCW to read as follows:

The department shall work with the departments of natural resources, transportation, and general administration to identify and catalog under-utilized, state-owned land and property for possible lease. The department shall provide an inventory of real property that is owned or administered by each agency and is available for lease. The inventories shall be provided to the department by November 1, 1990, with inventory revisions provided each November 1 thereafter. The department shall assist local governments, public housing authorities, public nonprofit organizations, and private nonprofit organizations in obtaining long-term leases of suitable and available sites. The leases shall be for the purpose of providing sites to be used for affordable housing for farmworkers.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. A new section is added to chapter 36.34 RCW to read as follows:

If a county owns property that is located anywhere within the county, including within the limits of a city or town, and that is suitable for seasonal or migrant farmworker housing, the legislative authority of the county may, by negotiation, lease the property for seasonal or migrant farmworker housing for a term not to exceed seventy-five years to any public housing authority or nonprofit organization that has demonstrated its ability to construct or operate housing for seasonal or migrant farmworkers. Leases for housing for migrant and seasonal farmworkers shall not be subject to any requirement of periodic rental adjustments, as provided in RCW 36.34.180, but shall provide for such fixed annual rents as appear reasonable considering the public, social, and health benefits to be derived by providing an adequate supply of safe and sanitary housing for migrant and seasonal farmworkers.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. To carry out this act, the sum of one hundred twenty-five thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the state general fund for the biennium ending June 30, 1991. The appropriation is subject to the following limitations and conditions:

(1) Not less than sixty-five thousand dollars, to the department of community development, for the purposes of section 5 of this act; and

(2) Not less than sixty thousand dollars, to the department of health, for the purposes of section 3 of this act.