This bill creates a new chapter in Title 69 RCW establishing a regulatory scheme for maple syrup processing operations and directs the Washington State Department of Agriculture to adopt rules covering permits, inspections, sanitary procedures, facility and equipment requirements, labeling consistent with FDA packaged food labeling, hygienic practices, condensation removal, drainage, and waste disposal. It requires a biennial permit for all maple syrup processors with a $250 fee deposited into the food processing inspection account (RCW 69.07.120), documentation that all individuals preparing syrup have appropriate food safety training or a food and beverage service worker's permit (chapter 69.06 RCW or equivalent), use of food-grade materials and new single-use bottling containers, and allows that a sugar shack need not be permanent and need not have running water on site. The department must perform a sanitation inspection before initial permitting and at a frequency it designates for low-risk products, may inspect anytime for complaints, outbreaks, or emergencies, may contract with local health jurisdictions to conduct inspections, and may charge a $150 fee for additional basic sanitation inspections when an initial permitting inspection fails plus fees per compliance visit. After a hearing the department may deny, suspend, or revoke permits for specified violations, and may summarily suspend a permit if there is an immediate danger to public health or access is denied. The bill creates criminal penalties (first violation is a misdemeanor; a second or subsequent violation is a gross misdemeanor, with an offense more than five years after a prior conviction treated as a first offense) and authorizes civil penalties up to $1,000 per violation per day as an alternative to criminal charges. It specifies that permitted maple syrup processing operations are generally not subject to chapter 69.07 RCW or to permitting and inspection by a local health jurisdiction except as this new chapter provides. The act defines key terms including department, director, maple sap, maple syrup, maple syrup processing operation, permeate, and sugar shack, and places administrative rights, remedies, and procedures for rulemaking, emergency actions, and permit suspension/revocation under chapter 34.05 RCW. Missing from the provided text are the new chapter number in Title 69, any effective date or implementation schedule, and any additional details of rulemaking, hearing or appeal procedures beyond the reference to chapter 34.05 RCW; those elements may appear in omitted sections.

If enacted, the state would create a new permit and inspection program run by the Washington State Department of Agriculture for anyone selling maple syrup, with specific sanitary, labeling, equipment, worker training, handwashing, and water-testing requirements. Producers would face a $250 biennial permit fee (paid into the food processing inspection account), possible extra inspection charges (a $150 fee for a reinspection after a failed initial sanitation check and additional per-visit compliance fees), and likely one-time and ongoing costs for food-grade tubing, single-use bottling supplies, drainage and sanitation improvements, and staff food-safety training; small producers with under $50,000 in annual sales who only bottle and use evaporator hot water have an exemption from annual private water testing. Violations can lead to permit denial, suspension, revocation, summary suspension for immediate health danger, criminal charges (misdemeanor escalating to gross misdemeanor on repeat offenses), or civil fines up to $1,000 per violation per day; the department may also contract local health jurisdictions to perform inspections, and administrative procedures will follow chapter 34.05 RCW. Key uncertainties remain because the extracted text does not show the new chapter number, the act’s effective date or full rule details, and some procedural items and cross-references are not included here, so timing and exact operational requirements depend on rules the department will adopt.