HOUSE BILL REPORT

SB 5381

BYSenators Hansen and Benitz

Revising requirements for custom slaughtering facilities.

House Committe on Agriculture & Rural Development

Majority Report:  Do pass.  (14)

      Signed by Representatives Rayburn, Chair; Kremen, Vice Chair; Baugher, Bristow, Brooks, Chandler, Doty, Grant, Holm, Jacobsen, McLean, Moyer, Nealey and Rasmussen.

House Staff:Kenneth Hirst (786-7105)

AS PASSED HOUSE APRIL 7, 1987

BACKGROUND:

The state's custom slaughtering statutes regulate the commercial slaughtering of an uninspected animal and the handling of uninspected meat for the owner of the animal slaughtered.  A person offering such services must be licensed by the Department of Agriculture as a custom farm slaughterer.  Licenses are also required for an establishment, called a custom slaughtering establishment, which provides such services and for a facility, called a custom meat facility, at which both inspected and uninspected meats are prepared.  Violations of the statutes or the rules adopted by the department under those statutes are gross misdemeanors.

SUMMARY:

A provision of the custom slaughtering statutes is repealed which restricts the preparation of inspected meat (and food products from inspected meat) by a custom meat facility to units of one quarter of an animal or larger.  The operator of such a facility may prepare inspected meat for household users only under conditions prescribed by the director of Agriculture and may sell prepared inspected meat to household users only.  Such an operator may also sell prepackaged inspected meat to any person under certain circumstances.

Before issuing a license for a custom farm slaughterer or custom meat facility, the director shall inspect the applicant's facilities and equipment to ensure that they are properly constructed and are capable of being maintained in a sanitary manner.  The director may inspect such a facility or a custom slaughtering establishment at any reasonable time.  Further guidance is provided to the director for adopting rules regarding sanitation and labeling.  No person may interfere with the director in the performance of the director's duties.

The authority expressly granted by the current laws on custom slaughtering to counties and cities to adopt ordinances for the handling of meat that are more restrictive than those provided by the custom slaughtering statutes is altered.  It now applies only to such ordinances regarding custom meat facilities.

Provisions of law are repealed which establish fees for the late payment of license fees and regulate the activities of multipurpose meat facilities in remote areas and facilities for the use of the owners of livestock in remote areas.

Fiscal Note:      Requested March 17, 1987.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Alan Morasch, Dale Shelton, Bruce Thorn, Gordon Haun, Bernie Mazour, and Tim Stenek, Northwest Meat Processors' Association; Del Fox, Snohomish County Cattlemen's Association; Mike Schwisow, Department of Agriculture.

House Committee - Testified Against:      None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:    (1)  Washington is the only state that restricts the sale of inspected meat at a custom meat facility to packages from units of 1/4 of an animal or larger.  Consumers are buying smaller quantities of meat and are more selective regarding the cuts of meat they desire; if these facilities cannot serve these customers, they will not survive. (2) Custom slaughtering for livestock owners is an important service, but the volume of such trade is not sufficient to keep the operators of the facilities in business; they need other off-season trade. (3) The bill increases the authority of the Department of Agriculture to regulate these businesses and authorizes the custom meat facilities to broaden their customer services.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      None Presented.