(a) Said board shall have the general management of the institution and shall appoint a director, who shall have the general management and oversight of experiments and investigations. It may own such real and personal estate as may be necessary for carrying on its work and may receive title to the same by deed, devise or bequest. It shall expend all money appropriated by the state in the prosecution of the work for which said institution is established, shall use for the same purpose the income from all funds and endowments which it may receive from other sources and may sue and be sued by the name of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. It may seek and obtain patents, trademarks and licensing agreements relating to inventions and discoveries of any employee of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. It may pursue any opportunity to receive funds for research available from the federal government or from private sources. It shall make an annual report to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, including a statement of the activities of the station and the sources and amounts of funds available to the station. It shall make an annual report to the Governor, as provided in § 4-60, including therein a report upon adulterated food products and a report of the work done and results obtained under the provisions of § 22-84.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general statute or special act to the contrary, the selection, appointment, assignment of duties, amount of compensation, sick leave, vacation, leaves of absence, termination of service, rank and status of the individual members of the station staff shall be under the sole jurisdiction of the board of control of the station within available funds. Said board shall determine who constitutes the professional staff of the station and shall establish a compensation and classification schedule for the professional staff. Said board shall annually submit to the Commissioner of Administrative Services a list of the positions which it has included within the professional staff.

(c) Within available resources, the board shall cause the station to (1) make scientific inquiries and perform experiments including, but not limited to, inquiries and experiments regarding plants, insects and the pests of plants, soil and water, which inquiries and experiments shall include, but not be limited to, consideration of the effects of any climate change which may result from increased levels of carbon dioxide or other “greenhouse” gases in the atmosphere and what effects such change may have on agriculture in this state; (2) make scientific inquiries for the General Assembly and conduct such analyses as required by any state agency including, but not limited to, the Departments of Administrative Services, Agriculture, Consumer Protection and Energy and Environmental Protection; and (3) distribute reports of any analyses, investigations or experiments by correspondence, lectures or published matter. The board may cause the station to charge a fee for any testing services which it may provide to the public. The station shall not conduct any testing of ticks for Lyme disease except at the request of a state or municipal health official or for scientific research purposes.