S-4316.3 _______________________________________________
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 6255
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 55th Legislature 1998 Regular Session
By Senate Committee on Agriculture & Environment (originally sponsored by Senator Morton)
Read first time 01/30/98.
AN ACT Relating to apiaries; amending RCW 15.62.010, 15.62.020, 15.62.030, 15.62.040, 15.62.070, 15.62.080, 15.62.140, 15.62.300, and 15.60.005; adding new sections to chapter 17.24 RCW; repealing RCW 15.60.007, 15.60.010, 15.60.015, 15.60.020, 15.60.025, 15.60.030, 15.60.040, 15.60.042, 15.60.043, 15.60.050, 15.60.100, 15.60.110, 15.60.120, 15.60.140, 15.60.150, 15.60.170, 15.60.230, and 15.60.900; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 15.62.010 and 1989 c 5 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
The purpose of this chapter is to ((advance the public welfare and education
and to)) provide the apiary industry the opportunity to establish a
honey bee commission; promote the interest, products, services, and
stabilization of Washington's honey bee industry; identify and conduct
research on treatments and medications to control bee pests; and perform
nonregulatory functions and provide information and services to beekeepers in
the state.
(2) The legislature finds that:
(((1)))
(a) Increasing the consumption of products of the honey bee industry and
promoting the use of its services and stabilizing the honey bee industry within
the state and nation is a valid and necessary exercise of the power of the
state to protect the public health, to provide for the economic development of
the state, and to promote the welfare of the people of the state;
(((2)))
(b) Honey bee industry products produced and services provided in
Washington make an important contribution to the agricultural industry of the
state of Washington. The business of researching, marketing, and distributing
such products and the promotion of its services is in the public interest;
(((3)))
(c) It is necessary to enhance the reputation of Washington honey bee
industry products and services in domestic and national markets;
(((4)))
(d) It is necessary to promote and educate the public regarding the
value of honey bee industry products and services, and to spread that knowledge
throughout the state and nation to increase the awareness and consumption of
honey bee products and the use of honey bee services;
(((5)))
(e) State and national markets for Washington honey bee industry
products may benefit from promotion of honey bee products through education and
advertising;
(((6)))
(f) It is necessary to stabilize the Washington honey bee industry, to
enlarge its markets, and increase the consumption of Washington honey bee
industry products and services to assure the payment of taxes to the state and
its subdivisions, to alleviate unemployment, and to provide for higher wage
scales for agricultural labor and maintenance of a reasonable standard of
living;
(((7)))
(g) Providing information to the public on the manner, cost, and expense
of producing, and the care taken to produce and sell, honey bee industry
products and services of the highest quality, the methods and care used in
their preparation for market, and the methods of sale and distribution is in
the public interest;
(((8)))
(h) It is necessary to protect the public by educating it on the various
benefits of honey bee industry services, the food value of its products, and
their industrial and medicinal uses.
Sec. 2. RCW 15.62.020 and 1989 c 5 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter:
(1) "Affected person" means an apiarist, manufacturer, processor, first handler, broker, or volunteer who shall pay to the commission the minimum assessments required in RCW 15.62.140.
(2)
"Apiarist" means any person, firm, partnership, association, or
corporation who owns, operates, manages, or brokers ((ten)) five
or more honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies in the state or any ((volunteer
participant having less than ten colonies)) owner of one to four
colonies in the state of Washington that voluntarily registers with the
department.
(3) "Bee colony" means a natural group of honey bees containing seven thousand or more workers and one or more queens, housed in a man-made hive with movable frames, and operated as a beekeeping unit.
(4) "Bee pests" means mites, other parasites, or diseases that cause injury to bees.
(5) "Broker" means any person other than an apiarist who, for a fee, places or sets twenty-five or more bee colonies for pollination or buys and sells one thousand dollars or more per year of industry products he or she does not produce or manufacture.
(((5)))
(6) "Commission" means the Washington state honey bee industry
commission or its authorized agents.
(((6)))
(7) "Department" means the department of agriculture.
(((7)))
(8) "Director" means the director of the department of
agriculture.
(((8)))
(9) "First handler" means any person in Washington who imports
industry products or bee supplies and equipment into Washington for processing,
packing, or sale in the state of Washington.
