I. There is hereby established an agricultural lands preservation committee which shall function within the department of agriculture, markets, and food.
II. The committee shall consist of 7 voting members and 2 nonvoting members, to be appointed as follows:
(a) The commissioner of the department of agriculture, markets, and food who shall be chairman;
(b) The commissioner of the department of natural and cultural resources, or his designee;
(c) The director of the office of planning and development, or his designee;
(d) The secretary of the agricultural advisory board;
(e) 3 members, 2 of whom are owners and operators of farms in the state, who shall be appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the council for 3 years. Of the initial appointees, one shall hold office for one year, one for 2 years and one for 3 years;
(f) The dean of the college of life sciences and agriculture of the university system of New Hampshire, or his designee, who shall serve as a nonvoting member; and
(g) The New Hampshire state conservationist of the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service, or his designee, who shall serve as a nonvoting member.
III. Members of the committee who are not state employees shall be paid $25 a day, each, for such time as they are actually engaged in the work of the committee. All members shall be paid their actual expenses incurred as a result of such work and shall be paid mileage at the same rate as state employees.
IV. A majority of the voting members of the committee shall constitute a quorum.
Source. 1985, 72:1. 1995, 130:4; 206:2, eff. Aug. 11, 1995. 2003, 319:9, eff. July 1, 2003. 2004, 257:44, eff. July 1, 2004. 2017, 156:64, eff. July 1, 2017. 2021, 91:198, eff. July 1, 2021.