(a) There is created the Agricultural Education Advisory Commission.

(b)

(1) The commission shall consist of three members of the House of Representatives to be appointed by the Speaker of the House, at least one of whom shall be from the House Committee on Agriculture and Consumer Affairs and at least one of whom shall be from the House Committee on Education; three members of the Senate to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Assignments, at least one of whom shall be from the Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee and at least one of whom shall be from the Senate Education and Youth Committee; three members who are not members of the General Assembly to be appointed by the Governor; and three members who are not members of the General Assembly to be appointed by the State School Superintendent.

(2) Vacancies in the commission shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments.

(3) (A) Legislative members of the commission shall serve two-year terms concurrent with their terms as members of the General Assembly.

(B) Nonlegislative members of the commission shall serve two-year terms concurrent with those terms of legislative members of the commission.

(C) The provisions of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of this paragraph notwithstanding, members of the commission appointed in 2017 or 2018 shall serve for initial terms which shall expire on the second Monday in January, 2019.

(c) The Speaker of the House shall designate one of the commission members from the House of Representatives as a co-chairperson of the commission, and the Senate Committee on Assignments shall designate one of the commission members from the Senate as a co-chairperson of the commission. Each co-chairperson shall serve as such concurrent with his or her term as a member of the commission.

(d)

(1) The director of agricultural education for the Department of Education shall report annually to the commission regarding the conditions, needs, issues, and problems of the agricultural education program of the division.

(2) The commission shall periodically review the conditions, needs, issues, and problems related to the agricultural education program of the division, issue annually a report on the same to the General Assembly, and recommend any action or legislation which the commission deems necessary or appropriate.

(e)

(1) The commission may conduct such meetings at such places and at such times as it may deem necessary or convenient to enable it to exercise fully and effectively its powers, perform its duties, and accomplish the objectives and purposes of this Code section. The commission shall meet upon the call of either co-chairperson. The commission shall meet at least once annually.

(2) The legislative members of the commission shall receive the allowances provided for in Code Section 28-1-8. Any citizen members shall receive a daily expense allowance in the amount specified in subsection (b) of Code Section 45-7-21 as well as the mileage or transportation allowance authorized for state employees. Any members of the commission who are state officials, other than legislative members, and state employees shall receive no compensation for their services on the commission, but they shall be reimbursed for expenses incurred by them in the performance of their duties as members of the commission in the same manner as they are reimbursed for expenses in their capacities as state officials or employees. The funds necessary for the reimbursement of the expenses of state officials, other than legislative members, and state employees shall come from funds appropriated to or otherwise available to the Department of Education. All other funds necessary to carry out the provisions of this Code section shall come from funds appropriated to the House of Representatives and the Senate. The expenses and allowances authorized by this paragraph shall not be received by members of the commission for more than four days annually.