(((9)))
(10) "Industry products" means queen bees, packaged bees, and items
which are made by bees including, but not limited to, honey, pollen, bees wax,
and propolis and items manufactured for use in the honey bee industry as
enumerated under "manufacturer" in this section.
(((10)))
(11) "Manufacturer" means any person making bee supplies and
equipment such as: Supers (hive boxes), frames, bees wax foundation, smokers,
extractors, bee veils, pollen traps, queen rearing equipment, bee cages and
packages, queen excluders, and other bee supplies used in the honey bee industry.
(((11)))
(12) "Person" means any individual, firm, partnership, or
corporation engaged in the apiculture industry.
(((12)))
(13) "Processor" means any person processing, selling,
marketing, or distributing bee industry products.
(((13)))
(14) "Retail sales" means those sales made directly to
consumers whether apiarists, brokers, or persons involved in the apiculture
industry, or the public.
Sec. 3. RCW 15.62.030 and 1989 c 5 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
A petition may be filed with the director to conduct a referendum to form a honey bee commission. A referendum shall be conducted if the petition contains the names of at least fifteen percent of the apiarists registered in accordance with RCW 15.60.050 or section 9 of this act during the most recent registration period and that those persons represent fifteen percent of the registered hives. The director shall conduct the referendum by mail.
The
Washington state honey bee commission shall be established ((following
approval of a referendum by a majority of the affected apiarists and brokers,
as set forth in RCW 15.62.140(4) for assessment increases)) if approved
by a majority of apiarists registered and if those apiarists voting in favor
represent a majority of the registered hives.
Sec. 4. RCW 15.62.040 and 1989 c 5 s 13 are each amended to read as follows:
The
commission ((shall have the following powers and duties)) may:
(1)
((To)) Work with the pesticide management program in the department,
Washington State University, and others on pesticide labeling and reducing the
effect of chemicals on pollinating insects;
(2) Provide information to growers, the public, and the media on request;
(3) Work with state and federal agencies to increase access for bee forage on public lands and provide information to beekeepers on opportunities to forage bees on public lands;
(4) Provide information and technical assistance to beekeepers relating to the control of tracheal and varroa mites and other bee pests;
(5) Conduct seminars and field days to educate and train beekeepers in areas of interest to beekeepers;
(6) Conduct technical assistance visits to beekeepers' apiaries upon request;
(7) Arrange educational seminars on queen selection, breeding, and propagation;
(8) Identify and fund research projects that will aid beekeepers in the control of bee pests or that improve the viability of the apiary industry;
(9) Elect a chairperson and other officers as it deems advisable;
(((2)
To)) (10) Promulgate rules ((and regulations)) under the
administrative procedure act, chapter 34.05 RCW, and RCW 15.04.200 as necessary
to effectuate the purpose and policies of this chapter;
(((3)
To)) (11) Administer and enforce the provisions of this chapter and
perform all acts and exercise all powers reasonably necessary to fulfill the
purpose thereof;
(((4)
To)) (12) Employ and discharge advertising agents, attorneys as
permitted by the attorney general, agents, and employees as it deems necessary,
and ((to)) prescribe their duties and powers and fix their compensation;
(((5)
To)) (13) Establish offices, hire employees who shall be exempt from
chapter 41.06 RCW, incur expenses which shall not exceed revenues, enter into
contracts, and create such liabilities as are reasonable and proper for the
administration of this chapter;
(((6)
To)) (14) Investigate and refer violations of this chapter to local
prosecuting attorneys or special prosecutors appointed by the commission and
the local prosecuting attorney;
(((7)
To)) (15) Contract for scientific research designed to improve
production, pollination, management, quality, processing, and distribution and
((to)) develop and discover uses for products of the honey bee industry;
(((8)
To)) (16) Make in its name advertising contracts and other
agreements necessary to promote the industry and bee products and services in
state, national, and foreign markets;
(((9)
To)) (17) Keep accurate records of all commission dealings, which
shall be open to public inspection and audit by authorized state agencies;
(((10)
To)) (18) Contract for research to develop more efficient methods of
promoting the honey bee industry and its products and services;
(((11)
To)) (19) Develop and conduct educational programs for the benefit
of industry and ((to)) inform the public regarding Washington's honey
bee industry;
(((12)
To)) (20) Enter into contracts and agreements for purposes
consistent with this chapter;
(((13)
To)) (21) Publish at least an annual report of its activities and
financial status subject to audit by the state auditor;
(((14)
To)) (22) Establish an operating monetary reserve and carry over to
subsequent fiscal periods any excess funds in the reserve: PROVIDED, That the
reserve funds shall not exceed one fiscal period's budget. The reserve funds
shall only be used to defray any expenses authorized under this chapter;
(((15)
To)) (23) Audit any affected person's records as described in RCW
15.62.200; and
(((16)
To)) (24) Consider the assessment of honey or manufactured bee
supplies produced or sold in Washington. Assessments shall only be levied
after a referendum is conducted and approved by a majority vote, as set forth
in RCW 15.62.140(4), of persons engaged in the honey bee industry of
Washington.
