[{"_1":2,"_100":-5,"_101":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,76,88],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},"mediaId",6279812,"mediaKeyId","2618516-1dd6eb55db6e09b480f0b796f7b7c04f","parentId",2618516,"title","Senate committee hears bill to extend pesticide application safety committee through 2035","audioSeconds",386,"startMs",44225,"endMs",430585,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2618516-1dd6eb55db6e09b480f0b796f7b7c04f&start=44&end=430","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2618516-1dd6eb55db6e09b480f0b796f7b7c04f/thumbnail_44225.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6279812/Washington/Senate-committee-hears-bill-to-extend-pesticide-application-safety-committee-through-2035","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6279812-cc9c7e77900f33f6cd0e38d0e53cb843/orig.mp4?Expires=1770564525&Signature=OilUA2uXxOyyopdDtjU8yrBwJTbbJS2a68KQ532SzeTkMwsUYDa0dodbOjjUp7caQSGdjPq5-ZoTX6zd2CC5QZeNlRx26tEriNkCusEOhvrE6Ydr8nPRDtq7wMbWaNGD4XGYZefLuf1E4vUQFhZ-GMoUYPwVGayVKwcHTUJ~7E9agX0IhSsbcFVZvaOqzMX3GTokynF783X4XrELneLllW4Ei2xCMoEcibSmgYsdaTTP~kN8v3xS98NTIxGM40dQmGEIKi~Zfjh5EESeSwItPj4HF-8IFcaq5gGSRarvHOuPi8cnialqPBD9aA1CNdHFqt3jMtAnabx1yxZRp7Iizw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources","date","2025-03-13T00:00:00Z","article","The Washington State Senate Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources & Parks Committee heard Substitute House Bill 1294 on a statutory committee created to study pesticide application safety and related data-sharing.

Committee staff Elena Becker said the pesticide application safety committee was created in 2018 \"to explore how the departments of agriculture, health, labor, and industries, and the Washington Poison Center collect and track data.\" Becker said the substitute bill would extend the committee’s expiration date 10 years, to July 1, 2035, and would remove an existing restriction on an advisory subgroup conducting in‑person meetings.

Representative Tom Dent, prime sponsor, said the committee grew out of a 2018 study group and has produced a report and recommendations. \"I have to say I'm not always really high on these things but this one has worked very well and was good success,\" Rep. Dent said, describing the panel’s work on drift, applicator safety, multilingual education and shared data.

Becker summarized the fiscal estimate included with the bill: a little over $600,000 in the 2025–27 biennium, with roughly $550,000 anticipated from the Model Toxics Control Operating Account. No additional staff-level changes were specified in the hearing record.

Senators asked why the original statute carried a sunset clause; Dent said the panel’s work was interrupted in part by COVID and that a 10‑year extension would allow continued study of best management practices and new application technologies. A committee member asked whether past committee dysfunction was a reason for sunsets; Dent declined to engage in that line of debate.

Committee staff reported no in-person testifiers and recorded 62 written responses in support and none in opposition for the bill. No formal committee action or vote on the bill was recorded in the hearing transcript.

