Pair Of Warnick Bills Signed Into Law

Earlier this week, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed a pair of bill sponsored during the 2018 legislative session by Senator Judy Warnick.  Senate Bill 6369 removes an exemption on veterinary inspections of animals brought into Washington.  Under current law, importers are exempt from an inspection if an animal is delivered to a feedlot, slaughter plant or livestock market within 12 hours, causing concern about food safety processes.   The bill came at the request of the USDA.

“My bill closes an exemption and will improve our state’s food safety,” said Warnick. “We are bringing state law into alignment to strengthen our ability to prevent infectious diseases and ensure healthy animals are coming to our state.”

It is already unlawful to import animals into Washington without obtaining a veterinary inspection to ensure animals meet the state’s health requirements. Warnick’s bill removes an exemption that weakens the state’s ability to meet animal disease traceability goals.

“I want to be sure our state is doing everything it can to protect our food supply,” added Warnick. “Making sure we know where animals are coming from and their health is critical. We’ve had instances where those using this exemption haven’t followed the rules and that puts us all at risk.”

When it comes to Senate Bill 6368, Warnick said it makes broad changes to fair funding access, flexibility of funds and administrative oversight. The new law, which received unanimous support in the Legislature, will take effect June 7.

“State laws concerning fairs and youth shows haven’t been updated in 50 years,” said Warnick, who is Republican leader on the Senate’s agriculture committee. “There have been a lot of changes in how fairs come together and what they do for communities across our state. They are an important economic-development tool for rural communities and my bill will help support those efforts far into the future.”

The updates to state law create a more equitable funding process for the 64 agricultural fairs and youth shows held across Washington. In addition, the new law condenses term lengths on the state’s fair commission, and ensures that fairs won’t lose funding as a result of a natural disaster.

“There are some quirks in state law concerning fairs,” said Warnick, R-Moses Lake. “This reform will keep fairs viable and give the state Department of Agriculture more flexibility in how it manages the fair fund.”

The state treasurer is required by law to transfer money to the fair fund, which is administered by the Department of Agriculture. That amount has dwindled in years past and permitted expenses have been limited. Under Warnick’s legislation, the fund will receive $2 million per year to support the expanded definition of fairs.

Click Here to learn more about SB 6369.

Click Here to learn more about SB 6368.

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