Washington Farm Bill Proposed for 2027 Session
HB 2616 Concerning Agriculture was brought to the attention of the WREN by Bridget Coon, First Vice President of the Washington State Farm Bureau. The Washington Farm Bill is an attempt to recognize and mitigate the impacts of state regulation on the viability of farms and ranches as small businesses essential to the Washington economy.
Prime sponsor Rep. Kristine Reeves (D-Federal Way) emphasized that gap left when farm policy has been left to the federal level and disregarded impacts at the state level. HB 2616 is aimed at increasing resilience of the ag sector by maximizing positive state policies supporting ag. The WSFB Legisletter posted with this blog gives the background.
The bill had a public hearing in the House Consumer Protection & Business Committee on March 3, 2026 for the purpose of setting it up for work sessions over the interim and passage during the 2027 legislative session. Questions at the hearing with in-person testifiers generated a good discussion worth a listen.
The entire hearing can be viewed here on TVW: https://tvw.org/video/house-consumer-protection-business-2026031093/ HB 2616 was heard first.
With a short time frame for the committee hearing as the end of session approaches, remote testifiers were asked to submit written testimony. Herewith, written testimony as submitted by Sue Lani Madsen on behalf of the WREN:
“No worries about having to close the public hearing on HB 2616 abruptly, as a rancher I am used to adjusting to events in motion. In response to the question regarding regulatory assistance from the state to navigate bureaucracy, I offer my own experience. In 2011, I wrote a nine part series journaling the circuitous route to hiring our first employee. You can find it at suelanimadsen.substack.com by searching for Tales from the Small Business Trenches, reprinted in 2024 because nothing had changed. It is the true story of a small commercial rancher navigating state regulations.
It often made me think of former US Senator George McGovern’s experience as a small business owner. After retiring from politics, McGovern owned and operated the Stratford Inn in Connecticut, dealing directly with statutes he had voted for. He wrote this in a 1992 letter to the Wall Street Journal titled “A Politicians Dream is a Businessman’s Nightmare:”
“While I never doubted the worthiness of any of these goals, the concept that most often eludes legislators is: ‘Can we make consumers pay the higher prices for the increased operating costs that accompany public regulation and government reporting requirements with reams of red tape.’ It is a simple concern that is nonetheless often ignored by legislators.”
Following is the prepared testimony originally intended for personal delivery with a smile.
For the record, Sue Lani Madsen here representing the Washington Rural Environmental Network, the WREN, a small bird with a voice louder than its size. The WREN is signed in Pro on HB 2616, supporting the resilience of the ag sector of the Washington economy. Agriculture is a major economic driver directly in farm and ranch employment and also in the processing, transportation and marketing of ag products. Ag resilience impacts both rural and urban Washingtonians.
The WREN is signed in Pro not because it’s a perfect bill but because it represents the way the legislative process must work in order to build trust with all Washingtonians. HB 2616 has been developed with significant stakeholder participation and with bipartisan sponsorship.
I was pleased to find a bill this session where I could compliment legislators, after lambasting the majority party in the Senate Ways & Means Committee last week for lack of transparency in ramrodding a partisan SB 6355 through on short notice. HB 2616 has been done right.
The WREN looks forward to participating in stakeholder work sessions during the interim.
