WashingtonWashington requires its agriculture agency to plan for affordable food
Washington's Department of Agriculture must recommend ways to make food more affordable and strengthen the food supply, with a statewide strategy due December 1, 2027.
What it does
Washington's Department of Agriculture must deliver a statewide plan for more affordable food by December 1, 2027. Some hunger recommendations depend on relevant data already being available.
The agriculture director must track food system performance, including state regulatory costs. Starting June 30, 2030, the department must report comparisons with competing states at least every four years.
Argument forClear agency roles and coordinated disaster outreach could help farmers and people needing food receive a more organized response during emergencies.
Argument againstLimiting some hunger recommendations to readily available data could leave people's needs unaddressed when existing records do not capture them.
More detail
The Washington Department of Agriculture must develop a strategy recommending steps lawmakers could take to make food more affordable. The strategy covers access to food, farms' ability to stay in business, and the food supply's ability to withstand disruptions across Washington. The agency must involve public agencies, universities, and hunger relief groups and regularly engage federally recognized tribes. It must consult experts, people with hunger experience in households with at least one Black, Indigenous, or other person of color, and small farmers who are people of color. Recommendations to reduce the need for food assistance and address hunger's root causes depend on relevant data being readily available from existing sources. The strategy must plan for tracking food access, farm conditions, and food supply disruptions. This includes yearly data on food assistance investments and use, available information about people served, and fuel and labor costs added by state laws and rules. The strategy must cover barriers to food production, coordinated disaster response, nutrition education, food access gaps, and research on health differences linked to diet. The agency must send the strategy to legislative committees by December 1, 2027. The section requiring the strategy expires July 1, 2028.
Washington's agriculture director must monitor the food system and coordinate statewide food security with government agencies, tribes, and groups working on farming and food access. The Department of Agriculture's reports must compare Washington's agricultural rules with those of competing states for farm products common in Washington. Monitoring must consider costs that Washington's rules add to fuel, packaging, and labor. Reports to the legislature begin June 30, 2030, and are required at least once every four years. These monitoring and reporting duties have no stated expiration.
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Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- Mar 17Effective date 6/11/2026.Latest
- Mar 17Chapter 83, 2026 Laws.Major
- Mar 17Governor Bob Ferguson signed.Became Law
- Mar 10Delivered to Governor.To Governor
- Mar 9President signed.Passed Senate
- Mar 6Speaker signed.Passed House
- Mar 5Third reading, passed; yeas, 45; nays, 3; absent, 0; excused, 1.Minor
- Vote recorded 3rd Reading & Final Passage (#20). Result: pass.Upper
- Mar 5Rules suspended. Placed on Third Reading.Minor
- Mar 3Placed on second reading by Rules Committee.Minor
- Mar 2Passed to Rules Committee for second reading.
- Mar 2Minority; without recommendation.Minor
- Mar 2WM - Majority; do pass.Minor
- Mar 2Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means at 10:30 AM.
- Feb 27Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Ways & Means at 2:30 PM.
- Feb 24Referred to Ways & Means.Minor
- Feb 23And refer to Ways & Means.Minor
- Feb 23ANR - Majority; do pass.Minor
- Feb 23Executive action taken in the Senate Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources at 1:30 PM.
- Feb 19Public hearing in the Senate Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources at 1:30 PM.
- Feb 12First reading, referred to Agriculture & Natural Resources.Minor
- Feb 10Third reading, passed; yeas, 83; nays, 12; absent, 0; excused, 3.Minor
- Vote recorded 3rd Reading & Final Passage (#6). Result: pass.Lower
- Feb 10Rules suspended. Placed on Third Reading.Minor
- Feb 10Floor amendment(s) adopted.
- Feb 101st substitute bill substituted (AGNR 26).Major
- Feb 6Rules Committee relieved of further consideration. Placed on second reading.Minor
- Jan 23Referred to Rules 2 Review.Minor
- Jan 21AGNR - Majority; 1st substitute bill be substituted, do pass.Major
- Jan 21Executive action taken in the House Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources at 8:00 AM.
- Jan 20Executive session scheduled, but no action was taken in the House Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources at 10:30 AM.
- Jan 14Public hearing in the House Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources at 8:00 AM.
- Jan 12First reading, referred to Agriculture & Natural Resources.Minor
- Jan 2Prefiled for introduction.Introduced
Agriculture