Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries
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Current officeholder
The current commissioner of agriculture and industries is John McMillan, a Republican, who was first elected on November 2, 2010[1] and took office on January 17, 2011.[2] McMillan will next come up for re-election in November 2014.
Before his election as agriculture and industries commissioner, McMillan was Executive Vice President of the Alabama Forestry Association. He previously served as a state representative and as Commissioner for of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.[3]
Authority
The commissioner of agriculture and industries' authority derives from Article V, Section 112 of the Alabama Constitution.
Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 112
| The executive department shall consist of a governor, lieutenant governor, attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, commissioner of agriculture and industries, and a sheriff for each county. |
Qualifications
Qualifications for the office of commissioner of agriculture and industries are described in Article V, Section 132 of the state constitution. Candidates for the office must have been a citizen of the United States for seven years, a resident of Alabama for five years, and at least 25 years of age.
Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 132
| No person shall be eligible to the office of attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, or commissioner of agriculture and industries unless he shall have been a citizen of the United States at least seven years, and shall have resided in this state at least five years next preceding his election, and shall be at least twenty-five years old when elected. |
Elections
Per Section 114 of the state constitution, Alabama elects its agriculture commissioners during federal midterm election years (e.g. 2006, 2010, 2014, and 2018). Section 116 sets the commissioner's inauguration for the first Monday after the second Tuesday in the January following an election. Thus, January 17, 2011 and January 19, 2015 are inaugural days.
Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 114
| The governor, lieutenant governor, attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, and commissioner of agriculture and industries shall be elected by the qualified electors of the state at the same time and places appointed for the election of members of the legislature in the year nineteen hundred and two, and in every fourth year thereafter. |
Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 116
| The governor, lieutenant governor, attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, commissioner of agriculture and industries, elected after the ratification of this Constitution, shall hold their respective offices for the term of four years from the first Monday after the second Tuesday in January next succeeding their election, and until their successors shall be elected and qualified. |
Term limits
Per Amendment 282 to Article V, Section 116 of the Alabama Constitution, agriculture commissioners are limited to two terms in office.[4]
Vacancies
Article V, Section 136 of the Alabama Constitution requires the governor to appoint a replacement if the office of agriculture commissioner becomes vacant or if the incumbent "shall become of unsound mind." The replacement serves until the next scheduled election.[5]
Constitution of Alabama, Article V, Section 136'
| Should the office of attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, or commissioner of agriculture and industries become vacant from any cause, the governor shall fill such vacancy until the disability is removed or a successor elected and qualified. In case any of said officers shall become of unsound mind, such unsoundness shall be ascertained by the supreme court upon the suggestion of the governor. |
Duties
The commissioner of agriculture and industries is the head of the Department of Agriculture and Industries. He or she oversees and promotes "economic and industrial development" in Alabama, "investigates and ascertains the [state's] industrial possibilities," and collects statistics on state industry.[6] Alabama law directs the commissioner to take a special interest in the promotion of industries "in the smaller municipalities and rural communities of the state."
The Department of Agriculture and Industries establishes and enforces food safety regulations, enforcing laws relating to commercial weights and measures and monitoring pesticide usage in the state. It also regulates the treatment of livestock and poultry by farmers, agricultural pest control, provides marketing and outreach services to boost agricultural production, and mediates between Alabama farmers, their creditors, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Divisions
The Department of Agriculture and Industries is divided into three main divisions, which, in turn, are divided into several sections:
- Executive Division
- Accounting Section
- General Services Section
- Personnel Section
- Agriculture Economics
- Agriculture Homeland Security
- Disabled Agriculture
- Food & Safety Division
- Food Safety Section
- Weights and Measures Section
- Pesticide Management Section
- Agriculture & Animal Protection Division
- Animal Industry
- Plant Industry
- Agriculture Promotions
- Agricultural Mediation Program
- Agriculture Statistics Section
Compensation
In 2010, the commissioner of agriculture and industries received compensation in the amount of $79,026.[7] His or her salary is fixed by law and paid from the Agricultural Fund of the treasury.[8] Alabama Constitution, Article V, Section 118 of the state constitution requires that changes in compensation take effect in the term after they were passed.
Alabama Constitution, Article V, Section 118
| The governor, lieutenant governor, attorney-general, state auditor, secretary of state, state treasurer, superintendent of education, and commissioner of agriculture and industries, shall receive compensation to be fixed by law, which shall not be increased or diminished during the term for which they shall have been elected, and shall, except the lieutenant governor, reside at the state capital during the time they continue in office, except during epidemics. |
Contact info
Physical address:
1445 Federal Drive
Montgomery, AL 36107
Mailing address:
Richard Beard Building
P.O. Box 3336
Montgomery, AL 36109
Phone: 334-240-7100
Fax: 334-240-7190
See also
External links
References
- ↑ The Birmingham News, "John McMillan beats Glen Zorn for Alabama agriculture commissioner," November 2, 2010.
- ↑ Alabama's state executive officials assume office on the first Monday after the second Tuesday in the January following their election. See Alabama Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries#Elections.
- ↑ Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries, "Meet Comm. McMillan," accessed May 24, 2011.
- ↑ Constitution of Alabama, "Amendment 282 to Section 116," accessed June 1, 2011.
- ↑ Constitution of Alabama, "Article V, Section 136," accessed May 20, 2011.
- ↑ Code of Alabama, "Section 2-2-8," accessed May 27, 2011.
- ↑ The Council of State Governments, "Book of the States 2010, Table 4.11," accessed May 20, 2011.
- ↑ Code of Alabama, "Section 2-2-5," accessed May 27, 2011.
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