FINAL BILL REPORT

HB 1435

C 14 L 03

Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description: Concerning the fruit and vegetable district fund.

Sponsors: By Representatives Armstrong, Linville, Schoesler, McDermott, Hinkle, Wood, Newhouse, Grant, Quall, Holmquist and Condotta.

House Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources

Senate Committee on Agriculture

Background:

State law authorizes the Director of Agriculture (Director) to establish a fee-for-service program to provide, upon request, services to growers and other interested parties for special inspections and certifications, identifications, diagnostic services, and activities needed to facilitate the movement or sale of plant products or bees and bee products. Monies collected from providing these services are deposited in the Plant Pest Account in the Agricultural Local Fund.

Other laws require the Director to establish standards and grades for apples, apricots, Italian prunes, peaches, sweet cherries, pears, potatoes and asparagus and allow the Director to establish them for other fruits and vegetables. For the purposes of these laws, the state is divided into not less that two fruit and vegetable inspection districts. The fees collected for these services in an inspection district are deposited in a district account within the Fruit and Vegetable Inspection Account, which is used as a revolving fund to carry out services within the district.

In 1997 legislation authorized a transfer of $200,000 in funds from District Number Two, as it was then composed, to the Plant Pest Account for activities related to apple maggot control. Funds from this transfer that are unexpended by June 30, 2003, are to be returned. The three districts that were in existence in 1997 were consolidated into two districts in 2002 in response to legislation enacted that year. The legislation also required that the transferred monies be returned to the district account for the district containing Yakima County. Yakima County was in District Number Two before the consolidation and remains in District Number Two following it.

Summary:

The date by which monies transferred from the district fund of District Number Two must be expended from the Plant Pest Account for apple maggot control activities is extended by two years to June 30, 2005.

Votes on Final Passage:

House 96  0

Senate 43  0

Effective: June 30, 2003