Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"Sec. 1. RCW
16.67.120 and 2002 c 313 s 83 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) There is hereby levied an assessment of ((one dollar))up to $2.50 per head to be implemented as prescribed in subsection (2) of this section on all Washington cattle sold in this state or elsewhere to be paid by the seller at the time of sale: PROVIDED, That if such sale is accompanied by a brand inspection by the department such an assessment may be collected at the same time, place and in the same manner as brand inspection fees. Such fees may be collected by the livestock ((services division))identification program of the department and transmitted to the commission: PROVIDED FURTHER, That, if such sale is made without a brand inspection by the department the assessment shall be paid by the seller and transmitted directly to the commission by the ((fifteenth))15th day of the month following the month the transaction occurred.
(2)
(a) Beginning July 1, 2024, the assessment must be $1.50 per head. $0.50 of the $1.50 assessment levied under this subsection may not be collected at the first point of sale of any calf identified with a green tag as identified in RCW 16.57.160.(b) Beginning January 1, 2025, the assessment must be $2.00 per head. $1.00 of the $2.00 assessment levied under this subsection may not be collected at the first point of sale of any calf identified with a green tag as identified in RCW 16.57.160. (c) Beginning January 1, 2026, the assessment must be $2.50 per head. $1.50 of the $2.50 assessment levied under this subsection may not be collected at the first point of sale of any calf identified with a green tag as identified in RCW 16.57.160. (3) The procedures for collecting all state and federal assessments under this chapter shall be as required by the federal order and as described by rules adopted by the commission.
(4) The commission shall hold meetings in different geographic regions of the state throughout the year, with at least two meetings held east of the crest of the Cascade mountains. Geographic regions must include the northeast, southeast, central southwest, and northwest regions of the state.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter
16.67 RCW to read as follows:
The commission may fund, conduct, or otherwise participate in scientific research related to beef including, without limitation, to improve production, quality, transportation, processing, distribution, and environmental stewardship.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter
16.67 RCW to read as follows:
(1) Of the assessments levied in RCW
16.67.120, a producer or owner of cattle from whom an assessment is collected, except for assessments collected at the first point of sale of green tag calves not subject to the assessment increases provided in RCW
16.67.120(2), has the right to request a refund of not more than $1.00 per head beginning July 1, 2024, not more than $1.50 per head beginning January 1, 2025, and not more than $2.00 per head beginning January 1, 2026. Refund requests must be mailed to the commission within 90 calendar days of the assessment.
(2) The commission must process the requested refunds on a calendar quarterly basis. Any refund request that is received by the commission less than 15 days from the end of the calendar quarter must be paid at the end of the next quarter.
Sec. 4. RCW
16.67.200 and 2017 c 256 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The budget required in RCW
16.67.090(8) must set forth the complete and detailed financial program of the commission, showing the revenues and expenditures of the commission. The budget must be explanatory, describing how the funding is used to administer and implement the commission's programs and priorities, and include the reasons for salient changes from the previous fiscal period in expenditure or revenue items. The budget must explain any major changes to financial policy and contain an outline of the proposed financial policies of the commission for the ensuing fiscal period and describe performance indicators that demonstrate measurable progress toward the commission's priorities.
(2) The budget must be sufficiently detailed to provide transparency for the commission's actions on behalf of the industry.
(3) The commission must submit to the legislature
, in compliance with RCW 43.01.036, a concise yet detailed report of the commission's activities and expenditures after the completion of each fiscal year.
The report must include an accounting of assessments collected pursuant to RCW 16.67.120 for the previous fiscal year, including a record of the amount collected, the amount spent, and the purposes for which the funds were used."
(1) Increases the maximum amount of the beef commission's (commission) assessment that producers may request to be refunded to them as follows:
(c) From $1.50 to $2.00 beginning January 1, 2026.
(2) Specifies that producers whose transactions are exempt from the assessment increases are not eligible to request a refund.
(3) Requires the commission to include an accounting of the assessments collected, spent, and how assessments were used in the previous fiscal year in the report to the legislature on the commission's budget that is required under current law after the conclusion of each fiscal year. The requirement to provide this information in a separate report to the legislature by January 1st of each year is deleted.