01/26/05 Hearing on Potato Commission bill

Washington Ag January 26, 2005 The state Senate Agriculture and Rural Economic Development Committee held a public hearing Tuesday on a bill that would put the Washington State Potato Commission under its own statute, separate from other commodity commissions. Pat Boss, Potato Commission executive director, told committee members, that the commission does not believe that legislation enacted in 2003 sufficiently protects commodity commissions from free speech lawsuits. Boss: "We believe that because of all the continued litigation in the U.S. regarding generic advertising the WSPC thinks it is risky for WSDA to lump commissions that do non-speech activities with ones that do advertising. That is one of our issues here. That is the main thrust of this. We want to elect our commissioners. We want a separate statute that is a research and education statute. That is what we are asking from you guys here today." Boss says the Potato Commission does not do advertising anymore and doesn't want the authority to do any. He said their position is that an activity like advertising, is what is going to get commodity commissions into trouble, not whether commissioners are appointed or elected. And the state ag director is insisting the commissioners be appointed even though state law still allows them to be elected. Boss: "That is probably the biggest issue that we need to address with the department. How do we get to that point to get our commissioners elected." The committee took no immediate action on the bill. I'm Bob Hoff.