Mississippi § 69-37-13 - Bureau may certify Mississippi Boll Weevil Management Corporation for purpose of entering into agreements to effectuate purposes of chapter; eligibility for certification; corporation board of directors.

§ 69-37-13. Bureau may certify Mississippi Boll Weevil Management Corporation for purpose of entering into agreements to effectuate purposes of chapter; eligibility for certification; corporation board of directors.

The Mississippi Boll Weevil Management Corporation, upon certification by the bureau, may enter into agreements with the State of Mississippi, other states, the federal government and other parties as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter. In order to be eligible for certification by the bureau, the corporation must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the bureau that: It is a nonprofit organization and could qualify for tax-exempt status under Section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 [26 USC 501(a)]; Its purpose is for the representation of cotton growers associations that are open to all cotton growers in this state; and It has only one (1) class of voting members with each member entitled to only one (1) vote. The corporation’s board of directors shall be composed of members who shall be chosen according to bylaws established by the corporation. Two (2) members elected from each of the five (5) original cotton growers regions as those regions existed before July 1, 2010, shall serve as voting members. There shall be six (6) nonvoting advisory members as follows: The Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, who shall serve in a nonvoting advisory capacity only, or his or her designee; The Vice President of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Mississippi State University, who shall serve in a nonvoting advisory capacity only, or his or her designee; The Vice President of the School of Agriculture, Research, Extension and Applied Sciences at Alcorn State University, who shall serve in a nonvoting advisory capacity only, or his or her designee; The President of the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation, who shall serve in a nonvoting advisory capacity only, or his or her designee; and The Chairmen of the Senate and House Agriculture Committees, who shall serve in nonvoting advisory capacities only. All books and records of account and minutes of proceedings of the board shall be available for inspection or audit by the commissioner at any reasonable time. Employees or agents of the board who handle funds of the board shall be adequately bonded in an amount to be determined by the commissioner.