Section 16-561-020 - Red raspberry commodity board(1)Administration. The provisions of this order and the applicable provisions of chapter 15.65 RCW shall be administered and enforced by the board as the designee of the director.(2)Board membership.(a) The board shall consist of seven voting members. Six members shall be affected producers appointed or elected as provided in this section. The director shall appoint one member who is neither an affected producer nor a handler to represent the director. The position representing the director shall be a voting member.(b) Director-appointed producer positions on the board shall be designated as position 1, position 5, and position 6.(c) Elected producer positions on the board shall be designated as position 2, position 3, and position 4.(d) The position representing the director who is neither an affected producer nor a handler shall be designated as position 7.(e) For the purpose of nomination, appointment, and election of producer members of the board, the affected area shall be that portion of the state of Washington located west of the summit of the Cascade Mountains and shall be divided into two representative districts as follows:(i) District I shall have three board members, being positions 1, 2, and 3, and shall include the counties of Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, and King.(ii) District II shall have one board member, being position 4, and shall include all western Washington counties not included in District I.(iii) Positions 5 and 6 are designated as at-large position and may be filled from any western Washington county. The positions are filled in accordance with RCW 15.65.250.(f) The voting board may also appoint up to two additional nonvoting members to serve in an advisory capacity from among the crop advisors, handlers or others with expertise in the red raspberry industry. The voting members of the board will make these appointments at the first meeting of the calendar year. Advisory board member appointments are for a one-year period. Nonvoting advisory members may serve additional consecutive terms of office if reappointed by the board.(3)Board membership qualifications. The producer members of the board must be practical producers of raspberries and each shall be a resident of this state, and over the age of eighteen years. Each producer board member must be and have been actually engaged in producing raspberries within the state of Washington for a period of five years and has, during that time, derived a substantial portion of his or her income therefrom. Producer-handlers shall be considered to be acting only as producers for purpose of appointment or election and membership on a commodity board. The qualifications of members of the board as herein set forth must continue during the terms of office.(4)Term of office.(a) The term of office, for members of the board shall be three years, and one-third of the membership as nearly as possible shall be elected each year. Terms shall expire on November 30th.(b) Membership positions on the board shall be designated numerically; affected producers shall have positions one through six and the member representing the director, position seven.(c) The term of office for the initial board members shall be as follows: Positions one and two - One year;
Positions three, four, five, and nine - Two years;
Positions six, seven, eight, ten, and eleven - Three years.
(d) To accomplish the transition to the newly defined districts and areas and to a commodity board structure where the director appoints a majority of the voting board members, the initial producer appointments are as follows: (i) The current incumbent representing position 6 will be appointed to the new position 1 with an expiration date of November 30, 2015;(ii) The current incumbent representing position 8 will be appointed to the new position 2 with an expiration date of November 30, 2016;(iii) The current incumbent representing position 3 will be appointed to the new position 3 with an expiration date of November 30, 2014;(iv) The current incumbent representing position 5 will be appointed to the new position 4 with an expiration date of November 30, 2014;(v) The current incumbent representing position 9 will be appointed to the new position 5 with an expiration date of November 30, 2015;(vi) The current incumbent representing position 10 will be appointed to the new position 6 with an expiration date of November 30, 2016. Any remaining board members not appointed to a new position will serve out the remainder of their existing term.
