The bill creates a new producer responsibility program for mattresses by adding a new chapter to Title 70A RCW, adding a section to chapter 82.04 RCW, and reenacting and amending RCW 43.21B.110 and 43.21B.300. It requires mattress producers to participate in and fund a producer responsibility organization (PRO), to appoint a PRO by January 1, 2027, and for PROs to register with the Department of Ecology (registration due March 1, 2027) and submit an approved stewardship plan (due by July 1, 2029 or within six months of certain rule adoption). Beginning January 1, 2031, producers not participating in an approved PRO may not introduce covered mattresses for use in the state. The statute creates a regulatory framework and procedures for PROs and stewardship programs rather than creating a criminal offense. PRO plans must be department‑approved and include governance, budgets, methods for collection/transport/processing, statewide convenience standards, performance goals measured annually (including targets for collection, reuse/renovation, and a minimum recycling rate of at least 70 percent), education and outreach, contingency plans, and financial arrangements including a reserve requirement of two to six months of operating expenses. PROs must use fees collected in state for program costs, may not use fees for lobbying, must reimburse government collection sites for demonstrable costs, and may not permit retailers to charge nonreimbursable point‑of‑sale fees to consumers. The department has rulemaking, fee‑setting, plan review, reporting, and enforcement authority. PROs must submit annual reports beginning June 1, 2031, with detailed data on mattresses collected, processed, and facility locations and violations. The department must set a one‑time registration fee and annual registration fees, appoint an advisory council by January 1, 2027, and may increase minimum recycling rates beginning January 1, 2034 after consultation. Enforcement includes a required written warning for a first violation with 30 days to comply; subsequent violations may be assessed civil penalties, which the department may administratively impose up to $1,000 per violation per day and up to $10,000 per violation per day for repeated violations or failure to comply with an order. Penalties and orders are appealable to the pollution control hearings board. The act also creates a responsible mattress management account to receive fees and penalty revenue and provides limited antitrust immunity for covered planning and operating activities. Some procedural and numeric details are missing from the extracted text: the exact text of section 12 (fee amounts and some rule authority) is not included, portions of certain deadline sentences are cut off, and the extracts do not explicitly identify which state agency is referenced as “the department” in every instance.

If this becomes law, mattress makers and brand owners will have to join or form nonprofit producer responsibility organizations (PROs), pay into those PROs, and fund a statewide mattress takeback and recycling program that the PRO runs. PROs must register with the Department of Ecology, file an approved plan by mid-2029, run collection sites that are convenient statewide (including isolated communities and bulk pickups), reimburse government collection sites for demonstrable costs, meet yearly performance goals including at least a 70% recycling rate, keep financial reserves, and submit annual reports; retailers must buy only from registered producers and give consumers disposal information, and consumers should not face point-of-collection charges. Fees and penalties will be collected into a dedicated state account managed by the department, and the department can enforce rules, adjust fees, and levy fines for noncompliance. The groups most affected are producers (brand owners, manufacturers, importers) who will face new, ongoing fees, reporting duties, and the real risk of being barred from selling in Washington if they don’t participate or comply; PROs, which take on program operating costs, reimbursement obligations, reserve and reporting requirements, and potential enforcement exposure; retailers, recyclers, and local government collection sites that will need to coordinate with PROs and may receive reimbursements for demonstrated costs. Important details that will materially affect costs and operations—such as exact fee amounts, how “demonstrable costs” are defined, and some timing rules—are left to department rulemaking and a section of the bill that is not included here, so the final financial impact for each party remains uncertain.