This bill creates new law by establishing a temporary joint legislative task force on reducing regulatory stress for agricultural producers. The task force membership includes four legislative appointees (two Senate members appointed by the president of the Senate from the two largest caucuses and two House members appointed by the Speaker from the two largest caucuses) and the directors (or their designees) of specified state agencies: Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Ecology, Commissioner of Public Lands, Department of Fish and Wildlife, Governor’s Office of Regulatory Innovation and Assistance, Department of Health, and Department of Labor and Industries. The task force must choose a chair from among its legislative members, with the initial meeting scheduled by the two legislative appointees with the most years of legislative service. Senate Committee Services and the House Office of Program Research provide staff support. Task force expenses are paid jointly by the Senate and House, with expenditures subject to approval by the Senate Facilities and Operations Committee and the House Executive Rules Committee. The task force’s charge is a procedural and oversight review: it must examine regulatory provisions that contribute to stress for agricultural producers and recommend ways to streamline, eliminate, or modify regulations concerning land use and zoning, stewardship of water resources, grazing rights, and pesticides. The task force must report its findings and recommendations to the appropriate legislative committees in accordance with RCW 43.01.036 by November 1, 2028. Legislative members are reimbursed for travel under RCW 44.04.120; nonlegislative members who are elected officials or who participate on behalf of an employer or governmental entity are not entitled to travel reimbursement, and any reimbursement for other nonlegislative members is governed by chapter 43.03 RCW. The task force authority created by the bill expires June 30, 2029, and the bill designates these provisions as new sections (Sec. 1 and Sec. 2). The text provided does not state the effective date referenced for scheduling the initial meeting, does not detail any selection process beyond listing agency directors or their designees, and shows a numbering/typographical inconsistency in the membership list. No other sections or provisions beyond Sec. 1 and Sec. 2 were included in the extracted facts.

The bill would create a temporary joint legislative task force made up of selected legislators and agency directors (or their designees) to study which land use, water stewardship, grazing, and pesticide rules contribute to stress for agricultural producers and to recommend streamlining or changes. In practice this means modest new costs and staff time for the legislature and the named agencies, formal meetings and a report due by November 1, 2028, and the task force would expire June 30, 2029; the legislature must approve the task force’s expenses and legislative members get travel reimbursement while most nonlegislative members do not. Those most affected are farmers, farmworkers and their families, who could see reduced regulatory burdens if the task force’s recommendations are adopted, and the listed state agencies, which must supply members and staff time. The bill leaves some practical details unclear—most notably the section’s effective date for starting meetings and exactly how nonlegislative designees will be chosen—so actual outcomes will depend on the task force’s findings and whether the legislature acts on its recommendations.