SB6091 – Continues the work of the Washington Food Policy Forum
Prime Sponsor – Senator Warnick (R; 13th District; parts of Grant, Kittitas, Lincoln, and Yakima County)
Current status – Referred to the Governor for signature.
In the Senate – (Passed)
A substitute bill with very minor changes passed the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Water, Natural Resources & Parks January 23rd; referred to Senate Ways and Means. Had a hearing in Ways and Means February 3rd; passed out February 4th. Referred to Rules February 6th. Passed the Senate February 12th.

In the House – (Passed)
Referred to the House Committee on Rural Development, Agriculture, & Natural Resources. Had a hearing February 21st; passed out of committee February 28th. Referred to Appropriations; had a hearing there on February 29th. Passed out of Appropriations March 2nd and referred to Rules.
Next step would be – Signature by the Governor.
Legislative tracking page for the bill.

Comments –
The Legislature set up the Food Policy Forum (Forum) in 2016 to make recommendations for improving the state’s food system. (Some of these are about supporting small farms and local food in various ways.) The Washington State Conservation Commission, the Department of Agriculture, and the Office of Farmland Preservation convened a group of food system stakeholders to do this work. They produced several reports, and in 2019 the Legislature provided further funding for them to develop a report on preferred implementation approaches for their recommendations.

Summary –
The bill thoroughly rewrites the language of HB1562, the previous extension of the Forum, with ongoing minor shifts in emphasis and focus, but almost no fundamental change in the setup or functioning of the Forum, as far as I can see. (There’s somewhat less language about urban diet issues and somewhat more about rural agricultural issues, unsurprisingly, since the prime sponsor of the previous bill was Representative Gregerson, from SeaTac.) The Director of the State Conservation Commission now has to have the agreement of the Director of the Department of Agriculture in appointing the participants for the next round of the Forum, and staff is now to come from both agencies, but it’s to continue to make recommendations on pretty much the same wide range of food issues, and it’s to produce another report to the Legislature by the end of October, 2021.