Senate Bill 5816 (69th Legislature, 2025) amends existing law in chapter 15.83 RCW and adds a legislative finding that producers of grapes intended as a nonfermented juice product ("juice grapes") should be included in the statutory negotiation process for fair prices and contract terms. The bill specifically amends RCW 15.83.010 to add and clarify definitions used in the chapter, including terms such as "juice grapes," "agricultural products" (defined to include juice grapes, pears, sweet corn, and potatoes), "handler," "processor," "producer," "accredited association of producers," "advance contract," "negotiating unit," and "negotiate." The bill imposes timing requirements for negotiations: parties must begin meeting at least 60 days before the normal planting date for sweet corn and potatoes and at least 60 days before the normal harvest date for pears and juice grapes, and those negotiations must conclude within 30 days after the normal planting date (for sweet corn and potatoes) or within 30 days after the normal harvest date (for pears and juice grapes). The definition of "negotiate" also specifies that neither party is required to disclose proprietary business or financial records or information during negotiations. This is a procedural change to the existing negotiation framework rather than the creation of a new crime or a change in criminal penalties. It affects the Washington State Department of Agriculture, producers of the specified commodities, associations of producers, accredited associations, handlers, and processors. The extract does not include other sections of chapter 15.83 (for example RCW 15.83.020) or any implementing procedures, enforcement provisions, or penalties, so details about how negotiating units are approved and how the negotiation process is administered or enforced are not shown.

If enacted, juice grape growers would be folded into Washington’s existing, calendar-driven negotiation process for prices and contract terms, meaning growers (or their accredited associations) and processors/handlers must meet within set windows tied to normal harvest dates to try to reach agreements. Practically, growers gain a formal, time-bound chance to negotiate as a group, while processors will be required to participate in those negotiations; neither side is forced to hand over proprietary business or financial records during talks. The Department of Agriculture will have responsibility for accrediting associations and approving negotiating units, which could increase its workload, and producer-owned cooperatives remain treated differently unless they contract with nonmembers. The change could raise administrative costs and scheduling burdens for handlers and associations and give juice grape producers more collective leverage, but key implementation and enforcement details (including what happens if parties don’t reach agreement) are not included in the provided text.