CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT

Chapter 41, Laws of 2025

2025 REGULAR SESSION

DAIRY INSPECTION PROGRAM—EXTENSION

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 30, 2025

Passed by the House March 5, 2025 Yeas 97 Nays 0 LAURIE JINKINS Speaker of the House of Representatives Passed by the Senate April 2, 2025 Yeas 49 Nays 0 DENNY HECK President of the Senate	CERTIFICATE I, Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is HOUSE BILL 1553 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth. BERNARD DEAN Chief Clerk Chief Clerk
Approved April 11, 2025 11:19 AM	FILED April 14, 2025
BOB FERGUSON Governor of the State of Washington	Secretary of State State of Washington

Passed Legislature - 2025 Regular Session

2025 Regular Session

ByRepresentatives Richards, Dent, Hackney, Bernbaum, Kloba, and Springer

Read first time 01/23/25.Referred to Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources.

AN ACT Relating to extending the dairy inspection program until June 30, 2031; amending RCW 15.36.551; providing an effective date; providing an expiration date; and declaring an emergency.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 15.36.551 and 2019 c 115 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

There is levied on all milk processed in this state an assessment not to exceed fifty-four one-hundredths of one cent per hundredweight. The director shall determine, by rule, an assessment, that with contribution from the general fund, will support an inspection program to maintain compliance with the provisions of the pasteurized milk ordinance of the national conference on interstate milk shipment. All assessments shall be levied on the operator of the first milk processing plant receiving the milk for processing. This shall include milk processing plants that produce their own milk for processing and milk processing plants that receive milk from other sources. Milk processing plants whose monthly assessment for receipt of milk totals less than ((twenty dollars))$20 in any given month are exempted from paying this assessment for that month. All moneys collected under this section shall be paid to the director by the ((twentieth))20th day of the succeeding month for the previous month's assessments. The director shall deposit the funds into the dairy inspection account hereby created within the agricultural local fund established in RCW 43.23.230. The funds shall be used only to provide inspection services to the dairy industry. If the operator of a milk processing plant fails to remit any assessments, that sum shall be a lien on any property owned by him or her, and shall be reported by the director and collected in the manner and with the same priority over other creditors as prescribed for the collection of delinquent taxes under chapters 84.60 and 84.64 RCW.

This section expires June 30, ((2025))2031.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect June 30, 2025.

Passed by the House March 5, 2025.

Passed by the Senate April 2, 2025.

Approved by the Governor April 11, 2025.

Filed in Office of Secretary of State April 14, 2025.