The hearing record shows the committee will move on to the next bill on the agenda following public comment; any amendments or votes appear not to have occurred during this hearing.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Senate Agriculture & Natural Resources - 3/13/2025 1:30 PM","oneSentenceSummary","The Washington State Senate Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources & Parks Committee heard Substitute House Bill 1294, which would extend the pesticide application safety committee through July 1, 2035, and remove a restriction on an advisory subgroup holding in‑person meetings.","taxTitle","Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources & Parks, Senate, Legislative Sessions, Washington","taxId",20499,"location","Washington","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":77,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":78,"_41":79,"_43":80,"_45":81,"_47":82,"_49":83,"_51":84,"_53":85,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":86,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":87,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6279802,"Bill would create wildfire mitigation and resiliency standards work group to align DNR and insurance practices",1943,1536375,3480123,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2618516-1dd6eb55db6e09b480f0b796f7b7c04f&start=1536&end=3480","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2618516-1dd6eb55db6e09b480f0b796f7b7c04f/thumbnail_1536375.jpg","/articles/6279802/Washington/Bill-would-create-wildfire-mitigation-and-resiliency-standards-work-group-to-align-DNR-and-insurance-practices","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6279802-e5c7baa9afe90d3228a7807835e2f804/orig.mp4?Expires=1770564525&Signature=o6Ukli01vO4DNBVVpr~1re7b31oaJSkSPfPEJPou22ABBpBDFtw1Bvwg3UnYy9DE25N3V88P6veKXnVzZNlasfMYnR-Kw~Oprb79CwvYb8Cq3ITiZLKkw-LOdic3KeRw0~WEIYpnt-cKlYr26-nwWLojKc-AXhXp8qBhZQPEMCHcMnuRz3Z3pcOEzvwBesgzeJCRFO8Xt7OIDtOiu68iPVSQpWQPI1IfgiJN--TkKPl4bZ7-mzwRYV~K2lfMOZx-xGAGilTVP9IEYcYA3~kCMmBfkBnZ~~0-1XIyOd8cCWmdi3XQBqKQzePAT1rU7BlSVs0mIX3pRUztJa8VkxQL4g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Senate Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources & Parks Committee heard Substitute House Bill 1539, which would form a wildfire mitigation and resiliency standards work group to study how the state can align Department of Natural Resources mitigation standards with national, science‑based standards and improve transparency for insurance consumers.

Representative Christine Reeves, prime sponsor and chair of the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, told senators the bill is intended to be proactive: \"The goal of this is really about being proactive in the state of Washington to prevent what we have seen happen in other states,\" Reeves said, referring to insurance markets in other Western states leaving areas with high wildfire risk.

Committee staff described the proposed work group’s membership to include the Insurance Commissioner, the Commissioner of Public Lands, representatives from the property and casualty insurance industry, the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety, local emergency management, the Washington Fire Chiefs Association, small forest landowners and rural landowners. Four legislators (two from each of the Senate and House largest caucuses) would be included as ex officio members, nonvoting by default under the bill language. The work group must study aligning mitigation standards with national models, improving community mitigation, sharing data between state agencies and industry, improving consumer transparency of wildfire hazard and risk, and establishing a homeowner grant program. The group must report recommendations to the Legislature by Dec. 1 of the year specified in the bill language; staff noted a $15,000 fiscal request from the Office of the Insurance Commissioner.

Stakeholders who testified included the Northwest Insurance Council, which described insurers’ concerns about availability and affordability of property insurance and supported aligning mitigation at parcel and community scales; the Washington Farm Forestry Association, which supported the bill but cautioned the timeline to produce recommendations was tight; Tony Craven, a DNR wildfire advisory committee member, and Eli Loftus of the Okanogan Conservation District, who asked for conservation district representation on the work group; and Mike Busse, a rural fire chief, who urged that insurance modeling firms not overlook local fire district response capabilities.

Senator Manka Dhingra Saldana asked why legislators would be ex officio rather than full members; Representative Reeves said she designed the membership to keep the work group flexible and deliverable but said she was open to further discussion. Senator Short suggested removing the term \"ex officio\" in amendment language when working on committee changes so legislators could be full voting participants; Reeves said she would consider that change.

