HP0127, LD 145, item 1, An Act To Expand the Membership of the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine

An Act To Expand the Membership of the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §4312-C, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 511, §21 and affected by §25 and amended by PL 2011, c. 657, Pt. W, §6, is further amended to read:

3. Membership. The commission consists of 8 14 members who are active in and representative of the wild blueberry industry, appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. Three Five members must be grower representatives , one member must be a member of a federally recognized Indian nation, tribe or band in the State, one member must be an organic grower, one member must be a fresh packer, one member must be the leader of a cooperative and one member must be a representative of a value-added organization or company. For the purposes of this section, "grower" means a person, firm, partnership, association or corporation engaged in the growing of wild blueberries and processing less than 1,000,000 pounds of wild blueberries in a calendar year. Five Four members must be processor representatives who process 1,000,000 pounds or more of wild blueberries in a calendar year.

Sec. 2. 36 MRSA §4312-C, sub-§4, as repealed and replaced by PL 2011, c. 579, §2 and amended by c. 657, Pt. W, §6, is further amended to read:

4. Term. Members are appointed to staggered 4-year terms so that the terms of 2 members expire on August 31st of every year , except that the terms must be staggered to the extent possible. Appointments for terms of less than 4 years may be made in order to stagger the terms. A member may not serve consecutive terms, and there must be a minimum of one year between a member's terms. If the Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry fails to make an appointment prior to the expiration of a member's term, that member continues to serve until the commissioner makes an appointment for the remainder of that term. If a vacancy occurs prior to the expiration of a specified term, the Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry shall appoint an individual to serve only the remainder of that term.

summary

This bill increases the membership of the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine from 8 members to 14 members and requires that one member be a member of a federally recognized Indian nation, tribe or band in the State, one member be an organic grower, one member be a fresh packer, one member be the leader of a cooperative and one member be a representative of a value-added organization or company. The bill also increases the number of members who are grower representatives and decreases the number of members who are processor representatives who process 1,000,000 pounds or more of wild blueberries in a calendar year. The bill specifies that members may not serve consecutive terms.

HP0127 LD 145	Session - 129th Maine Legislature		LR 413 Item 1
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