This bill adds a new statutory section requiring the state department (not named in the provided text) to develop an organic agriculture action plan to support transitions to organic farming, increase agricultural resiliency, and build a regional food system. The plan must consider and include recommendations on barriers to certification, market and acreage expansion, job creation and entry for youth, overburdened communities, and Black, Indigenous, and other people of color, an inventory and gap analysis of extension/training/technical resources, infrastructure and partnership improvements, and identification of data sources to quantify environmental and resiliency impacts. The department must consult the State Conservation Commission and consider the Washington soil health initiative, submit the plan to appropriate legislative committees by June 1, 2027 (per RCW 43.01.036), and the new action-plan section expires June 30, 2028. The bill also amends RCW 15.86.070 to confirm the director may adopt rules establishing a certification program for producers, processors, and handlers of organic or transitional products. The rules may address announced and unannounced on-site visits, recordkeeping, and submission of product samples for chemical analysis. It requires a fee schedule to recover the full cost of the certification program, allows fees to be reduced if specific appropriations are made for that purpose, and requires all fees collected under chapter 15.86 to be deposited in an account within the agricultural local fund and used solely to carry out the chapter without a separate appropriation. The amendment authorizes the director to employ personnel necessary to carry out chapter 15.86. Overall, the bill creates a new action-plan requirement (new law) and modifies existing law (RCW 15.86.070) to add administrative and procedural authorities for certification, fee collection, and staffing. No criminal penalties or new crimes are created or altered in the provided text. Important context is missing: the specific department and director referenced are not identified, the "appropriate committees" are not named, and further details about the agricultural local fund account or any other sections or appropriations that may appear elsewhere in the bill are not included in the extracted facts.

If enacted, a state agency will have to produce a time-limited organic agriculture action plan by June 1, 2027 that lays out steps to help farms transition to organic and regenerative practices, expand markets and acreage, strengthen resiliency, and create entry-level jobs targeted to youth, overburdened communities, and Black, Indigenous, and other people of color. The plan must consider certification barriers, training gaps, infrastructure and partnership needs, and recommend legislative, administrative, or budget actions; it must be developed with input from the State Conservation Commission and the Washington soil health initiative and the planning requirement expires June 30, 2028. It is unclear from the provided text which agency or director is responsible and which legislative committees will receive the plan. Producers, processors, handlers, and other agricultural businesses face practical changes to certification and oversight: the director may establish a state certification program with rules authorizing announced and unannounced on-site visits, recordkeeping requirements, and product sampling for chemical analysis, and fees must be set to recover the program’s full cost. Those fees will be collected into an account within the agricultural local fund and spent solely on the program without needing a separate appropriation, and the director may hire staff to run the program; fees can be lowered only if the legislature specifically appropriates funds for that purpose. This likely raises compliance and cost pressures for businesses unless the legislature provides funding to reduce fees, but it could also lead to more coordinated support and market development if the action plan results in concrete budget or policy changes.