Sec. 5. RCW 15.62.070 and 1989 c 5 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The regular terms of office of each elected member of the commission shall be three years, except that the term of office for the initial members shall be as follows:
(a) Positions for areas one, four, and seven - one year.
(b) Positions for areas two, five, and eight - two years.
(c) Positions for areas three, six, and nine - three years.
(d) If filled, position for area eleven - three years.
(2) No elected member of the board may serve more than two full consecutive three-year terms.
(3) Terms of office shall end on August 31st of the last year of the elected or appointed term.
(4)
Any vacancies on the commission shall be filled by a person meeting the
qualifications established in ((section 37 of this act)) RCW
15.62.060 appointed by the other voting members of the commission. The
appointee shall hold office for the remainder of the term, at which time an
election for that position shall be conducted.
Sec. 6. RCW 15.62.080 and 1989 c 5 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) Apiarist members of the commission shall be nominated and elected by the apiarists within the district they are to represent in the year in which a member's term expires. The candidate receiving the largest number of votes cast shall be elected. The election shall be by secret mail ballot and shall be conducted by the director, who shall be reimbursed for actual expenses of conducting the election by the commission.
(2) The director shall provide forms for the nomination of candidates to each affected person. The nomination form shall provide for the name of the person being nominated and the names of five persons supporting the nomination.
(3) The persons nominating the candidate shall affirm that the candidate meets the qualifications and is willing to serve by signing the nomination form.
(4) The nomination forms shall be returned to the director by June 30th of the election year, and the director shall not accept any nomination postmarked later than midnight of that date.
(5) In the event no nomination is submitted for a position, the director shall nominate at least two, but no more than three, qualified persons and place their names on the election ballot as nominees. Any qualified person may be elected by write-in ballot, even though his or her name was not placed in nomination.
(6)
Ballots for electing commission members shall be mailed by the director to all
apiarists and brokers in areas where elections are to be held no later than
July 15st. Ballots, to be valid, shall be returned to the director
postmarked no later than July 31st. Elected persons shall take office
effective September 1st of the year elected except, if a referendum
is approved before December 31, 1998, initial elections shall take place
within one hundred twenty days ((after July 23, 1989)) of the date of
approval. If a referendum is approved before December 31, 1998, the director
has the discretion to set dates for submitting nominations, and mailing out and
returning ballots for the initial election of commission members.
(7) If a referendum to establish a commission is approved, the director has the discretion to call for the immediate nomination of apiarists and to establish the dates for mailing out and returning ballots for the initial election of commission members.
Sec. 7. RCW 15.62.140 and 1989 c 5 s 14 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The commission shall collect annual assessments as follows:
(a)
((Twenty-five)) Up to fifty cents as established by the
commission for each colony operated by an apiarist or broker in Washington
at any time in a calendar year. Each colony shall be assessed only once per
calendar year. There shall be a minimum assessment of ten dollars.
(b) The sale of a business enterprise by an apiarist or broker shall not be assessed.
The provisions of this subsection (1) are effective only if the referendum required by RCW 15.62.030 on the creation of the commission is adopted.
(2) Subject to approval by referendum, the commission shall have the power and duty to increase the amount of the assessments as necessary to fulfill the purposes of this chapter.
(3) In determining the necessity for an assessment increase, the commission shall consider:
(a)
The ((purpose)) priorities of the commission;
(b) The extent and probable cost of required research, promotion, and advertising;
(c)
The extent of ((public convenience,)) interest((,)) by
beekeepers and necessity of additional program activities; and
(d) The expected revenue from the increased assessment.
