H-2530

AN ACT Relating to fish dealers' and sellers' licenses; amending RCW 75.28.300, 75.28.315, 75.28.323, 75.28.328, and 75.28.335; and adding a new section to chapter 75.28 RCW.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 75.28.300 and 1993 sp.s. c 17 s 43 are each amended to read as follows:

A wholesale fish dealer's license is required for:

(1) A business in the state to engage in the commercial processing of food fish or shellfish, including custom canning or processing of personal use food fish or shellfish.

(2) A business in the state to engage in the wholesale selling, buying, or brokering of food fish or shellfish. A wholesale fish dealer's license is not required of those businesses which buy exclusively from Washington licensed wholesale dealers and sell solely at retail.

(3) ((~~Fishermen who land and sell their catch or harvest in the state to anyone other than a licensed wholesale dealer within or outside the state.~~

~~(4)~~)) A business to engage in the commercial manufacture or preparation of fertilizer, oil, meal, caviar, fish bait, or other byproducts from food fish or shellfish.

((~~(5)~~)) (4) A business employing a fish buyer as defined under RCW 75.28.340.

The annual license fee for a wholesale dealer is two hundred fifty dollars. A wholesale fish dealer's license is not required for persons engaged in the processing, wholesale selling, buying, or brokering of private sector cultured aquatic products as defined in RCW 15.85.020. However, if a means of identifying such products is required by rules adopted under RCW 15.85.060, the exemption from licensing requirements established by this subsection applies only if the aquatic products are identified in conformance with those rules.

Sec. 2. RCW 75.28.315 and 1996 c 267 s 29 are each amended to read as follows:

Wholesale fish dealers and fish sellers are responsible for documenting the commercial harvest of food fish and shellfish according to the rules of the department. The director may allow only wholesale fish dealers or their designees and fish sellers to receive the forms necessary for the accounting of the commercial harvest of food fish and shellfish.

Sec. 3. RCW 75.28.323 and 1996 c 267 s 30 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The department shall not issue a wholesale fish dealer ((~~shall not take possession of food fish or shellfish until~~)) or fish seller license unless the dealer or seller has deposited with the department an acceptable performance bond on forms prescribed and furnished by the department. This performance bond shall be a corporate surety bond executed in favor of the department by a corporation authorized to do business in the state of Washington under chapter 48.28 RCW and approved by the department. The bond shall be filed and maintained in an amount equal to one thousand dollars for each buyer engaged by the wholesale dealer. In no case shall the bond be less than two thousand dollars nor more than fifty thousand dollars.

(2) A wholesale dealer shall, within seven days of engaging additional fish buyers, notify the department and increase the amount of the bonding required in subsection (1) of this section.

(3) The director may suspend and refuse to reissue a wholesale fish dealer's or fish seller's license of a dealer or seller who has taken possession of food fish or shellfish without an acceptable performance bond on deposit with the department.

(4) The bond shall be conditioned upon the compliance with the requirements of this chapter and rules of the department relating to the payment of fines for violations of rules for the accounting of the commercial harvest of food fish or shellfish. In lieu of the surety bond required by this section the wholesale fish dealer or fish seller may file with the department a cash deposit, negotiable securities acceptable to the department, or an assignment of a savings account or of a savings certificate in a Washington bank on an assignment form prescribed by the department.

(5) Liability under the bond shall be maintained as long as the wholesale fish dealer or fish seller engages in activities under RCW 75.28.300 unless released. Liability under the bond may be released only upon written notification from the department. Notification shall be given upon acceptance by the department of a substitute bond or forty-five days after the expiration of the wholesale fish dealer's or fish seller's annual license. In no event shall the liability of the surety exceed the amount of the surety bond required under this chapter.

Sec. 4. RCW 75.28.328 and 1985 c 248 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:

The director shall promptly notify by order a wholesale dealer or fish seller and the appropriate surety when a violation of rules relating to the accounting of commercial harvest has occurred. The notification shall specify the type of violation, the liability to be imposed for damages caused by the violation, and a notice that the amount of liability is due and payable to the department by the wholesale fish dealer or fish seller and the surety.

If the amount specified in the order is not paid within thirty days after receipt of the notice, the prosecuting attorney for any county in which the persons to whom the order is directed do business, or the attorney general upon request of the department, may bring an action on behalf of the state in the superior court for Thurston county or any county in which the persons to whom the order is directed do business to recover the amount specified in the final order of the department. The surety shall be liable to the state to the extent of the bond.

Sec. 5. RCW 75.28.335 and 1985 c 248 s 8 are each amended to read as follows:

The liabilities imposed upon a wholesale fish dealer or fish seller by this chapter shall be in addition to the penalties authorized in chapter 75.10 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 75.28 RCW to read as follows:

A fish seller's license is required for any person who lands and sells his or her catch or harvest in the state to anyone other than a licensed wholesale dealer within or outside the state. For the purposes of this section "person" means an individual listed as the operator or alternate operator on the commercial fishery license. The annual fee for a fish seller's license is seventy-five dollars.