(1) An assessment of $0.23 per head is levied on all cattle sold or slaughtered in the state or transported out of the state except for:
(a) An assessment of $0.05 per head is levied on all immediate slaughter cattle.
(b) No assessment is paid on cattle slaughtered and retained by the owner for personal consumption.
(2) Collection of assessments will be collected in the same manner as the livestock inspection fees under RCW
16.57.223 and
16.65.090 except for subsection (1)(a) of this section. For immediate slaughter cattle or cattle originating from a certified feedlot, the assessments will be collected by the slaughter facility and remitted to the department by the fifteenth day of the month following the month the transaction occurred.
(3) Assessments owed from private individual sales, trades, gifting, barter, or any other action that constitutes a change of ownership of livestock per WAC
16-610-020(3), not occurring at a public livestock market or special sale licensed under chapters
16.65 RCW and
16-610 WAC or a slaughter facility, will be collected:
(a) When a change of ownership livestock inspection is conducted or when the transaction is reported through an electronic livestock movement reporting system per chapter
16-610 WAC.
(b) When utilizing the "green tag" as provided in RCW
16.57.160(3). The assessment will be added to the purchase price of each tag.
(4) Assessments are collected at a federally inspected slaughter facility when:
(a) Cattle are sold and slaughtered concurrently. This is considered a one assessment event and one fee shall be collected per head from the seller.
(b) Cattle originate from a certified feedlot licensed under chapter
16.58 RCW. The assessments will be collected by the slaughter facility and remitted to the department by the fifteenth day of the month following the month the transaction occurred.
(c) Cattle are slaughtered and no change of ownership has occurred, the per head fee shall be collected from the owner of the animal.
(5) Collection of assessments for custom slaughtering occurs when utilizing custom slaughter beef tags per WAC
16-610-100. The assessment will be added to the purchase price of each tag.
(6) Collection of assessments at public livestock markets and special sales licensed under chapter
16.65 RCW will be considered one assessment event, charged to the seller, when:
(a) Cattle are purchased and destined to an out-of-state location by the buyer.
(b) Cattle are purchased and destined for slaughter to an in-state federally inspected slaughter facility.
(7) When Washington origin cattle are transported for sale to an out-of-state market where the director conducts inspections of Washington origin cattle by agreement with the host state, it shall be considered one assessment event and one fee shall be collected per head from the Washington seller.
(8) Collection of assessments for out-of-state movement occurs when:
(a) Cattle are purchased and destined to an out-of-state location by the buyer. This is considered a one assessment event and one fee shall be collected per head from the seller.
(b) Cattle are moving out-of-state with no change of ownership.
[Statutory Authority: RCW
16.36.150 and chapter
34.05 RCW. WSR 16-23-107, § 16-29-015, filed 11/18/16, effective 12/19/16; WSR 15-02-024, § 16-29-015, filed 12/30/14, effective 7/1/15.]