E2SHB 2709 -
By Committee on Agriculture & Rural Economic Development
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 A new section is added to chapter 28A.335
RCW to read as follows:
(1) The legislature finds that the benefits of school district
procurement of locally grown foods include environmental protection,
local economic development, improved child nutrition, and food
security. Purchasing locally grown foods:
(a) Reduces the distance and changes the manner in which food
travels from producer to consumer, which conserves energy, decreases
greenhouse gas emissions, and decreases reliance on oil;
(b) Expands market opportunities for local farmers, which preserves
and strengthens food production and increases the already significant
contribution that agriculture makes to local and state economies;
(c) Contributes to the health and development of school children,
which bolsters their ability to achieve educational goals; and
(d) Reduces reliance on nonlocally grown foods, which increases
food access and safety.
(2) With this act, the legislature provides school districts the
authority to consider the distance food travels from the point of
production to the point of consumption when making food procurement
decisions.
Sec. 2 RCW 28A.335.190 and 2005 c 346 s 2 and 2005 c 286 s 1 are
each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
(1) When, in the opinion of the board of directors of any school
district, the cost of any furniture, supplies, equipment, building,
improvements, or repairs, or other work or purchases, except books,
will equal or exceed the sum of fifty thousand dollars, complete plans
and specifications for such work or purchases shall be prepared and
notice by publication given in at least one newspaper of general
circulation within the district, once each week for two consecutive
weeks, of the intention to receive bids and that specifications and
other information may be examined at the office of the board or any
other officially designated location: PROVIDED, That the board without
giving such notice may make improvements or repairs to the property of
the district through the shop and repair department of such district
when the total of such improvements or repair does not exceed the sum
of forty thousand dollars. The cost of any public work, improvement or
repair for the purposes of this section shall be the aggregate of all
amounts to be paid for labor, material, and equipment on one continuous
or interrelated project where work is to be performed simultaneously or
in close sequence. The bids shall be in writing and shall be opened
and read in public on the date and in the place named in the notice and
after being opened shall be filed for public inspection.
(2) Every purchase of furniture, equipment or supplies, except
books, the cost of which is estimated to be in excess of forty thousand
dollars, shall be on a competitive basis. The board of directors shall
establish a procedure for securing telephone and/or written quotations
for such purchases. Whenever the estimated cost is from forty thousand
dollars up to seventy-five thousand dollars, the procedure shall
require quotations from at least three different sources to be obtained
in writing or by telephone, and recorded for public perusal. Whenever
the estimated cost is in excess of seventy-five thousand dollars, the
public bidding process provided in subsection (1) of this section shall
be followed.
(3) Any school district may purchase goods produced or provided in
whole or in part from class II inmate work programs operated by the
department of corrections pursuant to RCW 72.09.100, including but not
limited to furniture, equipment, or supplies. School districts are
encouraged to set as a target to contract, beginning after June 30,
2006, to purchase up to one percent of the total goods required by the
school districts each year, goods produced or provided in whole or in
part from class II inmate work programs operated by the department of
corrections.
(4) Every building, improvement, repair or other public works
project, the cost of which is estimated to be in excess of forty
thousand dollars, shall be on a competitive bid process. Whenever the
estimated cost of a public works project is one hundred thousand
dollars or more, the public bidding process provided in subsection (1)
of this section shall be followed unless the contract is let using the
small works roster process in RCW 39.04.155 or under any other
procedure authorized for school districts. One or more school
districts may authorize an educational service district to establish
and operate a small works roster for the school district under the
provisions of RCW 39.04.155.
(5) The contract for the work or purchase shall be awarded to the
lowest responsible bidder as defined in RCW 43.19.1911 but the board
may by resolution reject any and all bids and make further calls for
bids in the same manner as the original call. On any work or purchase
the board shall provide bidding information to any qualified bidder or
the bidder's agent, requesting it in person.
(6) In the event of any emergency when the public interest or
property of the district would suffer material injury or damage by
delay, upon resolution of the board declaring the existence of such an
emergency and reciting the facts constituting the same, the board may
waive the requirements of this section with reference to any purchase
or contract: PROVIDED, That an "emergency", for the purposes of this
section, means a condition likely to result in immediate physical
injury to persons or to property of the school district in the absence
of prompt remedial action.
(7) This section does not apply to the direct purchase of school
buses by school districts and educational services in accordance with
RCW 28A.160.195.
(8) This section does not apply to the purchase of Washington grown
food.
(9) At the discretion of the board, a school district may develop
and implement policies and procedures to facilitate and maximize to the
extent practicable, purchases of Washington grown food including, but
not limited to, policies that permit a percentage price preference of
up to twenty-five percent for the purpose of procuring Washington grown
food.
(10) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this
section.
(a) "Percentage price preference" means the percent by which a
responsive bid from a responsible bidder whose product is a Washington
grown food may exceed the lowest responsive bid submitted by a
responsible bidder whose product is not a Washington grown food.
(b) "Washington grown" means grown and packed or processed in
Washington.
(11) This section does not apply to procurement of food by a school
if it is determined that compliance with this section would:
(a) Cause denial of federal moneys; or
(b) Be inconsistent with the requirements of federal law.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 (1) The Washington heritage livestock and
poultry breed recognition program is created in the department of
archaeology and historic preservation. The purpose is to establish a
nonregulatory incentive-based program to provide: (a) Recognition to
owners of heritage livestock and poultry; (b) increased awareness to
the public and to students of the history of the domesticated animals;
(c) an expanded market to encourage the continued production of these
locally grown agricultural products; and (d) items of special interest
to students that could, as appropriate, be served in school lunch
programs that have both nutritious and educational value.
(2) The director of the department shall establish the heritage
livestock and poultry breed recognition program. To apply for
recognition, an animal owner may submit an application form to the
department that includes the breed of the livestock or poultry, photos
of the animals, a brief history of the livestock or poultry breed
including the breed's origin, and its interesting and unique
characteristics. The department may use as a general guide for the
recognition program, the species of livestock and poultry that are
designated as "critical," "threatened," or "watch" on the conservation
priority list established by the American livestock breeds conservancy.
Persons owning livestock or poultry of breeds not included on these
lists may submit supplemental information regarding the breed's status
as a rare or diminishing breed for consideration by the department for
possible designation as a heritage livestock breed.
(3) The department shall: (a) Periodically issue recognition
awards to the owners of the animals designated under subsection (2) of
this section; and (b) maintain a web site that includes pictures and a
short description of animals on the heritage livestock breed registry.
(4) This section expires July 1, 2010."
E2SHB 2709 -
By Committee on Agriculture & Rural Economic Development
On page 1, line 1 of the title, after "foods;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "reenacting and amending RCW 28A.335.190; adding a new section to chapter 28A.335 RCW; creating a new section; and providing an expiration date."