(a)        The North Carolina Plant Conservation Board is created within the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

(b)        The Board shall consist of seven members who are residents of North Carolina, one of whom represents each of the following:

(1)        The North Carolina Botanical Garden of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill;

(2)        The botanical, scientific community in North Carolina;

(3)        The North Carolina Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services;

(4)        A North Carolina citizens conservation organization;

(5)        The commercial plant production industry in North Carolina;

(6)        The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services;

(7)        The North Carolina public at large.

The Governor shall appoint the first four members enumerated above; the Commissioner shall appoint the remaining three members.

(c)        Initial appointments to the Board shall be made by October 1, 1979. Of the terms of initial appointees, the representatives of the North Carolina Botanical Garden of The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the commercial plant production industry in North Carolina, and a North Carolina citizens conservation organization shall serve two-year terms; all other members shall serve four-year terms. All subsequent terms shall be for four-year terms.

(d)       All members shall hold their offices until their successors are appointed and qualified. Any vacancy occurring in the membership of the Board prior to the expiration of the term shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term. The Commissioner may at any time remove any member from the Board for cause. Each appointment to fill a vacancy in the membership of the Board shall be of a person having the proper credentials for that vacancy and appointed by the proper appointing agency.

(e)        The Board shall select its chairman from its own membership to serve for a term of two years. The chairman shall have a full vote. Any vacancy occurring in the chairmanship shall be filled by the Board for the remainder of the term. The Board may select other officers as it deems necessary.

(f)        Any action of the Board shall require at least four concurring votes.

(g)        Members of the Board who are not State employees shall receive per diem, subsistence and travel allowances authorized by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 138-5; members who are State employees shall receive the subsistence and travel allowances authorized by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 138-6; and members who are also members of the General Assembly shall receive subsistence and travel allowances authorized by N.C. Gen. Stat. § 120-3.1 ?(1979, c. 964, s. 1; 1989, c. 727, s. 218(45); 1997-261, ss. 37, 38; 1997-443, s. 11A.119(a); 2011-145, s. 13.25(qq); 2013-155, s. 9.)