Senate Bill No. 493
(By Senator Edgell)
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[Introduced February 12,2003; referred to the Committee on
Agriculture; and then to the Committee on Government
Organization.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section four, article one, chapter
nineteen of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to duties of the
commissioner of agriculture; and eliminating administrative
duties on state rural development council.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section four, article one, chapter nineteen of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.
§19-1-4. Duties of commissioner.
The commissioner of agriculture shall perform the following duties:
(a) Devise means of advancing the agricultural interests of
the state and, in the performance of such duty, he or she shall
have authority to call upon any state department, or officer of the
state or county, to cooperate in promoting the agricultural
interests of the state. It shall be the duty of any such
department, or officer, upon request of the commissioner to render
the assistance desired;
(b) Promote and encourage the organization of such societies
and associations as have for their object the improvement and
development of the state's agricultural, horticultural and kindred
interests, especially in production, processing for market and
distribution;
(c) Conduct cooperative work with the United States department
of agriculture in inspecting and determining the grade and
condition of farm produce at collecting centers, receiving centers
and shipping points;
(d) Induce the investment of capital in, and immigration into,
this state by the dissemination of information relative to the
soil, climate, health, natural resources, market opportunities and
advantages of the state;
(e) Investigate and report upon the kinds, conditions and
extent of the mineral products of the state and their value;
(f) Take charge of the museum of the department of agriculture, collect, preserve and exhibit therein specimens of
agricultural, horticultural and kindred products, products of the
forests, minerals, flora and fauna of the state;
(g) Administer the state rural development council through the
marketing and development division established in section three-a
of this article, in accordance with the memorandum of understanding
between the United States department of agriculture and the state
concerning the president's initiative on rural development;
(h) (g) Publish and distribute, from time to time, such
reports and bulletins concerning agriculture, horticulture and
kindred subjects as may be of value to the farmers of the state
and, as conditions may demand, publish a handbook giving the
resources of the several counties of the state, the varieties of
soil and products, both mineral and vegetable, and the adaptability
of the different sections of the state to the different branches of
agriculture, horticulture and kindred interests;
(i) (h) Submit a biennial report to the governor and
Legislature containing such information as to the operations of the
department as may be helpful to the agricultural interests of the
state, together with an itemized statement of all receipts and
disbursements during the biennial period covered thereby and giving
the name of every person employed during such period, the time
employed and the amount paid each employee;
(j) (i) Perform such other duties and exercise such other powers as are provided in this chapter and by general law; and
(k) (j) Propose rules, including regulatory standards, for
legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of article
three, chapter twenty-nine of this code for the purpose of carrying
out the requirements of this chapter.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to amend the duties of the
commissioner of agriculture to eliminate administrative
responsibilities for the state rural development council
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.)