Section 11-0327. Conservation fund advisory board

1.  Creation of conservation fund advisory board. (a) The conservation
  fund advisory council is  hereby  continued  and  reestablished  in  the
  department  to be the conservation fund advisory board, which shall make
  recommendations to state agencies on state government  plans,  policies,
  and  programs  affecting fish and wildlife as more specifically outlined
  below. Such board shall be composed of eleven voting members,  including
  a  member  designated by the state fish and wildlife management board, a
  member designated by the New  York  state  conservation  council,  three
  members  appointed  by  the  governor,  two  members  appointed  by  the
  temporary president of the senate, one member appointed by the  minority
  leader  of  the  senate,  two  members  appointed  by the speaker of the
  assembly, and one  member  appointed  by  the  minority  leader  of  the
  assembly.  None  of the members shall be employees of the department. Of
  the members appointed by the governor, the temporary  president  of  the
  senate,  the minority leader of the senate, the speaker of the assembly,
  and the minority leader of the assembly, no two shall  be  residents  of
  the  same  department  of environmental conservation region. Each member
  shall be a resident of the region which  that  person  is  appointed  to
  represent. The board shall be representative of individual and organized
  sportsmen's  interests in each region of the state. In addition to these
  voting members, the commissioner and the chairmen of the senate  finance
  committee, the senate environmental conservation committee, the assembly
  ways  and  means  committee  and the assembly committee on environmental
  conservation or their designees shall serve as  ex  officio,  non-voting
  members of the advisory board.
    (b)  Persons  designated or appointed to the advisory board, excluding
  ex officio members, shall have demonstrated  a  long-standing  interest,
  knowledge  and  experience  in  fish  and wildlife management, including
  hunting or fishing, as evidenced in part by the holding of a  valid  New
  York  state  hunting,  fishing  or trapping license at the time they are
  designated or appointed to such board and for each of  the  three  years
  immediately  preceding  their  designation or appointment to such board.
  One member, who may not be  an  ex  officio  member,  shall  be  elected
  chairman of the advisory board by a majority vote of the members of such
  board, excluding ex officio members.
    (c)  The  designation  or  appointment  of  any person to the advisory
  board, excluding ex officio members, shall be considered terminated  if,
  in  the  course of any one-year period commencing from the date of their
  designation  or  appointment,  such  person  shall  have  accrued  three
  unexcused  absences from meetings of the board. Excuses for absences are
  to be accepted at the discretion of the chairman. In the event  of  such
  termination,  the  resulting  vacancy  shall  be  filled as described in
  subdivision five of this section.
    2. Meetings of the advisory board.  The  board  shall  meet  at  least
  quarterly at the call of the chairman.
    3.  Duties  of  the  advisory board. The advisory board shall have the
  following powers and duties:
    (a) To review the allocations and expenditures of the  department  for
  fish  and wildlife purposes as provided in section 11-0303 of this title
  and report to the commissioner by November fifteenth of  each  year.  To
  assist  the board in its review, the department shall by September first
  of each  year  make  available  to  the  board,  the  governor  and  the
  legislature current and anticipated income and expenditures for the fish
  and  wildlife  programs,  including  planned  expenditures  by  time and
  activity code for the next fiscal year. Such report  shall  include  the
  findings   of   the   advisory  board  regarding  such  allocations  and
  expenditures,  including  expenditures  and  appropriations   from   the

  conservation  fund  and  the  extent  to  which  such  expenditures  and
  appropriations are consistent with the requirements of  state  law.  The
  report  shall  also  include  recommended  maximum  annual  fees for the
  licenses  and  stamps  identified in subdivision 3 of section 11-0715 of
  this article.  In  recommending  such  fees  the  board  shall  consider
  economic  indicators,  the  status  of  the  conservation fund, and such
  program indicators as it may deem appropriate.  The  commissioner  shall
  submit   such   report,  in  its  entirety,  to  the  governor  and  the
  legislature.
    (b) To make reports and release information from time to time,  as  it
  deems  necessary,  to  sportsmen  and  the  general public regarding the
  conservation fund and the fish and wildlife program.
    (c) To consult with fish and  wildlife  interests  and  render  annual
  reports  to the commissioner on fiscal needs and make recommendations on
  how such needs shall be met.
    (d) To assist the department's efforts to expand the available sources
  of income for the conservation  fund  and  advise  the  department  with
  respect to the needs of various fish and wildlife programs.
    (e)  To  adopt, promulgate, amend or rescind suitable procedural rules
  with respect to the composition, internal organization  and  functioning
  of the board; and such other rules, regulations and procedures as may be
  necessary or desirable to effectuate the purposes of this section.
    (f)  To  work  to  encourage both residents and non-residents to hunt,
  fish and trap in New York, and to promote conservation and management of
  New York's natural resources.
    4. Advisory board members; expenses. Conservation fund advisory  board
  members shall receive no salary, but the necessary traveling expenses of
  voting  members  when attending meetings of the board shall be paid from
  moneys appropriated to the  board  for  travel  and  shall  be  paid  on
  vouchers  certified  by  the chairman of the board upon the audit of the
  comptroller in the manner provided by law.
    5. Term of office. All voting members of the board shall  serve  terms
  of  three  years. An appointment to fill a vacancy shall be made for the
  remainder of the affected term  in  the  same  manner  as  the  original
  appointment  was  made. Such appointment shall be made within sixty days
  of the date the position becomes vacant.
    6. State assistance. The commissioner shall, at any time requested  by
  the  board,  make any and all information readily available to the board
  which the board indicates is needed to properly and thoroughly carry out
  its responsibilities. The commissioner shall also make available to  the
  board such secretarial and/or clerical aid reasonably necessary to allow
  the board to carry out its duties and responsibilities.