Washington § 16.36.150 - Animal disease traceability activities for cattle — Fee — Penalty.

(1) The director shall adopt by rule a fee per head on cattle sold or slaughtered in the state or transported out of the state to administer animal disease traceability activities for cattle. The fee must be paid by:

(a) Sellers of cattle sold in the state, without exception;

(b) Owners of cattle that are transported out of Washington, unless an exception is provided by rule; and

(c) Owners of cattle slaughtered in the state.

(2) The fee adopted by the department may not exceed forty cents per head of cattle.

(3)(a) Except where the seller presents proof that the fee has been paid by a meat processor under (c) of this subsection, the fee required in this section must be paid by the owner of cattle receiving a livestock inspection issued by the department under chapter 16.57 RCW in the same manner as livestock inspection fees are collected under RCW 16.57.220.

(b) The fee required in this section must be paid from the owner of cattle not receiving a livestock inspection issued by the department under chapter 16.57 RCW by the fifteenth day of the month following the month the sale or transportation out-of-state occurred, or at a different time as designated by rule.

(c) When cattle are slaughtered, the fee required by this section must be collected from the seller of the cattle by the meat processor. The meat processor must transmit the fee to the department by the fifteenth day of the month following the month the transaction occurred, or at a different time as designated by rule. When cattle owned by a meat processor are slaughtered, the fee must be paid by the meat processor.

(4) All fees received by the department under this section must be deposited in the animal disease traceability account in the agricultural local fund created in RCW 43.23.230 to carry out animal disease traceability activities for cattle and to compensate the livestock identification program for data and fee collection.

(5) Any person failing to pay the fee established in this section has committed a class 1 civil infraction punishable as provided in RCW 7.80.120. Each violation is a separate and distinct offense.