(4) The increase in assessment shall not become effective until approved by a majority of the affected persons voting in a referendum conducted by the commission. The referendum must be approved by:
(a) Either fifty-one percent of the apiarists and brokers representing sixty-six percent of the colonies registered in Washington in the twelve months preceding voting; or
(b) Sixty-six percent of the apiarists and brokers representing fifty-one percent of the colonies registered in Washington in the twelve months preceding voting; and
(c) Either fifty-one percent of manufacturers, processors, and first handlers representing sixty-six percent of industry products sold in Washington by its residents; or
(d) Sixty-six percent of manufacturers, processors, and first handlers representing fifty-one percent of industry products sold in Washington by its residents.
Sec. 8. RCW 15.62.300 and 1989 c 5 s 25 are each amended to read as follows:
In
the ((seventh)) fifth year following the inception of the
commission, a referendum shall be conducted by the department ((of
agriculture)) to determine if the commission is still desired by the
beekeeping industry in Washington. The commission shall continue if the
director finds that affected apiarists and brokers voting in a referendum
conducted as for an assessment increase in RCW 15.62.140(4) voted in favor of
such continuance, otherwise it shall be terminated or suspended as in RCW
15.62.310.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. A new section is added to chapter 17.24 RCW to read as follows:
The director may establish an apiary advisory committee including members representing the major segments of the apiary industry including commercial and hobby beekeepers, representatives from the Washington State University apiary program or cooperative extension, and receivers of pollination services as deemed appropriate. The advisory committee may be established to advise the director on apiary issues, and especially apiary issues that require immediate attention or action.
The apiary advisory committee shall meet at the call of the director. Members of the committee shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for travel expenses incurred in attending meetings of the committee and any other official duty approved by the director, pursuant to RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.
The role of the apiary advisory committee is to provide input to the department in regards to the administration of this chapter, including the formulation of any rules relating to inspection of apiaries, movement of bees, quarantine measures, prevention of introduction of new bee pests as defined in RCW 17.24.007(17), and survey and control activities.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. A new section is added to chapter 17.24 RCW to read as follows:
(1) Each person owning five or more hives with bees, brokers renting hives, and beekeepers resident in other states who operate hives in Washington shall register with the director on or before April 1st each year. Persons owning one to four hives may register with the director and shall do so by April 1st of each year.
(2) Registration application shall include the name, address, and phone number of the owner or broker, the number of colonies of bees owned, brokered, or operated in Washington, and a fifteen-dollar registration fee.
(3) The director shall provide a honey bee commission established under chapter 15.62 RCW copies of registration information.
Sec. 11. RCW 15.60.005 and 1994 c 178 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter:
(1)
(("Department" means the department of agriculture of the state of
Washington.
(2)
"Director" means the director of the state department of agriculture
or the director's authorized representative.
(3)))
"Apiary" means a site where hives of bees or hives are kept or found.
(((4)
"Abandoned hive" means any hive, with or without bees, that evidences
a lack of being properly managed in that it has not been supered in the spring,
except nucs, or unsupered in the fall, or is otherwise unmanaged and left
without authorization and unattended on the property of another person or on
public land.
(5)
"Apiarist" means any person who owns bees or is a keeper of bees in
Washington.
(6)
"Beekeeping equipment" means any implements or devices used in the
manipulation of bees, their brood, or hives in an apiary.
(7))) (2)
"Bees" means adult insects, eggs, larvae, pupae, or other immature
stages of the species Apis mellifera.
(((8)
"Certificate" or "certificate of inspection" means an
official document certifying compliance with the requirements of this chapter
and accompanying the movement of inspected bees, bee hives, or beekeeping
equipment.
(9))) (3)
"Colony" refers to a natural group of bees having a queen or queens.
(((10)
"Compliance agreement" means a written agreement between the
department and a person engaged in apiculture, or handling, selling, or moving
of hives or beekeeping equipment in which the person agrees to comply with
stipulated requirements.
(11)
"Feral colony" means a colony of bees in a natural cavity or a
manufactured structure not intended for the keeping of bees on movable frames
and comb.
(12)
"Swarm" means a natural group of bees having a queen or queens, which
is the progeny of a parent colony, without a hive, and not a feral colony.
(13)
"Disease" means American foulbrood, European foulbrood, chalkbrood,
nosema, sacbrood, or any other viral, fungal, bacterial or insect-related
disease affecting bees or their brood.
(14)
"Regulated bee pests" means a disease of bees for which maximum
allowable limits of infection, or mites, or other parasites are set in rule.
