Washington § 15.62.010 - Purpose and findings.

The purpose of this chapter is to advance the public welfare and education and to promote the interest, products, services, and stabilization of Washington's honey bee industry.

The legislature finds that:

(1) Increasing the consumption of products of the honey bee industry and promoting the use of its services and stabilizing the honey bee industry within the state and nation is a valid and necessary exercise of the power of the state to protect the public health, to provide for the economic development of the state, and to promote the welfare of the people of the state;

(2) Honey bee industry products produced and services provided in Washington make an important contribution to the agricultural industry of the state of Washington. The business of researching, marketing, and distributing such products and the promotion of its services is in the public interest;

(3) It is necessary to enhance the reputation of Washington honey bee industry products and services in domestic and national markets;

(4) It is necessary to promote and educate the public regarding the value of honey bee industry products and services, and to spread that knowledge throughout the state and nation to increase the awareness and consumption of honey bee products and the use of honey bee services;

(5) State and national markets for Washington honey bee industry products may benefit from promotion of honey bee products through education and advertising;

(6) It is necessary to stabilize the Washington honey bee industry, to enlarge its markets, and increase the consumption of Washington honey bee industry products and services to assure the payment of taxes to the state and its subdivisions, to alleviate unemployment, and to provide for higher wage scales for agricultural labor and maintenance of a reasonable standard of living;

(7) Providing information to the public on the manner, cost, and expense of producing, and the care taken to produce and sell, honey bee industry products and services of the highest quality, the methods and care used in their preparation for market, and the methods of sale and distribution is in the public interest;

(8) It is necessary to protect the public by educating it on the various benefits of honey bee industry services, the food value of its products, and their industrial and medicinal uses.