CHAPTER 426
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATIONS

      Sec. 22-80. Meetings of board; officers. Said board shall meet not less than quarterly during any calendar year upon the call of the president at such times and places as he deems necessary, except that the board shall meet in January at such place as may be designated by its president. Five members of said board shall constitute a quorum. Said board shall annually choose from its number a president, a secretary and a treasurer who shall hold their respective offices one year and until their successors are chosen, and may fill any vacancy in any office filled by said board. The treasurer shall endorse all drafts and checks and receive and receipt for all moneys payable to the station. Members of the board shall not be compensated for their services but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. Any member who fails to attend three consecutive meetings or who fails to attend fifty per cent of the meetings held during any calendar year shall be deemed to have resigned from office. Minutes of any meeting shall be recorded by the board.

      (1949 Rev., S. 3247; June, 1955, S. 1773d; P.A. 83-487, S. 26, 33; P.A. 89-176, S. 1; P.A. 11-59, S. 16.)

      History: P.A. 83-487 amended section to require board to meet at least quarterly, to establish attendance requirements, to require recording of minutes, limit terms of members and to specify that members are not compensated for services; P.A. 89-176 deleted provision prohibiting consecutive terms for members of board of directors; P.A. 11-59 replaced requirement to meet on the third Tuesday of January in the city of Hartford with requirement to meet in January at such place as may be designated by the board's president.

      Sec. 22-81. Duties of board. Reports. (a) Said board shall have the general management of the institution and shall appoint a director, who shall have the general management and oversight of experiments and investigations. It may own such real and personal estate as may be necessary for carrying on its work and may receive title to the same by deed, devise or bequest. It shall expend all money appropriated by the state in the prosecution of the work for which said institution is established, shall use for the same purpose the income from all funds and endowments which it may receive from other sources and may sue and be sued by the name of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. It may seek and obtain patents, trademarks and licensing agreements relating to inventions and discoveries of any employee of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. It may pursue any opportunity to receive funds for research available from the federal government or from private sources. It shall make an annual report to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, including a statement of the activities of the station and the sources and amounts of funds available to the station. It shall make an annual report to the Governor, as provided in section 4-60, including therein a report upon adulterated food products and a report of the work done and results obtained under the provisions of section 22-84.

      (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of any general statute or special act to the contrary, the selection, appointment, assignment of duties, amount of compensation, sick leave, vacation, leaves of absence, termination of service, rank and status of the individual members of the station staff shall be under the sole jurisdiction of the board of control of the station within available funds. Said board shall determine who constitutes the professional staff of the station and shall establish a compensation and classification schedule for the professional staff. Said board shall annually submit to the Commissioner of Administrative Services a list of the positions which it has included within the professional staff.

      (c) The board shall cause the station to (1) make scientific inquiries and perform experiments including, but not limited to, inquiries and experiments regarding plants, insects and the pests of plants, soil and water, which inquiries and experiments shall include, but not be limited to, consideration of the effects of any climate change which may result from increased levels of carbon dioxide or other "greenhouse" gases in the atmosphere and what effects such change may have on agriculture in this state; (2) make scientific inquiries for the General Assembly and conduct such analyses as required by any state agency including, but not limited to, the Departments of Administrative Services, Agriculture, Consumer Protection and Energy and Environmental Protection; and (3) distribute reports of any analyses, investigations or experiments by correspondence, lectures or published matter. The board may cause the station to charge a fee for any testing services which it may provide to the public. The station shall not conduct any testing of ticks for Lyme disease except at the request of a state or municipal health official or for scientific research purposes.

      (1949 Rev., S. 3248, 3250, 3901; September, 1957, P.A. 11, S. 13; 1967, P.A. 657, S. 79; P.A. 83-487, S. 27, 33; P.A. 84-546, S. 66, 173; P.A. 91-395, S. 5, 11; P.A. 92-240; P.A. 96-116, S. 1, 2; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146(d), (f); P.A. 04-169, S. 17; 04-189, S. 1; P.A. 10-96, S. 2; P.A. 11-80, S. 54.)

      History: 1967 act added Subsec. (b) clarifying board's powers and duties; P.A. 83-487 amended section to require annual reports to general assembly committee having cognizance of matters relating to the department of agriculture and the department of environmental protection, to specify board's powers with respect to staff and to add Subsec. (c) concerning duties of station and board; P.A. 84-546 made technical changes in Subsec. (c); P.A. 91-395 amended Subsec. (c) to provide for research re effects of climate change; P.A. 92-240 amended Subsec. (c) to specify that station may test ticks for Lyme disease only at request of state or municipal health officials or for research purposes; P.A. 96-116 amended Subsec. (a) to add provision re receipt of funds from federal or private sources for research and amended Subsec. (c) to authorize charging of fees for testing services, effective July 1, 1996; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 and P.A. 04-169 replaced separate Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Protection with single Department of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-189 repealed Sec. 146 of June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, thereby reversing the merger of the Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective June 1, 2004; P.A. 10-96 amended Subsec. (a) to authorize board to seek and obtain patents, trademarks and licensing agreements re inventions and discoveries of employee of station; P.A. 11-80 changed "Department of Environmental Protection" to "Department of Energy and Environmental Protection", effective July 1, 2011.