275.450. Missouri aquaculture council created--department to divide state into districts, each district to elect council member--qualifications, terms, vacancies, expenses--powers and duties.

Missouri aquaculture council created--department to divide state intodistricts, each district to elect council member--qualifications,terms, vacancies, expenses--powers and duties.

275.450. 1. There is hereby created the "MissouriAquaculture Council", which shall consist of five memberselected by commercial producers. The members of the councilshall be citizens and residents of the state, shall have beenqualified voters in the state for a period of at least one yearpreceding their appointment, and shall be commercial producersas defined in sections 275.452 to 275.455. The department ofagriculture shall divide the state into four aquaculturedistricts which contain, as nearly as can be estimated by thedepartment, an equal number of commercial producers, and onecouncil member shall be elected from each aquaculture district.Each member shall be elected for a term of three years, exceptthat of the members first elected, two shall be elected for aterm of two years and two shall be elected for a term of threeyears. Vacancies in the council shall be filled for theunexpired term in the same manner as original elections aremade. The fifth member of the council shall be elected at largefor a term of three years.

2. All members shall be reimbursed for actual and necessaryexpenses incurred by them in the performance of their duties.

3. The council shall:

(1) Provide a list of commercial producers of fish and fishproducts in this state to the department of agriculture;

(2) Administer the aquaculture marketing development fund;

(3) Elect from among their membership a president, vicepresident, and secretary-treasurer, whose duties shall beestablished in the bylaws of the council;

(4) Draft and adopt the bylaws of the council;

(5) Communicate with commercial producers in order toenhance the market development of fish and fish products in thisstate;

(6) Perform any other duties deemed necessary to carry outthe functions described in this subsection.

(L. 1989 H.B. 214 § 275.455)