Article 19.

Agriculture and Forestry Awareness Study Commission.

§ 120-150.  Creation; appointment of members.

(a) There is created an Agriculture and Forestry Awareness Study Commission. Members of the Commission shall be citizens of North Carolina who are interested in the vitality of the agriculture and forestry sectors of the State's economy. Members shall be as follows:

(1) Three appointed by the Governor.

(2) Three appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.

(3) Three appointed by the Speaker of the House.

(4) The chairs of the House Agriculture Committee.

(5) The chairs of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources.

(6) The Commissioner of Agriculture or the Commissioner's designee.

(7) A member of the Board of Agriculture designated by the chair of the Board of Agriculture.

(8) The President of the North Carolina Farm Bureau Federation, Inc., or the President's designee.

(9) The President of the North Carolina State Grange or the President's designee.

(10) The Secretary of Environmental Quality or the Secretary's designee.

(11) The President of the North Carolina Forestry Association, Inc., or the President's designee.

(b) Members shall be appointed for two-year terms beginning October 1 of each odd-numbered year. The Chairs of the House Agriculture Committee and the Chairs of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and Natural Resources shall serve as cochairs. The President Pro Tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives may each appoint an additional member of the Senate and House, respectively, to serve as cochair. If appointed, these cochairs shall be voting members of the Commission. A quorum of the Commission is nine members.

(c) Cochairs' terms on the Commission are for two years and begin on the convening of the General Assembly in each odd-numbered year. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a cochair of the Commission shall continue to serve for so long as the cochair remains a member of the General Assembly and no successor has been appointed. A cochair of the Commission who does not seek reelection or is not reelected to the General Assembly may complete a term of service on the Commission until the day on which a new General Assembly convenes. A member of the Commission who resigns or is removed from service in the General Assembly shall be deemed to have resigned or been removed from service on the Commission. (1985, c. 792, s. 20.1; 1989, c. 727, s. 218(81); 1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 1004, s. 19(b); 1991 (Reg. Sess., 1992), c. 785, s. 1; 1993, c. 23, s. 1; 1995, c. 490, s. 5; 1997-443, s. 11A.119(a); 2001-474, s. 14; 2010-142, s. 9; 2014-103, s. 6; 2015-241, s. 14.30(v); 2018-113, s. 7; 2020-18, s. 4.)