6. Administration; meetings. The council shall elect one of its members as chair. The chair serves for a 2-year period and may not serve as chair for consecutive 2-year periods.

The council shall hold regular public meetings every other month but may waive by majority vote a succeeding meeting. The chair shall call special meetings of the council whenever requested in writing by 2 or more members. The council shall send notice and minutes of the meetings to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over animal welfare matters.

Sec. 5. 7 MRSA §3906-C, sub-§7, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 399, §3, is amended to read:

7. Duties. The council shall perform the following duties:

A. Review and advise the commissioner chief humane agent on proposed revisions to the animal welfare laws and rules;

B. Assist the commissioner chief humane agent in the continuing implementation and evaluation of the animal welfare laws and rules;

C. Review training programs for humane agents and animal control officers and make recommendations for training appropriate to the duties of the humane agents and animal control officers;

D. Research options for increasing revenue to the Animal Welfare Fund to ensure funding for the implementation and enforcement of the animal welfare laws and rules, periodically evaluate the adequacy of funding for those laws and rules and make recommendations to the commissioner chief humane agent; and

E. Advise the commissioner chief humane agent on other matters related to the animal welfare laws and rules.

Sec. 6. 7 MRSA §3907, sub-§9-B is enacted to read:

9-B.__Chief humane agent.__"Chief humane agent" means the individual who is head of the Division of Animal Health and Industry within the department or the chief humane agent's duly authorized agent.__The chief humane agent shall answer directly to the Animal Welfare Advisory Council and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over agricultural matters.__The chief humane agent may work with the