Bill to reduce stress & regulations on WA ag community advancing

(The Center Square) - Legislation that would take a comprehensive look at how state regulations impact Washington's farmers and ranchers is set for executive session in the Senate Committee on Agriculture & Natural Resources Monday afternoon.

The bipartisan legislation sponsored by Rep. Tom Dent would look to reduce the regulatory stress on those in Washington's agricultural industry.

“Mental health issues and suicide issues in agriculture are huge,” Dent told The Center Square.

House Bill 2619 would create a joint legislative task force to review and recommend ways to streamline, eliminate, or modify regulations that contribute to stress for agricultural producers. The task force will examine regulations related to land use and zoning, stewardship of water resources, grazing rights, and pesticides among other regulations.

Dent, who has his own farm in Moses Lake, has shared about his grandfather’s suicide and how that impacted his father and the rest of the family.

“Suicide has such a lasting impact on families and people and friends and our relationships, right? The person that commits suicide, I mean they're gone. But those of us that are left behind, no matter who we are, it changes lives,” Dent said.

According to National Rural Health Association, rural populations have a significantly higher suicide rate than urban areas the suicide rate among farmers is 3.5 times higher than the general population.

“When you're a farmer, it's not a job. It's not an occupation. It’s a way of life. It's a culture. You’re out there because you love doing it and you’ve got to love doing it to work, 12, 14, 16, sometimes 18 hour days, right? You have to love it,” Dent said. “And sometimes they get themselves in a position where their mental health deteriorates to the point that they feel like suicide is the only way out. And a lot of it is the financial pressures become so strong.”

HB 2619 builds on earlier bipartisan work addressing mental health and suicide prevention in agriculture. A 2025 report from a Department of Agriculture-led work group identified regulatory stress as one factor contributing to mental health challenges in rural and agricultural communities.

According to the Washington State Farm Bureau, agricultural operations in the state must comply with over 70,000 state rules and regulations.

"Regulatory complexity and uncertainty add pressure to an already demanding profession. When we talk about supporting agriculture, we have to be willing to look honestly at how our rules affect the people who work the land,” wrote Dent in a news release after the bill passed the House.

Dent said his hope is reducing the regulatory burden wherever possible, which would in turn reduce financial pressures on the industry.

“If overregulation is creating issues, it's probably causing financial issues too, right? We have to find ways to eliminate some of that so they don’t have as heavy a load,” said Dent.

The task force established under HB 2619 would include legislators from both chambers and representatives from state agencies including Agriculture, Commerce, Ecology, Fish and Wildlife, and Labor and Industries.