2026 Regular Session

ByRepresentatives Dent, Schmick, Barnard, and Lekanoff

Read first time 01/22/26.Referred to Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources.

AN ACT Relating to reducing regulatory stress in agriculture; creating new sections; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that the agricultural industry is an integral part of Washington's economy and that the behavioral health of agricultural producers and workers and their family members is a statewide concern. Further, the legislature finds that the state has made progress since the 2018 creation of the task force on behavioral health and suicide prevention in the agricultural industry in identifying potential stressors on agricultural producers and workers in order to recommend ways to alleviate stress in the agricultural community. This work continued through the mental health and suicide prevention for agricultural producers and workers work group, which submitted a 2025 report to the legislature, identifying regulatory challenges unique to farming operations as one of many stressors and recommending further study into ways to reduce these burdens. The legislature, therefore, intends to create a joint legislative task force on reducing regulatory stress for agricultural producers to evaluate and recommend ways to streamline, eliminate, or modify existing regulations that apply to various aspects of agricultural production.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1)(a) A joint legislative task force on reducing regulatory stress for agricultural producers is established, with members as provided in this subsection:

(i) One member from each of the two largest caucuses of the senate, appointed by the president of the senate;

(ii) One member from each of the two largest caucuses of the house of representatives, appointed by the speaker of the house;

(iii) The director of the department of agriculture, or the director's designee;

(iv) The director of the department of commerce, or the director's designee;

(v) The director of the department of ecology, or the director's designee;

(iv) The commissioner of public lands, or the commissioner's designee;

(v) The director of the department of fish and wildlife, or the director's designee;

(vi) The director of the governor's office of regulatory innovation and assistance, or the director's designee;

(vii) The secretary of health, or the secretary's designee; and

(viii) The director of the department of labor and industries, or the director's designee.

(b) The joint legislative task force shall choose its chair from among its legislative membership. The two members appointed to the joint legislative task force from the house of representatives and the senate with the most years of legislative service shall jointly confer immediately following the effective date of this section to set an agreed date, time, and location to convene the initial meeting of the task force, pending election of a chair.

(2) The joint legislative task force shall review aspects of the regulatory environment that lead to agricultural producer stress, and recommend actions to alleviate agricultural producer stress by streamlining, eliminating, or modifying existing regulations related to:

(a) Land use and zoning;

(b) Stewardship of water resources;

(3) Staff support for the joint legislative task force shall be provided by the senate committee services and the house of representatives office of program research.

(4) Legislative members of the joint legislative task force are reimbursed for travel expenses in accordance with RCW 44.04.120. Nonlegislative members are not entitled to be reimbursed for travel expenses if they are elected officials or are participating on behalf of an employer, governmental entity, or other organization. Any reimbursement for other nonlegislative members is subject to chapter 43.03 RCW.

(5) The expenses of the joint legislative task force shall be paid jointly by the senate and the house of representatives. Joint legislative task force expenditures are subject to approval by the senate facilities and operations committee and the house of representatives executive rules committee, or their successor committees.

(6) The joint legislative task force shall report its findings and recommendations to the appropriate committees of the legislature in conformance with RCW 43.01.036 by November 1, 2028.

(7) This section expires June 30, 2029.