Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 98-13-120.

Title of Rule: Chapter 16-561 WAC, Washington Red Raspberry Commission, marketing order purposes.

Purpose: The rule change will amend the raspberry marketing order to allow the board of the Raspberry Commission to adopt rules for uniform grades and standards of red raspberries grown in the state of Washington.

Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 15.65.050.

Statute Being Implemented: Chapter 15.65 RCW.

Summary: The rule change, if approved by a vote of the raspberry growers, will give the board of the Raspberry Commission authority to adopt rules governing grades and standards including standards in packaging, processing and labeling. The rule will also provide for inspection and enforcement to ascertain and effectuate compliance.

Reasons Supporting Proposal: The rule, authorized in the Agricultural Enabling Act of 1961, is necessary for proper use of the product and preparation for marketing.

Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting: Walter Swenson, Natural Resources Building, 1111 Washington Street, Olympia, WA, (360) 902-1928; Implementation and Enforcement: Anne Seeger, 1232 Lincoln Street, Bellingham, WA, (360) 671-1437.

Name of Proponent: Washington Red Raspberry Commission, governmental.

Agency Comments or Recommendations, if any, as to Statutory Language, Implementation, Enforcement, and Fiscal Matters: Adoption of the rule is subject to approval of the growers voting in a referendum conducted in compliance with procedures of chapter 15.65 RCW.

Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.

Explanation of Rule, its Purpose, and Anticipated Effects: The rule will authorize the board of the Washington Raspberry Commission to adopt rules governing grades and standards including standards in packaging, processing and labeling. The rule is necessary to establish grading and labeling standards to ensure the proper use of raspberries in processing and marketing.

Proposal Changes the Following Existing Rules: The rule will give the board of the Raspberry Commission authority to adopt rules relating to grading and standardization.

No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. The rule will only affect red raspberry growers in Washington state and will only become effective with the approval of a majority of raspberry growers voting in a referendum. There is no disproportional cost to small businesses because producers of raspberries are considered small businesses. The rule will not increase cost in equipment, supplies, labor or administrative expenses.

Section 201, chapter 403, Laws of 1995, does not apply to this rule adoption. The Washington State Department of Agriculture is not a listed agency in section 201.

Hearing Location: Washington Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Building #205, 1111 Washington Street, Olympia, WA, on September 10, 1998, at 10:00 a.m.

Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Cathy Jensen by September 8, 1998, TDD (360) 902-1996, or (360) 902-1976.

Submit Written Comments to: Walter Swenson, Agricultural Programs Administrator, Washington Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 42560, Olympia, WA 98504, fax (360) 902-2092, by September 10, 1998.

Date of Intended Adoption: November 4, 1998.

August 5, 1998

William E. Brookreson

Assistant Director

WAC 16-561-030  Marketing order purposes. The order is to promote the general welfare of the state, to enable producers of raspberries to help themselves establish orderly, fair, sound, efficient, unhampered marketing; facilitate cultural and harvesting improvements, and regulate unfair trade practices within the industry. To carry out the purposes of the order, the board may provide for a program in one or more of the following area:

(1) 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 raspberries. Such programs shall be directed toward increasing the sale of raspberries without reference to any particular brand or trade name and shall neither make use of false or unwarranted claims in behalf of raspberries nor disparage the quality, value, sale, or use of any other agricultural commodity.

(2) Provide for research in the production, processing, and/or marketing of raspberries 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.

(3) Provide by rules and regulations for:

(a) Establishing uniform grades and standards of quality, condition, maturity, size, weight, pack, packages and/or label for red raspberries or any products thereof;

(b) Requiring producers, handlers and/or other persons to conform to such grades and/or standards in packing, packaging, processing, labeling, selling or otherwise commercially disposing of red raspberries and/or in offering, advertising and/or delivering it therefor;

(c) Providing for inspection and enforcement to ascertain and effectuate compliance;

(d) Establishing rules and regulations respecting the foregoing;

(e) Providing that the board shall carry out inspection and enforcement of, and may (within the general provisions of the order) establish detailed provisions relating to, such standards and grades and such rules and regulations: Provided, That any modification not of a substantial nature, such as the modification of standards within a certain grade may be made without a hearing, and shall not be considered an amendment for the purposes of the act and order.

(3) Provide for marketing information and services to affected producers, for the verification of grades, standards, weights, tests, and sampling of quality and quantity of raspberries purchased by handlers from affected producers and for the purpose of facilitating the efficient marketing of raspberries.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 15.65.180. 83-24-028 (Order 1809), § 16-561-030, filed 12/1/83; Order 1478, § 16-561-030, filed 7/29/76.]

Reviser's note: The bracketed material preceding the section above was supplied by the code reviser's office.

Reviser's note: RCW 34.05.395 requires the use of underlining and deletion marks to indicate amendments to existing rules. The rule published above varies from its predecessor in certain respects not indicated by the use of these markings.

Reviser's note: The typographical error in the above section occurred in the copy filed by the agency and appears in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040.