Thursday, the governor signed Senate Bill 6278. The new law, introduced by Sen. Judy Warnick, will provide greater flexibility to the state Department of Agriculture regarding how it uses fees collected for certifying agricultural, vegetable and flower seeds.

“It is vital to our state’s agricultural industry that we have a robust seed certification program,” said Warnick, R-Moses Lake, who recently served as the chair of the Senate’s agriculture-related committee. “Giving flexibility to the state Department of Agriculture in how they use these funds will ensure quality crops by allowing the agency to take a holistic approach.”

The legislation came at the request of industry organizations.

“This law will strengthen our state’s Seed Act, which is in place to ensure consistency and uniformity of seeds coming into our state,” added Warnick. “The goal is to protect consumers and facilitate interstate commerce.

“Having flexibility over funding is critical to making that happen.”

The law goes into effect 90 days from the bill signing, on June 20.