Endangered Plant Advisory Council; organization; meetings; powers and duties.

(1) COMPOSITION.—

(a) The Endangered Plant Advisory Council is created, consisting of seven persons to be appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture. One member shall be a representative of the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc.; one member shall be a representative of the Florida Nurserymen and Growers Association, Inc.; one member shall be a representative of the Committee for Rare and Endangered Plants and Animals; one member shall be a representative of the Florida Forestry Association; one member shall be a representative of the Florida Native Plant Society; and two members shall be botanists, each of whom shall be a staff or faculty member at a state university.

(b) All members shall be appointed for terms of 4 years. A vacancy shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term in the same manner as the original appointment.

(2) POWERS AND DUTIES; MEETINGS; PROCEDURES; RECORDS.—The meetings, powers and duties, procedures, and recordkeeping of the Endangered Plant Advisory Council shall be pursuant to s. 570.232.

(3) PROTECTION OF ENDANGERED PLANTS.—The council shall advise the department concerning proposals for revising this section and s. 581.185. The council shall periodically examine those plant species on the Regulated Plant Index and other plants native to the state that have been proposed for inclusion on the Regulated Plant Index to determine whether the plant species should be removed from the list, transferred from one category to another category on the list, or added to an appropriate category on the list. The council shall inform the department of such determination and request that the department initiate appropriate changes in the list. The Regulated Plant Index must be used solely for the purposes specified in s. 581.185 and may not be used for regulatory purposes by other agencies. However, this section does not preclude another agency authorized to protect endangered plants from including one or more species listed on the Regulated Plant Index on a list developed by that agency under its regulatory authority.

(4) COOPERATION.—The Division of Plant Industry, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Department of Transportation, and the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission shall cooperate with the council whenever necessary to aid it in carrying out its duties under this section.