No committee vote was recorded in the hearing excerpt. Testimony and staff comment focused on membership, the short timeline for producing a report, the potential addition of real‑estate and investor‑owned utility representation, the $15,000 staff fiscal request and the need to ensure practical, science‑based alignment with national mitigation standards such as those promoted by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety and the Wildfire Prepared Home approach.","The Senate Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources & Parks Committee heard Substitute House Bill 1539, which would establish a wildfire mitigation and resiliency standards work group to align DNR standards with national models, study community mitigation practices and improve insurance consumer transparency.",{"_33":89,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":90,"_41":91,"_43":92,"_45":93,"_47":94,"_49":95,"_51":96,"_53":97,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":98,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":99,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":74,"_75":74},6279807,"Bill would expand civil infraction options for low‑level fish and wildlife violations, add enforcement provisions for guides and stream impacts",1130,428490,1558809,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2618516-1dd6eb55db6e09b480f0b796f7b7c04f&start=428&end=1558","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2618516-1dd6eb55db6e09b480f0b796f7b7c04f/thumbnail_428490.jpg","/articles/6279807/Washington/Bill-would-expand-civil-infraction-options-for-lowlevel-fish-and-wildlife-violations-add-enforcement-provisions-for-guides-and-stream-impacts","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6279807-302c04738d50be20db50c87b93936288/orig.mp4?Expires=1770564525&Signature=FU1kqwhkpVmIBEvv5aQVMD-KjDKh95kMZbJDCoG0owHUZ0GA480y~9E2D7zLHMdk2aw-nPEPArdFvxCeup3FTtKEGNa5NH132jqZj-J0fncLjhhwLDbiiuZ0RZu9E1NtwD5UnptaHSzyKJCw39QtHO6o70f1cJE3I7ghO6uJGlXuF09doU-esssyfGiTzI61PB2NMSS0SAAu1gZ~mNhw3JMQhTMRkSms7V4t09jdu1aWzM4998zapbBV5aybGBLka3GixHZgsJAAm1kc~XVkgLSRfPcZiYLUp1V9Be1X8rRC9e0jbuduxzZbiHMtmLyfly1VsuVxJ3Nd8hyG6A6Ivw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Senate Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources & Parks Committee held a public hearing on Substitute House Bill 1325, a package of changes aimed at expanding enforcement options for certain fish and wildlife violations.

Jeff Olson, committee staff, summarized the bill’s core changes: a number of offenses that are currently criminal (misdemeanors or gross misdemeanors) would be classified as natural resource infractions for which fines could be imposed. Olson listed examples the substitute adds as natural resource infractions: hunting big game without required license or tag, failing to properly notch a transport tag, carrying a rifle or shotgun with live shells or cartridges in the magazine while in a motor vehicle, discharging a firearm from or across a maintained portion of a public highway, operating a motor vehicle in the wetted portion of a stream bed, constructing a hand-built rock dam in violation of department rules, and new compliance requirements for fishing guides and charter operators, including displaying stickers and submitting logbooks.

Captain Jeff Wickersham of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife Enforcement Program said the 2020 changes that created infraction options improved enforcement outcomes and reduced court burden. He told the committee that infraction violations show paid/committed rates above 90 percent, while \"big game related cases have conviction rates below 20 and dismissal rates above 60 percent,\" a pattern he said the bill seeks to address by giving officers administrative infraction tools for lower‑level offenses.

Representative Roger Goodman, prime sponsor, said the bill does not create new felonies: \"This bill does not increase penalties. It does not create any new felonies,\" he told the committee, explaining the policy intent is to provide practical accountability and avoid overburdening criminal courts with low‑level natural resource offenses.

Senators asked for clarifications. Senator Wagner asked whether the draft language criminalizes simple, small hand-built rock dams; staff said the bill ties the standard to department rule and to structures that \"could impede the movement of fish life as defined in department rule,\" providing parameters for enforcement. Senator Schussler pressed on the modest fiscal note (staff cited a $7,000 implementation cost) and whether felony-level changes usually produce larger fiscal impacts; staff said the caseload forecast justification would need to be checked.

Testimony came from fishing and conservation stakeholders. Alexei Kamakidis of Trout Unlimited supported the bill’s hydraulic‑violation enforcement and guide provisions, while Dan Wilson of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers said the bill is a \"common sense reform\" that balances accountability with practicality. No committee vote was recorded during the hearing; the record shows the bill passed the House with bipartisan support, as the sponsor noted during testimony.

The hearing closed with the committee taking no formal action in the transcript excerpt.","Senate committee heard Substitute House Bill 1325, which converts several low‑level Fish and Wildlife criminal offenses into natural resource infractions, clarifies unlawful possession of a loaded firearm in a vehicle, and adds enforcement tools for fishing guides and some stream bed activities.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Senate committee hears bill to extend pesticide application safety committee through 2035

Bill would create wildfire mitigation and resiliency standards work group to align DNR and insurance practices

Bill would expand civil infraction options for low‑level fish and wildlife violations, add enforcement provisions for guides and stream impacts