(15))) (4)
"Hive" means a manufactured receptacle or container prepared for the
use of bees, that includes movable frames, combs, and substances deposited into
the hive by bees.
(((16)))
(5) "Person" means a natural person, individual, firm,
partnership, company, society, association, corporation or every officer,
agent, or employee of one of these entities.
(((17)
"Bee pests" means a disease, mite, or other parasite that causes
injury to bees.
(18)
"Nets" means a device that is made of fabricated material and that is
designed and utilized to prevent the escape of bees from bee hives during
transit.
(19)
"Apparently free" means no specified bee pest was found during
inspection of survey activities.
(20)
"Substantially free" means levels of specified bee pests found during
inspection or survey activities were within established tolerances.
(21)
"Africanized honey bee" means any bee of the subspecies Apis
mellifera scutellata.
(22)
"Super" means the portion of a hive in which honey is stored by bees.
(23)
"Broker" means a person, engaged in pollinating agricultural crops,
using hives that are owned by another person.
(24)
"Grower" means a person engaged in producing agricultural crops, and
a user of honey bees for pollination of the crops.))
NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. The following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:
(1) RCW 15.60.007 and 1994 c 178 s 2, 1993 c 89 s 2, & 1988 c 4 s 14;
(2) RCW 15.60.010 and 1994 c 178 s 3, 1993 c 89 s 3, 1975-'76 2nd ex.s. c 34 s 16, & 1961 c 11 s 15.60.010;
(3) RCW 15.60.015 and 1993 c 89 s 4, 1988 c 4 s 2, 1977 ex.s. c 362 s 2, & 1961 c 11 s 15.60.015;
(4) RCW 15.60.020 and 1993 c 89 s 5, 1988 c 4 s 3, 1975-'76 2nd ex.s. c 34 s 17, & 1961 c 11 s 15.60.020;
(5) RCW 15.60.025 and 1993 c 89 s 6, 1988 c 4 s 4, & 1977 ex.s. c 362 s 8;
(6) RCW 15.60.030 and 1993 c 89 s 7, 1988 c 4 s 5, 1981 c 296 s 7, 1977 ex.s. c 362 s 3, 1965 c 44 s 1, & 1961 c 11 s 15.60.030;
(7) RCW 15.60.040 and 1994 c 178 s 4, 1993 c 89 s 8, 1988 c 4 s 6, 1981 c 296 s 8, 1977 ex.s. c 362 s 4, & 1961 c 11 s 15.60.040;
(8) RCW 15.60.042 and 1993 c 89 s 9 & 1988 c 4 s 7;
(9) RCW 15.60.043 and 1994 c 178 s 5, 1993 c 89 s 10, 1988 c 4 s 8, 1981 c 296 s 9, & 1977 ex.s. c 362 s 9;
(10) RCW 15.60.050 and 1994 c 178 s 6, 1993 c 89 s 11, 1988 c 4 s 9, 1977 ex.s. c 362 s 5, & 1961 c 11 s 15.60.050;
(11) RCW 15.60.100 and 1993 c 89 s 12, 1988 c 4 s 10, 1981 c 296 s 10, 1977 ex.s. c 362 s 7, & 1961 c 11 s 15.60.100;
(12) RCW 15.60.110 and 1993 c 89 s 13, 1988 c 4 s 11, 1977 ex.s. c 362 s 6, & 1961 c 11 s 15.60.110;
(13) RCW 15.60.120 and 1993 c 89 s 14, 1988 c 4 s 12, 1981 c 296 s 11, & 1961 c 11 s 15.60.120;
(14) RCW 15.60.140 and 1993 c 89 s 15, 1988 c 4 s 13, 1981 c 296 s 12, & 1961 c 11 s 15.60.140;
(15) RCW 15.60.150 and 1993 c 89 s 16, 1981 c 296 s 13, & 1961 c 11 s 15.60.150;
(16) RCW 15.60.170 and 1993 c 89 s 17, 1991 c 363 s 15, & 1989 c 354 s 64;
(17) RCW 15.60.230 and 1993 c 89 s 19; and
(18) RCW 15.60.900 and 1977 ex.s. c 362 s 11.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. Sections 1 through 6 and 8 of this act are necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and take effect immediately.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. Sections 7 and 9 through 12 of this act take effect January 1, 1999.
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