(e) Except for the director's representative, no appointed or elected member of the board may serve more than two full consecutive three-year terms. Any previous board member may be reelected to a qualified position after such term limits if at least one full three-year period has passed since the last date of the second consecutive term in office.(5)Nomination of elected or director-appointed board members. Each year the director shall call a nomination meeting for elected or director-appointed producer board members. The meeting(s) shall be held at least thirty days in advance of the date set by the director for the election or advisory vote of board members.(a) Notice of a nomination meeting shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the affected area not less than ten days in advance of the date of such meeting; and, in addition, written notice of every such meeting shall be given to all affected producers within the affected area according to the list maintained by the board pursuant to RCW 15.65.295.(b) Nonreceipt of notice by any interested person shall not invalidate the proceedings at such nomination meeting.(c) Any qualified affected producer may be nominated orally for membership on the board at a nomination meeting. Nominations may also be made within five days after the meeting by written petition filed with the director, signed by not less than five affected producers.(6)Election or advisory vote of board members.(a) An election or advisory vote shall be conducted by secret ballot under the supervision of the director within the month of October. Each affected producer shall be entitled to one vote.(b) Elected members of the board shall be elected by a majority of the votes cast by the affected producers within the affected area.(c) If a nominee for an elected position does not receive a majority of the votes on the first ballot, a run-off election shall be held by mail in a similar manner between the two candidates for such position receiving the largest number of votes.(d) An advisory vote shall be conducted for producer board members appointed by the director under the provisions of RCW 15.65.243. The names of the two candidates receiving the most votes in the advisory vote shall be forwarded to the director for potential appointment to the board. In the event there are only two candidates nominated for a board position, an advisory vote may not be held and the candidates' names shall be forwarded to the director for potential appointment.(e) Notice of every election or advisory vote for board membership shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation within the affected area not less than ten days in advance of the date of the election. Not less than ten days prior to every election or advisory vote for board membership, the director shall mail a ballot of the candidates to each affected producer entitled to vote whose name appears on the list of affected producers within the affected area maintained by the board pursuant to RCW 15.65.295. Any other affected producer entitled to vote may obtain a ballot by application to the director upon establishing his or her qualifications.(f) Nonreceipt of a ballot by any affected producer shall not invalidate the election of any board members.(7)Vacancies.(a) In the event of a vacancy on the board in an elected position, the remaining members shall select a qualified person to fill the unexpired term. The appointment shall be made at the board's first or second meeting after the position becomes vacant.(b) In the event of a vacancy in a director-appointed position, the remaining board members shall recommend to the director a qualified person for appointment to the vacant position. The director shall appoint the person recommended by the board unless the person fails to meet the qualifications of board members under chapter 15.65 RCW and this order.(8)Quorum. A majority of the voting members shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of all business and the carrying out of all duties of the board.(9)Board compensation. No member of the board shall receive any salary or other compensation, but each voting and advisory board member may be compensated in accordance with RCW 43.03.230 and shall be reimbursed for subsistence, lodging, and mileage in accordance with RCW 43.03.-050 and 43.03.060, as provided for in RCW 15.65.270. The board may adopt by resolution provisions for reimbursement of actual travel expenses incurred by members and employees of the board in carrying out the provisions of this marketing order pursuant to RCW 15.65.270.(10)Procedures for board.(a) The board shall hold regular meetings, at least four times annually, and such meetings shall be held in accordance with chapter 42.30 RCW (Open Public Meetings Act). Notice of the time and place of regular meetings shall be published on or before January of each year in the Washington State Register. Notice of any change of the regular meeting schedule shall be published in the Washington State Register at least twenty days prior to the rescheduled meeting date.(b) The board shall hold an annual meeting, at which time an annual report will be presented. The budget shall be presented for discussion at the meeting. Notice of the annual meeting shall be given by the board at least ten days prior to the meeting by written notice to each producer and by regular news service.(c) The board shall establish by resolution, the time, place, and manner of calling special meetings of the board with reasonable notice to the members: Provided, That the notice to a member of any special meeting may be waived by a waiver from that member of the board. Notice of special meetings will be in compliance with chapter 42.30 RCW.Wash. Admin. Code § 16-561-020
Amended by WSR 14-03-007, filed 1/6/14, effective 2/6/2014Amended by WSR 18-15-009, Filed 7/6/2018, effective 8/6/2018Statutory Authority: Chapter 15.65 RCW. 92-12-003, § 16-561-020, filed 5/21/92, effective 6/21/92; 86-13-012 (Order 1888), § 16-561-020, filed 6/6/86. Statutory Authority: RCW 15.65.180. 83-24-028 (Order 1809), § 16-561-020, filed 12/1/83; Order 1478, § 16-561-020, filed 7/29/76.