RCW 15.49.051 Unlawful practices.

(1) It is unlawful for any person to sell, offer for sale, expose for sale, or transport for sale any agricultural, vegetable, or flower seeds within this state unless the test to determine the percentage of germination is completed within a fifteen-month period prior to sale, provided that germination tests for seed packaged in hermetically sealed containers shall be completed within thirty-six months prior to sale. The department shall establish rules for allowing retesting.

(2) It is unlawful for any person to sell, offer for sale, expose for sale, or transport for sale any agricultural, vegetable, or flower seed within this state not labeled in accordance with this chapter or having false or misleading labeling or for which there has been false or misleading advertisement.

(3) It is unlawful to represent seed to be certified unless it has been determined by a seed-certifying agency that such seed conformed to standards of purity and identity or variety in compliance with the rules adopted under this chapter.

(4) It is unlawful to attach any tags of similar size and format to the official certification tag that could be mistaken for the official certification tag.

(5) It is unlawful for any person to sell, offer for sale, expose for sale, or transport for sale any agricultural, vegetable, or flower seed within this state labeled with a variety name but not certified by an official seed-certifying agency when it is a variety for which a United States certification of plant variety protection under the plant variety protection act (7 U.S.C. Sec. 2321 et seq.) specifies sale only as a class of certified seed: PROVIDED, That seed from a certified lot may be labeled as to variety name when used in a mixture by, or with the approval of, the owner of the variety.

(6) It is unlawful for any person within this state:

(a) To detach, alter, deface, or destroy any label required by this chapter or its implementing rules or to alter or substitute seed in a manner that may defeat the purpose of this chapter;

(b) To disseminate any false or misleading advertisements concerning seeds subject to this chapter in any manner or by any means;

(c) To hinder or obstruct in any way, any authorized person in the performance of his or her duties under this chapter;

(d) To fail to comply with a "stop sale" order or to move or otherwise handle or dispose of any lot of seed held under a "stop sale" order or tags attached thereto, except with express permission of the enforcing officer, and for the purpose specified thereby;

(e) To use the word "trace" as a substitute for any statement that is required; and

(f) To use the word "type" in any labeling in connection with the name of any agricultural seed variety.

(7) It is unlawful for any person to sell, offer for sale, expose for sale, or transport for sale any agricultural, vegetable, or flower seed within this state that consists of or contains: (a) Prohibited noxious weed seeds; or (b) restricted noxious weed seeds in excess of the number declared on the label.

[ 1989 c 354 § 75.]

NOTES:

Effective date—1989 c 354 §§ 70-81 and 84-86: See note following RCW 15.49.005.

Severability—1989 c 354: See note following RCW 15.36.012.