Senate Bill 5560 would create a new statutory designation by adding a section to chapter 1.20 RCW that names Siliqua patula, the Pacific razor clam, as the official clam of the state of Washington. The bill includes legislative findings that describe the species as endemic to the Pacific Northwest, abundant on Washington’s sandy beaches, culturally important, and a long‑standing subsistence, recreational, and commercial resource that attracts hundreds of thousands of people annually and has had harvests as high as 8,000,000 clams in recent years. The bill explicitly identifies Siliqua patula as the Pacific razor clam and applies the term “official clam of the state of Washington” to that species. This is a symbolic statutory designation (a new law creating an official symbol) and does not create a new crime or change penalties or procedures in the materials provided. Procedural status and gaps: the bill was read for the first time on 01/28/25 and was referred to the Senate Committee on State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections. The exact RCW citation number for the new section, any effective date or implementation details, and any subsequent legislative actions or amendments are not included in the provided facts.

If enacted, the bill would formally name the Pacific razor clam as Washington’s official clam, a symbolic designation that does not itself create new programs, funding, enforcement duties, or compliance requirements because the text includes no effective date, deadlines, or implementation steps. The change primarily recognizes a species described as abundant, culturally important, and a long-standing subsistence, recreational, and commercial resource that attracts many people and large harvests. The people most affected are coastal Indigenous communities, recreational diggers, commercial harvesters, and the coastal economy, who would receive formal recognition of the clam’s cultural and economic importance but would not see guaranteed changes in funding or management from this designation alone. The bill was read the first time on 01/28/25 and referred to the Senate Committee on State Government, Tribal Affairs & Elections; the exact RCW citation for the new section and any later legislative actions or enactment are not provided, so ultimate effect remains uncertain.