§ 11-0327 — Conservation fund advisory board

§ 11-0327. Conservation fund advisory board.\n 1. Creation of conservation fund advisory board. (a) The conservation\nfund advisory council is hereby continued and reestablished in the\ndepartment to be the conservation fund advisory board, which shall make\nrecommendations to state agencies on state government plans, policies,\nand programs affecting fish and wildlife as more specifically outlined\nbelow. Such board shall be composed of eleven voting members, including\na member designated by the state fish and wildlife management board, a\nmember designated by the New York state conservation council, three\nmembers appointed by the governor, two members appointed by the\ntemporary president of the senate, one member appointed by the minority\nleader of the senate, two members appointed by the speaker of the\nassembly, and one member appointed by the minority leader of the\nassembly. None of the members shall be employees of the department. Of\nthe members appointed by the governor, the temporary president of the\nsenate, the minority leader of the senate, the speaker of the assembly,\nand the minority leader of the assembly, no two shall be residents of\nthe same department of environmental conservation region. Each member\nshall be a resident of the region which that person is appointed to\nrepresent. The board shall be representative of individual and organized\nsportsmen's interests in each region of the state. In addition to these\nvoting members, the commissioner and the chairmen of the senate finance\ncommittee, the senate environmental conservation committee, the assembly\nways and means committee and the assembly committee on environmental\nconservation or their designees shall serve as ex officio, non-voting\nmembers of the advisory board.\n (b) Persons designated or appointed to the advisory board, excluding\nex officio members, shall have demonstrated a long-standing interest,\nknowledge and experience in fish and wildlife management, including\nhunting or fishing, as evidenced in part by the holding of a valid New\nYork state hunting, fishing or trapping license at the time they are\ndesignated or appointed to such board and for each of the three years\nimmediately preceding their designation or appointment to such board.\nOne member, who may not be an ex officio member, shall be elected\nchairman of the advisory board by a majority vote of the members of such\nboard, excluding ex officio members.\n (c) The designation or appointment of any person to the advisory\nboard, excluding ex officio members, shall be considered terminated if,\nin the course of any one-year period commencing from the date of their\ndesignation or appointment, such person shall have accrued three\nunexcused absences from meetings of the board. Excuses for absences are\nto be accepted at the discretion of the chairman. In the event of such\ntermination, the resulting vacancy shall be filled as described in\nsubdivision five of this section.\n 2. Meetings of the advisory board. The board shall meet at least\nquarterly at the call of the chairman.\n 3. Duties of the advisory board. The advisory board shall have the\nfollowing powers and duties:\n (a) To review the allocations and expenditures of the department for\nfish and wildlife purposes as provided in section 11-0303 of this title\nand report to the commissioner by November fifteenth of each year. To\nassist the board in its review, the department shall by September first\nof each year make available to the board, the governor and the\nlegislature current and anticipated income and expenditures for the fish\nand wildlife programs, including planned expenditures by time and\nactivity code for the next fiscal year. Such report shall include the\nfindings of the advisory board regarding such allocations and\nexpenditures, including expenditures and appropriations from the\nconservation fund and the extent to which such expenditures and\nappropriations are consistent with the requirements of state law. The\nreport shall also include recommended maximum annual fees for the\nlicenses and bowhunting and/or muzzle-loading privileges identified in\nsubdivision 3 of section 11-0715 of this article. In recommending such\nfees the board shall consider economic indicators, the status of the\nconservation fund, and such program indicators as it may deem\nappropriate. The commissioner shall submit such report, in its entirety,\nto the governor and the legislature.\n (b) To make reports and release information from time to time, as it\ndeems necessary, to sportsmen and the general public regarding the\nconservation fund and the fish and wildlife program.\n (c) To consult with fish and wildlife interests and render annual\nreports to the commissioner on fiscal needs and make recommendations on\nhow such needs shall be met.\n (d) To assist the department's efforts to expand the available sources\nof income for the conservation fund and advise the department with\nrespect to the needs of various fish and wildlife programs.\n (e) To adopt, promulgate, amend or rescind suitable procedural rules\nwith respect to the composition, internal organization and functioning\nof the board; and such other rules, regulations and procedures as may be\nnecessary or desirable to effectuate the purposes of this section.\n (f) To work to encourage both residents and non-residents to hunt,\nfish and trap in New York, and to promote conservation and management of\nNew York's natural resources.\n 4. Advisory board members; expenses. Conservation fund advisory board\nmembers shall receive no salary, but the necessary traveling expenses of\nvoting members when attending meetings of the board shall be paid from\nmoneys appropriated to the board for travel and shall be paid on\nvouchers certified by the chairman of the board upon the audit of the\ncomptroller in the manner provided by law.\n 5. Term of office. All voting members of the board shall serve terms\nof three years. An appointment to fill a vacancy shall be made for the\nremainder of the affected term in the same manner as the original\nappointment was made. Such appointment shall be made within sixty days\nof the date the position becomes vacant.\n 6. State assistance. The commissioner shall, at any time requested by\nthe board, make any and all information readily available to the board\nwhich the board indicates is needed to properly and thoroughly carry out\nits responsibilities. The commissioner shall also make available to the\nboard such secretarial and/or clerical aid reasonably necessary to allow\nthe board to carry out its duties and responsibilities.\n