Advisory council.

(1) When a marketing order is issued, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services shall appoint an advisory council to advise the department in administering the marketing order. The advisory council shall be composed of seven members and an alternate for each member. The majority of the members and alternate members of the council shall be producers.

(2) Each appointment to the council shall be made by the department in the following manner:

(a) As soon as practicable after the effective date of the marketing order, the department shall appoint the members and alternates of the first council from the class of persons set forth in the marketing order. For the purpose of selection of the council, both nomination and appointment of members and their alternates, the members shall be selected from the state at large. As designated by the department, four of the members of the council shall be appointed for terms of 4 years and three of the members shall be appointed for terms of 2 years beginning with the initial appointment. Thereafter, members shall be appointed for 4-year terms. Any vacancy shall be filled in the manner of the original appointment for the remainder of the term.

(b) Immediately after their appointment, the members of the council shall meet and organize by the election of a chair and a vice chair, whose terms shall be for 1 year.

(c) Nominations shall be submitted by the producers of the agricultural commodity. The department shall appoint members and alternates from the nominations submitted from the various commodity-producing counties. In the absence of nominations, the department may appoint a person to that seat on the council without such person first being nominated by the producers of such area.

(d) For the terms following the term in which the order becomes effective, the council, by its chair, secretary, or manager, shall submit a report of nominations to the department by June 1.

(3) An alternate member of the council shall, in the absence of the member for whom he or she is the alternate, sit in the place and stead of said member; and in such event, the alternate shall have all the rights, privileges, and powers of the member for whom he or she is the alternate.

(4) A majority of the members of the council shall constitute a quorum for all purposes, and an act by a majority of such quorum at any meeting shall constitute an official act of the council.

(5) The council shall meet at the call of its chair, at the request of a majority of its membership, at the request of the department, or at such times as may be prescribed by its rules.

(6) No member or alternate member of the council shall receive a salary. The department may employ necessary personnel, including professional and technical services personnel, and fix their compensation and terms of employment and may incur expenses to be paid from moneys collected as herein provided.

(7) Notwithstanding any provision of this section, the Citrus Research and Field Trial Foundation, Inc., a direct-support organization of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services established pursuant to s. 570.691, shall serve as the advisory council for a citrus research marketing order, provide the department with advice on administering the order, and, in accordance with the order, conduct citrus research and perform other duties assigned by the department. Notwithstanding s. 570.691 or any provision of this section, the foundation’s board of directors shall be composed of the Florida State Plant Health Inspection Service Director and, appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture, seven members who are citrus growers and one member who is a Florida citrus nursery representative. Members of the board of directors shall serve without compensation but are each entitled to reimbursement from the foundation for per diem and travel expenses as provided in s. 112.061.