Senate Bill No. 527

(By Senator Miller and D. Hall)

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[Introduced February 20, 2015; referred to the Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development; and then to the Committee on the Judiciary.]

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A BILL to amend and reenact §19-1-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to qualifications of Commissioner of Agriculture; and eliminating certain requirements.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

            That §19-1-2 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 1. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

§19-1-2. Commissioner of Agriculture.

            The Commissioner of Agriculture shall be elected by the qualified voters of the state at the same time and in the same manner as other state officers are elected, and shall hold office for a term of four years and until his or her successor is elected and qualified.

            The commissioner shall be a practical farmer, learned in the science of agriculture, and shall have made agriculture his chief business for a period of ten years immediately preceding his election.

            NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to eliminate the requirement that the Commissioner of Agriculture be a practical farmer, learned in the science of agriculture and have made agriculture his or her chief business for 10 years immediately preceding his or her election.

            Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.