A4034 1R

An Act concerning the State Board of Agriculture and State Agriculture Development Committee, amending and supplementing P.L.1983, c.31, and amending P.L.2013, c.248.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. (New section) This act shall be known and may be cited as the “State Board of Agriculture and State Agriculture Development Committee Transparency Act.”

2. (New section) The Legislature finds and declares that:

¹[the] a. The¹ “Senator Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act,” (C.10:4-6 et seq.), established the right of the public to be present at all meetings of public bodies, and to witness in full detail all phases of the deliberation, policy formulation, and decision making of public bodies, is vital to the enhancement and proper functioning of the democratic process;

¹[secrecy] b. Secrecy¹ in public affairs undermines the faith of the public in government and the public's effectiveness in fulfilling its role in a democratic society;

¹[the] c. The¹ State Board of Agriculture and the State Agriculture Development Committee are subject to the requirements of the “Senator Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act”;

¹[transparency] d. Transparency¹ prior to, during, and after, meetings of the State Board of Agriculture and the State Agriculture Development Committee are crucial to the decision-making process in the agriculture industry in this State;

¹[such] e. Such¹ transparency includes the timely posting of the minutes and audio or video recordings of the State Board of Agriculture and the State Agriculture Development Committee in a prominent place on the public bodies’ websites; and

¹[it] f. It¹ is hereby appropriate to require the prominent posting of minutes and audio or video recordings of the State Board of Agriculture and the State Agriculture Development Committee on the public bodies’ websites and ensure that minutes of any previously conducted meetings are also posted to the websites prior to the next scheduled meetings of the public bodies.

3. Section 4 of P.L.1983, c.31 (C.4:1C-4) is amended to read as follows:

4. a. In order that the State's regulatory action with respect to agricultural activities may be undertaken with a more complete understanding of the needs and difficulties of agriculture, there is

established in the Executive Branch of the State Government a public body corporate and politic, with corporate succession, to be known as the State Agriculture Development Committee. For the purpose of complying with the provisions of Article V, Section IV, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, the committee is allocated within the Department of Agriculture, but, notwithstanding that allocation, the committee shall be independent of any supervision or control by the State Board of Agriculture, by the department or by the secretary or any officer or employee thereof, except as otherwise expressly provided in this act. The committee shall constitute an instrumentality of the State, exercising public and essential governmental functions, and the exercise by the committee of the powers conferred by this or any other act shall be held to be an essential governmental function of the State.

b. The committee shall consist of 11 members, five of whom shall be the Secretary of Agriculture, who shall serve as chairman, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection, the Commissioner of Community Affairs, the State Treasurer and the Dean of Cook College, Rutgers University, or their designees, who shall serve ex officio, and six citizens of the State, to be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, four of whom shall be actively engaged in farming, the majority of whom shall own a portion of the land that they farm, and two of whom shall represent the general public. With respect to the members actively engaged in farming, the State Board of Agriculture shall recommend to the Governor a list of potential candidates and their alternates to be considered for each appointment.

c. (1) Of the six members first to be appointed, two shall be appointed for terms of two years, two for terms of three years and two for terms of four years. Thereafter, all appointments shall be made for terms of four years. Each of these members shall hold office for the term of the appointment and until a successor shall have been appointed and qualified. A member shall be eligible for reappointment for no more than two consecutive terms. Any vacancy in the membership occurring other than by expiration of term shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment but for the unexpired term only.

(2) When an appointed member actively engaged in farming notifies the chairman that the member is unable to attend a publicly noticed meeting, an alternate may be chosen to serve for that member at the meeting. The alternate member shall be chosen by the Governor, in consultation with the President and the Vice President of the State Board of Agriculture, with the advice and consent of the Senate. The alternate member shall be a past member of the State Board of Agriculture who served pursuant to R.S.4:1-4, provided, however, that in no case shall the alternate member have been removed from office pursuant to section 3 of P.L.1948, c.447 (C.4:1-4.1), or a past member of the State Agriculture Development Committee.

(3) When an appointed member representing the general public notifies the chairman that the member is unable to attend a publicly noticed meeting, an alternate may be chosen to serve for that member at the meeting. The alternate member shall be chosen by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate.

d. Members of the committee shall receive no compensation but the appointed members may, subject to the limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available for these purposes, be reimbursed for expenses actually incurred in attending meetings of the committee and in performance of their duties as members thereof.

e. The committee shall meet at the call of the chairman as soon as may be practicable following appointment of its members and shall establish procedures for the conduct of regular and special meetings, including procedures for the notification of departments of State regulating the activities of commercial agriculture, provided that all meetings are conducted in accordance with the provisions of the "Senator Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings Act," P.L.1975, c.231 (C.10:4-6 et seq.).

f. A true copy of the minutes of every meeting of the committee shall be prepared and forthwith delivered to the Governor. No action taken at such meeting by the committee shall have force or effect until 15 days, exclusive of Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays, after such copy of the minutes shall have been so delivered. If, in said 15-day period, the Governor returns such copy of the minutes with a veto of any action taken by the committee at such meeting, such action shall be null and void and of no force and effect. Following the 15-day period, the minutes and any audio or video recording of the meeting shall be prominently posted on the committee’s website prior to the next scheduled meeting of the committee.

g. The department shall provide any personnel that may be required as staff for the committee.

(cf: P.L.2017, c.385, s.1)

4. Section 1 of P.L.2013, c.248 (C.4:1-20.2) is amended to read as follows:

1. a. The Department of Agriculture shall publish on its Internet website the location and contact information for every winery licensed in New Jersey. The department shall additionally post on its Internet website a link to any list of wineries that has been published on any other State agency Internet website, including, but not limited to, the website maintained by the Division of Travel and Tourism in the Department of State.

b. The Department of Agriculture shall publish on its Internet website the location and contact information for any community supported agriculture entity in New Jersey that has provided such information to the department. A community supported agriculture entity may also provide the department with information concerning the agricultural output of the entity, and this information may be published on the department's Internet website at the discretion of the Secretary of Agriculture.

c. In addition to publishing the information as required in subsections a. and b. of this section, the department may distribute the information by any other method it deems best adapted to the efficient dissemination thereof.

d. The department shall accept information, or changes thereto, from wineries and community supported agriculture entities through an electronic submission form made available by the department on its Internet website.

e. As used in this section, "community supported agriculture entity" means a commercial farm from which a person may purchase a share in the agricultural or horticultural output of the farm.

f. A true copy of the minutes of every meeting of the State Board of Agriculture shall be prepared. Following the preparation of the minutes, the minutes and any audio or video recording of the meeting shall be prominently posted on the Internet website of the Department of Agriculture prior to the next scheduled meeting of the board.

(cf: P.L.2013, c.248, s.1)

5. ¹(New section)¹ The unpublished minutes and any audio or video recording of any meeting of the State Board of Agriculture and the State Agriculture Development Committee conducted prior to the effective date of ¹[this act,]¹ P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill) ¹[,]¹ shall be prominently posted on the public bodies’ websites not later than 90 days following the effective date of ¹[this act] P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill)¹.

6. This act shall take effect immediately.