Legislation Permitting WSDA To Help With Implementation of PRS Signed Into Law

As the 2018 legislative session came to an end in Olympia, one bill signed into law by Governor Jay Inslee will help farmers with new federal rules coming down the road.  Senate Bill 6319, championed by Senator Jim Honeyford, permits the Washington State Department of Agriculture to cooperate in the implementation of the federal Produce Safety Rule under FSMA.  The new law will allow the agency to conduct compliance-verification activities, enforce regulatory compliance, and accept federal funding to help pay for both roles.  Honeyford said farmers face so many new rules and regulations, farmers, especially smaller operation, need a little more help to understand all of the changes.

“Washington farmers face a host of new federal regulations and inspection regimes,” explains Honeyford. “It can be hard for farmers – especially those with small family farms – to adjust to new and changing regulations. This new law will create a state program focused more on education than punishment. It will allow state inspectors, who know Washington agriculture and crops better than federal bureaucrats, to do the work, with funding provided by the federal Department of Agriculture.”

According to Honeyford, these changes are crucial to making sure Washington’s produce is cleared and shipped to market in a timely fashion that will prevent loss and waste tied to regulatory delays.

Both of Honeyford’s bills, which each passed the Legislature with unanimous support, will go into effect on June 7.

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