Washington § 49.85.055 - Change in control — Grocery retailer merger — Closures in food deserts — Notice requirements.

(1) In the case of a change of control from a merger, a successor grocery employer may not cause a grocery establishment that is located in a geographic area designated by the United States department of agriculture as a food desert to cease being fully operational and open to the public until the establishment provides a written notice to the city council, county council, local health department, and attorney general 180 days before the establishment ceases to be fully operational and open to the public.

(2) The notice required by subsection (1) of this section must include both of the following:

(a) A written analysis and explanation, including data, of how residents living in the geographic area designated by the United States department of agriculture as a food desert will be able, at comparable costs, including transportation costs, time off work, and child care costs, to purchase food after the establishment ceases being fully operational and open to the public; and

(b) A profit and loss statement for the establishment consistent with generally accepted accounting principles for the two years prior to the merger attested to by a responsible officer of the successor employer.