Washington Administrative Code › Title 16 - Agriculture, Department of (See also Titles 24, 60, and 142) › MARKETING ORDERS › Chapter 16-520 - Seed potatoes › Section 16-520-025 - Powers and duties of commission

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
The commission shall have the following powers and
				  duties:
(1) To administer, enforce,
				direct and control the provisions of this marketing order and of the act
				relating thereto;
(2) To elect a
				chairman and such other officers as the commission may deem advisable; and to
				select subcommittees of commission members;
(3) To adopt, rescind, and amend rules and
				regulations reasonably necessary for the administration and operation of the
				commission and the enforcement of its duties under this marketing
				order;
(4) To employ and discharge
				at its discretion such administrators and additional personnel, attorneys,
				advertising and research agencies and other persons and firms that it may deem
				appropriate and pay compensation to the same;
(5) To acquire personal property and lease
				office space and other necessary real property and transfer and convey the
				same;
(6) To institute and maintain
				in its own name any and all legal actions, including actions by injunction,
				mandatory injunction or civil recovery, or proceedings before administrative
				tribunals or other governmental authorities necessary to carry out the
				provisions of the act and of this marketing order;
(7) To keep accurate records of all its
				receipts and disbursements, which records shall be open to inspection and audit
				by the department and other legal agencies of the state and make annual reports
				therefrom to the state auditor;
(8)
				To borrow money and incur indebtedness;
(9) To make necessary disbursements for
				routine operating expenses;
(10) To
				collect the assessments of producers as provided in this marketing order and to
				expend the same in accordance with and to effectuate the purposes of the act
				and this marketing order;
(11) To
				prepare a budget or budgets covering anticipated income and expenses to be
				incurred in carrying out the provisions of this marketing order during each
				fiscal year. The commission, at least sixty days prior to the beginning of its
				fiscal year, shall prepare and submit to the director for approval its research
				plan, its commodity-related education and training plan, and its
				budget;
(12) To accept and receive
				gifts and grants from private persons or private and public agencies and expend
				the same to effectuate the purposes of the act and this order;
(13) To work cooperatively with other local,
				state, and federal agencies, universities, and national organizations for the
				purposes set forth in this marketing order;
(14) To enter into contracts or interagency
				agreements with any private or public agency, whether federal, state, or local,
				to carry out the purposes set forth in this marketing order. Personal service
				contracts must comply with chapter 39.29 RCW;
(15) To enter into contracts or agreements
				for research in the production, irrigation, processing, transportation,
				marketing, use or distribution of seed potatoes;
(16) To retain in emergent situations the
				services of private legal counsel to conduct legal actions on behalf of the
				commission. The retention of a private attorney is subject to review by the
				office of the attorney general;
(17) To engage in appropriate fund-raising
				activities for the purpose of supporting activities of the commission
				authorized by this marketing order;
(18) To participate in international,
				federal, state, and local hearings, meetings, and other proceedings relating to
				the production, manufacture, regulation, transportation, distribution, sale, or
				use of seed potatoes including activities authorized under RCW 42.17.190,
				including the reporting of those activities to the public disclosure
				commission;
(19) To maintain a list
				of names and addresses of affected producers that may be compiled from
				information used to collect assessments under the provisions of this marketing
				order and data on the value of each producer's production for a minimum
				three-year period pursuant to
				RCW
				15.66.140;
(20) To maintain a list of names and
				addresses of persons who handle seed potatoes within the affected area and data
				on the amount and value of seed potatoes handled for a minimum three-year
				period by each person pursuant to
				RCW
				15.66.140;
(21) To maintain a list of names and
				addresses of all affected producers and the amount, by unit, of seed potatoes
				produced during the past three years pursuant to
				RCW
				15.66.143;
(22) To maintain a list of all persons who
				handle seed potatoes and the amount of seed potatoes handled by each person
				during the past three years pursuant to
				RCW
				15.66.143;
(23) To establish a foundation using
				commission funds as grant money for the purposes established in this marketing
				order;
(24) To request records and
				audit the records of producers or handlers of seed potatoes during normal
				business hours to determine whether the appropriate assessment has been
				paid;
(25) To acquire or own
				intellectual property rights, licenses, or patents and to collect royalties
				resulting from commission-funded research related to seed potatoes;
				and
(26) To exercise such other
				powers and perform such other duties as are necessary and proper to effectuate
				the purposes of the act and of this order.
Statutory Authority:
					 RCW
					 15.66.030,
					 15.66.053,
					 15.66.055, and
					 chapter
					 34.05 RCW. 10-22-008,
					 § 16-520-025, filed 10/21/10, effective
					 11/21/10.