SB 6244

CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
  SENATE BILL 6244
  Chapter 164, Laws of 2026
  69th Legislature
  2026 Regular Session
HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE TAX—TEMPORARILY WAREHOUSED AGRICULTURAL CROP
  PROTECTION PRODUCTS—EXEMPTION EXTENSION
  EFFECTIVE DATE: June 11, 2026
Passed by the Senate February 16,  CERTIFICATE
2026
  Yeas 48 Nays 1  I, Sarah Bannister, Secretary of
  the   Senate   of  the   State   of
  Washington, do hereby certify that
  DENNY HECK  the attached is SENATE BILL 6244 as
President of the Senate  passed by the Senate and the House
  of Representatives on the dates
  hereon set forth.
Passed by the House March 12, 2026
  Yeas 79 Nays 18  SARAH BANNISTER
  Secretary
  LAURIE JINKINS
Speaker of the House of
Representatives
Approved March 23, 2026 3:49 PM  FILED
  March 24, 2026
  Secretary of State
  BOB FERGUSON  State of Washington
Governor of the State of Washington
  SENATE BILL 6244
  Passed Legislature - 2026 Regular Session
State of Washington  69th Legislature      2026 Regular Session
By Senators Torres and Dozier
Read first time 01/20/26.   Referred to Committee on Ways & Means.
1      AN ACT Relating to extending an existing hazardous substance tax
2  exemption for certain agricultural crop protection products that are
3  temporarily   warehoused  but   not   otherwise  used,  manufactured,
4  packaged, or sold in the state of Washington; amending RCW 82.21.040;
5  and amending 2024 c 241 s 2 (uncodified).
6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
7     Sec. 1.   RCW 82.21.040 and 2024 c 241 s 1 are each amended to
8 read as follows:
9     The following are exempt from the tax imposed in this chapter:
10     (1) Any successive possession of a previously taxed hazardous
11 substance. If tax due under this chapter has not been paid with
12 respect to a hazardous substance, the department may collect the tax
13 from any person who has had possession of the hazardous substance. If
14 the tax is paid by any person other than the first person having
15 taxable possession of a hazardous substance, the amount of tax paid
16 shall constitute a debt owed by the first person having taxable
17 possession to the person who paid the tax.
18     (2) Any possession of a hazardous substance by a natural person
19 under circumstances where the substance is used, or is to be used,
20 for a personal or domestic purpose (and not for any business purpose)
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1 by that person or a relative of, or person residing in the same
2 dwelling as, that person.
3     (3) Any possession of a hazardous substance amount which is
4 determined as minimal by the department of ecology and which is
5 possessed by a retailer for the purpose of making sales to ultimate
6 consumers. This exemption does not apply to pesticide or petroleum
7 products.
8     (4) Any possession of alumina or natural gas.
9     (5)(a) Until January 1, ((2028)) 2038, any possession of a
10 hazardous substance as defined in RCW 82.21.020(1)(c) that is solely
11 for use by a farmer or certified applicator as an agricultural crop
12 protection product and warehoused in this state or transported to or
13 from this state, provided that the person possessing the substance
14 does not otherwise use, manufacture, package for sale, or sell the
15 substance in this state.
16     (b) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this
17 section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
18     (i) "Agricultural crop protection product" means a chemical
19 regulated under the federal insecticide, fungicide, and rodenticide
20 act, 7 U.S.C. Sec. 136 as amended as of September 1, 2015, when used
21 to prevent, destroy, repel, mitigate, or control predators, diseases,
22 weeds, or other pests.
23     (ii) "Certified applicator" has the same meaning as provided in
24 RCW 17.21.020.
25     (iii) "Farmer" has the same meaning as in RCW 82.04.213.
26     (iv) "Manufacturing" includes mixing or combining agricultural
27 crop protection products with other chemicals or other agricultural
28 crop protection products.
29     (v) "Package for sale" includes transferring agricultural crop
30 protection products from one container to another, including the
31 transfer of fumigants and other liquid or gaseous chemicals from one
32 tank to another.
33     (vi) "Use" has the same meaning as in RCW 82.12.010.
34     (6) Persons or activities which the state is prohibited from
35 taxing under the United States Constitution.
36     Sec. 2.   2024 c 241 s 2 (uncodified) is amended to read as
37 follows:
38     (1) The legislature categorizes the tax preference in section
39 1902, chapter 6, Laws of 2015 3rd sp.s. ((and)), section 1, chapter
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1 241, Laws of 2024, and section 1, chapter . . ., Laws of 2026
2 (section 1 of this act) as one intended to improve industry
3 competitiveness, as indicated in RCW 82.32.808(2)(b).
4     (2) The legislature's specific public policy objective is to
5 clarify an existing exemption from the hazardous substance tax for
6 agricultural crop protection products to incentivize storing products
7 in Washington state as they are engaged in interstate commerce. The
8 legislature finds that the agricultural industry is a vital component
9 of Washington's economy, providing thousands of jobs throughout the
10 state. The legislature further finds that Washington state is the
11 ideal location for distribution centers for agricultural crop
12 protection products because Washington is an efficient transportation
13 hub for Pacific Northwest farmers, and encourages crop protection
14 products to be managed in the most protective facilities, and
15 transported using the most sound environmental means. However,
16 products being warehoused in the state are diminishing because
17 agricultural crop protection products are being redirected to out-of-
18 state distribution centers as a direct result of Washington's tax
19 burden. Relocation of this economic activity is detrimental to
20 Washington's economy through the direct loss of jobs and hazardous
21 substance tax revenue, thereby negatively impacting the supply chain
22 for Washington farmers, thereby causing increased transportation
23 usage and risk of spillage, thereby failing to encourage the most
24 environmentally protective measures. Therefore, it is the intent of
25 the legislature to encourage the regional competitiveness of
26 agricultural distribution by clarifying an exemption from the
27 hazardous substance tax for agricultural crop protection products
28 that are manufactured out-of-state, warehoused or transported into
29 the state, but ultimately shipped and sold out of Washington state.
30     (3) If a review finds an average increase in revenue of the
31 hazardous substance tax, then the legislature intends to extend the
32 expiration date of the tax preference.(4) In order to obtain the data
33 necessary to perform the review in subsection (3) of this section,
34 the joint legislative audit and review committee may refer to data
35 available from the department of revenue.
  Passed by the Senate February 16, 2026.
  Passed by the House March 12, 2026.
  Approved by the Governor March 23, 2026.
  Filed in Office of Secretary of State March 24, 2026.
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