The order is to promote the general welfare of the state, to enable producers of hops to help themselves establish orderly, fair, sound, efficient, unhampered marketing and standardization of hops and regulate unfair trade practices within the industry.
(1) To carry out the purposes of the order the board may provide for a program in one or more of the following areas:
(a) Establish plans and conduct programs for advertising, sales, promotion and/or other programs for maintaining present markets and/or creating new or larger markets for hops. Such programs shall be directed toward increasing the sale of hops without reference to any particular brand or trade name and shall neither make use of false or unwarranted claims in behalf of hops nor disparage the quality, value, sale or use of any other agricultural commodity.
(b) Provide for research in the production, processing and/or distribution of hops and expend the necessary funds for such purposes. Insofar as practicable, such research shall be carried on by experiment stations of Washington State University, but if in the judgment of the board said experiment stations do not have the facilities for a particular project or if some other research agency has better facilities therefor, the project may be carried out by other research agencies selected by the board.
(c) Provide by rules and regulations for:
(i) Establishing uniform labels and labeling requirements for hops or any products thereof, requiring producers, handlers and other persons to conform to standards for the placing of labels, trademarks, insignia or brands on bales or packages, provided, that all licensed hop dealers or brokers are entitled to use on the face of their product any particular trademark, insignia, brand or label that they may now have or will have. That established brands, labels, trademarks or insignias may be properly used in selling or commercially disposing of hops and hop products or in offering the same for sale, advertising and/or delivering said hops or hop products;
(ii) Providing for inspection and enforcement to ascertain and effectuate compliance;
(iii) Establishing rules and regulations respecting the foregoing.
(d) Prohibit and/or otherwise regulate any one or more or all of the practices listed to the extent that such practices affect, directly or indirectly, hops or any product thereof, but only with respect to persons who engage in such practices with the intent of or with the reasonably foreseeable effect of inducing any purchaser to become his customer or his supplier or of otherwise dealing or trading with him or of diverting trade from a competitor, to wit:
(i) Paying rebates, commissions or unearned discounts;
(ii) Unfairly extending privileges or benefits (pertaining to price, to credit, to the loan, lease or giving away of facilities, equipment or other property or to any other matter or thing) to any customer, supplier or other person;
(iii) Discriminating between customers, or suppliers of a like class;
(iv) Making or publishing false or misleading advertising. Such regulation may authorize uniform trade practices applicable to all similarly situated handlers and/or other persons.
(e) The board may authorize use of any money received and of any persons employed thereunder for legal proceedings, of any type and in the name of any person, directed to enforcement of this or any other law in force in the state of Washington relating to the prevention of unfair trade practices.
(f) Provide for marketing information and services to affected producers for the verification of grades, standards, weights, tests and sampling of quality and quantity of hops purchased by handlers from affected producers.
(g) Participate in federal or state hearings or other proceedings concerning regulation of the manufacture, distribution, sale, or use of any pesticide as defined by RCW
15.58.030(29) or any agricultural chemical which is of use or potential use in producing hops.