The bill creates a new chapter in Title 16 RCW and establishes a new legal requirement that retail pet stores that sell animals (including exotic animals) or aquatic plants must provide customers who purchase an animal or aquatic plant with an informational pamphlet. The pamphlet must be prepared by the Washington invasive species council and, at minimum, include six specified topic areas related to invasive species, rehoming animals, disposal of aquatic plants, identification resources, and applicable state laws. The bill defines "animal" broadly and references RCW 77.135.010 for the definitions of "aquatic invasive species," "aquatic plant," and "invasive species." This is a procedural change creating a new information‑distribution obligation for regulated retail pet stores (not a new crime or penalty change). Affected parties include retail pet stores, customers who purchase animals or aquatic plants, and the Washington invasive species council (which must prepare the pamphlet). The text provided does not specify any enforcement mechanisms, penalties, compliance monitoring, required pamphlet formats (paper or electronic), recordkeeping, or an effective date for when the requirement begins. The specific entities to be listed as places that may accept rehomed animals and the full statutory text of the referenced definitions are not included in the extracted facts. Bill reference: H-1366.1 / House Bill 1976, 69th Legislature, 2025 Regular Session; read first time 02/14/25 and referred to the Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources.

If enacted, retail pet stores that sell animals or aquatic plants will likely need to give buyers a state-prepared pamphlet from the Washington invasive species council that explains invasive species risks, rehoming options, disposal of aquatic plants, identification resources, and applicable state laws. This shifts practical responsibility for getting this information into consumers’ hands onto pet stores and increases the workload of the invasive species council to prepare and keep the pamphlet current; stores may face modest ongoing costs for printing or distribution and staff time to hand the pamphlet to purchasers, and customers will more often receive guidance about legal and environmental risks when they buy animals or plants. Key details are unclear from the text provided: there is no effective date, no stated enforcement or penalties, no required delivery format (paper versus electronic), and no recordkeeping requirements, so how compliance will be monitored or funded is uncertain. The bill refers to statutory definitions in RCW 77.135.010 and to the council under RCW 79A.25.320, but the specific entities that must be listed for rehoming and the mechanism for updating the pamphlet are not specified here.