H-3221.1

HOUSE BILL 2737

ByRepresentatives Bernbaum, Couture, and Griffey

AN ACT Relating to commercial shellfish fees; amending RCW 43.70.250; reenacting and amending RCW 69.30.010; adding a new section to chapter 69.30 RCW; creating a new section; and declaring an emergency.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 43.70.250 and 2025 c 360 s 15 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) ((It))(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, it shall be the policy of the state of Washington that the cost of each professional, occupational, or business licensing program be fully borne by the members of that profession, occupation, or business.

(2) The secretary shall from time to time establish the amount of all application fees, license fees, registration fees, examination fees, permit fees, renewal fees, and any other fee associated with licensing or regulation of professions, occupations, or businesses administered by the department. Any and all fees or assessments, or both, levied on the state to cover the costs of the operations and activities of the interstate health professions licensure compacts with participating authorities listed under chapter 18.130 RCW shall be borne by the persons who hold licenses issued pursuant to the authority and procedures established under the compacts. In fixing said fees, the secretary shall set the fees for each program at a sufficient level to defray the costs of administering that program and the cost of regulating licensed volunteer medical workers in accordance with RCW 18.130.360, except as provided in RCW 18.79.202 and in section 2 of this act. In no case may the secretary impose any certification, examination, or renewal fee upon a person seeking certification as a certified peer support specialist trainee under chapter 18.420 RCW or, between July 1, 2025, and July 1, 2030, impose a certification, examination, or renewal fee of more than $100 upon any person seeking certification as a certified peer support specialist under chapter 18.420 RCW. Subject to amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, between July 1, 2024, and July 1, 2029, the secretary may not impose any certification or certification renewal fee on a person seeking certification as a substance use disorder professional or substance use disorder professional trainee under chapter 18.205 RCW of more than $100.

(3) All such fees shall be fixed by rule adopted by the secretary in accordance with the provisions of the administrative procedure act, chapter 34.05 RCW.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 69.30 RCW to read as follows:

(1) Annual shellfish operation license fees established under this chapter shall be as follows:

(a) The fee for a harvester may not exceed $416;

(b) The fee for a zero to 49 acre shellstock shipper may not exceed $469;

(c) The fee for a wholesale shellstock shipper may not exceed $469;

(d) The fee for a more than 50 acre shellstock shipper may not exceed $752;

(e) The fee for a shucker-packer with a plant of less than 2,000 square feet of floor space may not exceed $856;

(f) The fee for a shucker-packer with a plant of between 2,000 and 5,000 square feet of floor space may not exceed $1,036; and

(g) The fee for a shucker-packer with a plant of more than 5,000 square feet of floor space may not exceed $1,912.

(2) Biotoxin testing fees established under this chapter for companies harvesting species other than geoduck intertidally shall be as follows:

(a) The fee for a harvester with two or less harvest sites may not exceed $484;

(b) The fee for a harvester with three or more harvest sites may not exceed $733;

(c) The fee for a shellstock shipper between zero and 49 acres with two or less harvest sites may not exceed $538;

(d) The fee for a shellstock shipper between zero and 49 acres with three or more harvest sites may not exceed $836;

(e) The fee for a shellstock shipper of more than 50 acres may not exceed $1,317;

(f) The fee for a wholesale shellstock shipper may not exceed $271;

(g) The fee for a shucker-packer with a plant of less than 2,000 square feet of floor space and two or less harvest sites may not exceed $1,030;

(h) The fee for a shucker-packer with a plant of less than 2,000 square feet of floor space and three or more harvest sites may not exceed $1,474;

(i) The fee for a shucker-packer with a plant of between 2,000 and 5,000 square feet of floor space and two or less harvest sites may not exceed $1,208;

(j) The fee for a shucker-packer with a plant of between 2,000 and 5,000 square feet of floor space and three or more harvest sites may not exceed $1,777; and

(k) The fee for a shucker-packer with a plant of more than 5,000 square feet of floor space may not exceed $3,304.

(3) The fee for an export certificate may not exceed $75.

Sec. 3. RCW 69.30.010 and 2011 c 194 s 1 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.

(1) "Approved shellfish tag or label" means a tag or label meeting the requirements of the national shellfish sanitation program model ordinance.

(2) "Commercial quantity" means any quantity exceeding: (a) Forty pounds of mussels; (b) one hundred oysters; (c) fourteen horse clams; (d) six geoducks; (e) fifty pounds of hard or soft shell clams; or (f) fifty pounds of scallops. The poundage in this subsection (2) constitutes weight with the shell.

(3) "Department" means the state department of health.

(4) "Establishment" means the buildings, together with the necessary equipment and appurtenances, used for the storage, culling, shucking, packing and/or shipping of shellfish in commercial quantity or for sale for human consumption.

(5) "Ex officio fish and wildlife officer" means an ex officio fish and wildlife officer as defined in RCW 77.08.010.

(6) "Export certificate" means a certificate issued by the department to a licensed shucker-packer or shellstock shipper for use in the foreign export of a lot or shipment of shellfish.

(7) "Fish and wildlife officer" means a fish and wildlife officer as defined in RCW 77.08.010.

(((7)))(8) "Harvester" means a shellfish operation with activities limited to growing shellstock, placing shellstock in a container, harvesting shellstock, transporting shellstock using proper transportation conveyances within Washington state, and delivering shellstock to a shellfish dealer licensed by the department within four hours of landing it. A harvester does not process shellfish, ship shellfish outside of Washington state, sell shellfish outside of Washington state, sell shellfish to retail outlets, shuck shellfish, repack shellfish, or store shellfish in any location outside of the approved growing area from where the shellfish is harvested.

(10) "Person" means any individual, partnership, firm, company, corporation, association, or the authorized agents of any such entities.

(((8)))(11) "Sale" means to sell, offer for sale, barter, trade, deliver, consign, hold for sale, consignment, barter, trade, or delivery, and/or possess with intent to sell or dispose of in any commercial manner.

(((9)))(12) "Secretary" means the secretary of health or his or her authorized representatives.

(((10)))(13) "Shellfish" means all varieties of fresh and frozen oysters, mussels, clams, and scallops, either shucked or in the shell, and any fresh or frozen edible products thereof.

(((11)))(14) "Shellfish growing areas" means the lands and waters in and upon which shellfish are grown for harvesting in commercial quantity or for sale for human consumption.

(((12)))(15) "Shellstock" means live molluscan shellfish in the shell.

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