A state senator from Mississippi County has introduced a bill to change how members of the state Plant Board are selected.
Senate Bill 80, by Sen. David Wallace, a Republican from Leachville, would give the governor authority to appoint nine Plant Board members who, under current law, are selected by various agricultural groups. Seven others, by law, are appointed by the governor. Two other members represent the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture but don't have voting privileges.
Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza in December 2019 struck down the board's composition as being unconstitutional, saying the nine industry-appointed members weren't accountable to the public.
"I feel that the citizens of Arkansas make their voices known through their elected officials, whether it's the Legislature, governor or even judges, not through some association," Wallace said Friday. "No matter how good that association is, it wasn't built to represent all the citizens."
The Plant Board was established in 1917 by the General Assembly, primarily to respond to an outbreak of plant diseases that threatened the state's apple industry, but its membership has been greatly expanded over the years.
The legality of the board's composition is pending in the Arkansas Supreme Court. The court has granted motions to hear oral arguments in the cases through the Zoom online platform but hasn't set a date. The cases are CV-20-164 and CV-20-173.