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            A.(1) There is hereby created, within the state Department of Education, the Louisiana Environmental Education Commission, hereinafter referred to as the “commission”.

            (2) The commission shall consist of the secretary of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries or his designee, the state superintendent of education or his designee, the secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality or his designee, the secretary of the Department of Energy and Natural Resources or his designee, the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health or his designee, the commissioner of the Department of Agriculture and Forestry or his designee, the chancellor of the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center or his designee, the chancellor of Southern University Agricultural and Mechanical College or his designee, the governor’s executive assistant for coastal activities or his designee, and the following members appointed by the governor:

            (a) One member of the Board of Regents or his designee.

            (b) Two members representing environmental advocacy organizations.

            (c) Two members representing the industrial community.

            (d) One member representing the small business community.

            (e) One member representing local governments.

            (f) One member of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.

            (g) One member who is a professional environmental scientist.

            (h) Seven environmental educators, one from each congressional district and the remaining environmental educator or educators from the state at large, to be recommended by the president of the Louisiana Environmental Educators Association.

            (i) One member of the Louisiana Science Teachers’ Association.

            (j) The secretary of the Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism or his designee.

            B. The initial term of the members of the commission shall be staggered in one, two, or three-year increments. After the initial term, all future terms shall be for three years. Annually, in December of each year, the commission shall elect a chairman and vice chairman whose terms shall commence on the following January first and end on December thirty-first.

            C. The commission shall:

            (1) Develop, review, approve, and transmit a plan for environmental education to the governor, the legislature, and the public.

            (2) Advise and assist the state superintendent of education, the governor, the legislature, the secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality, and other state agencies, including university extension services, conservation and environmental organizations, community action groups, and nature and environmental centers on policies and practices needed to provide environmental education.

            (3) Serve as a forum for the discussion and study of problems that affect the environment and environmental education.

            (4) Assist and obtain information from various sources to coordinate the environmental education programs of federal and state agencies.

            Acts 1993, No. 450, §1; Acts 1995, No. 322, §1; Acts 2001, No. 615, §1; Acts 2008, No. 544, §1, eff. July 1, 2008; Acts 2012, No. 803, §8; Acts 2018, No. 509, §1; Acts 2019, No. 238, §1; Acts 2020, No. 317, §2; Acts 2023, No. 150, §4, eff. Jan. 10, 2024.