143-436. North Carolina Pesticide Board; creation and organization.
(a) There is hereby established the North Carolina Pesticide Board which, together with the Commissioner of Agriculture, shall be responsible for carrying out the provisions of this Article.
(b) The Pesticide Board shall consist of seven members, to be appointed by the Governor, as follows:
(1) One member each representing the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the State Health Director or his designee, and one member from an environmental protection agency in the Department of Environmental Quality. The persons so selected may be either members of a policy board or departmental officials or employees.
(2) A representative of the agricultural chemical industry.
(3) A person directly engaged in agricultural production.
(4) Two at-large members, from fields of endeavor other than those enumerated in subdivisions (2) and (3) of this subsection, one of whom shall be a nongovernmental conservationist.
(c) The members of the Pesticide Board shall serve staggered four-year terms. Of the persons originally appointed, the members representing State agencies shall serve two-year terms, and the four at-large members shall serve four-year terms. 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 by appointment by the Governor for the remainder of the unexpired term. The Governor may at any time remove any member from the Board for gross inefficiency, neglect of duty, malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance in office. Each appointment to fill a vacancy in the membership of the Board shall be of a person having the same credentials as his predecessor.
(d) The Board shall select its chair from its own membership, to serve for a term of two years. The chair shall have a full vote. Any vacancy occurring in the chair's position shall be filled by the Board for the remainder of the term. The Board may select such other officers as it deems necessary.
(e) Any action of the Board shall require at least four concurring votes.
(f) The members of the Board who are not officers or employees of the State shall receive for their services the per diem and compensation prescribed in G.S. 138-5.