Ark. Code Ann. § 2-16-206 (2026)

1. There is created and established a State Plant Board, composed of eighteen (18) members, as follows:
   1. Two (2) nonvoting members designated by the Vice President for Agriculture of the University of Arkansas or his or her designee;
   2. A practical cotton grower, actively engaged in the business, to be appointed by the Governor;
   3. One (1) member to represent the Arkansas Plant Food Association, actively engaged in the business, to be appointed by the Governor;
   4. A practical rice grower, actively engaged in the business, to be appointed by the Governor;
   5. A practical horticulturist, actively engaged in the business, to be elected by the Arkansas State Horticultural Society;
   6. A nurseryman, actively engaged in the business, to be elected by the Arkansas Green Industry Association;
   7. A practical seed grower, actively engaged in the business, to be elected by the Arkansas Seed Growers Association;
   8. A pest control operator, actively engaged in the business, to be elected by the Arkansas Pest Management Association, Inc.;
   9. A seed dealer, actively engaged in the business, to be elected by the Arkansas Seed Dealers' Association;
   10. One (1) member representing the Arkansas Bureau of Standards to be appointed by the Arkansas Oil Marketers Association;
   11. A pesticide manufacturer, actively engaged in the business, to be elected by the Arkansas Crop Protection Association Inc.;
   12. One (1) member to represent the Arkansas Agricultural Aviation Association, to be elected by the Arkansas Agricultural Aviation Association;
   13. One (1) member to represent the Arkansas Forestry Association, to be elected by the Arkansas Forestry Association;
   14. Two (2) farmers actively and principally engaged in farming in this state, appointed by the Governor;
   15. One (1) representative of the livestock industry, actively engaged in the business, to be appointed by the Governor; and
   16. One (1) representative of the forage industry, actively engaged in the business, to be appointed by the Governor.
2. Board members shall serve a term of two (2) years or until such time as a successor has been elected or appointed as herein provided. A majority of the members of the board shall constitute a quorum for all purposes.
3. The chair, vice chair, and secretary-treasurer shall be elected by the members of the board. The board shall designate some official or employee of the board to serve as disbursing officer of the board.
4. Meetings of the board shall be called by the chair or by four (4) members of the board.
5. The members shall serve without compensation but may receive expense reimbursements in accordance with § 25-16-901 et seq. and shall be authorized to provide a suitable office where the meetings of the board may be held and its records kept.
6. If necessary to provide suitable space for its offices, laboratories, and other needs, the board may buy property, build buildings, or lease property for a period covering not more than fifteen (15) years from the date of lease.

History. Acts 1917, No. 414, § 3; C. & M. Dig., § 8026; Acts 1929, No. 197, § 1; 1931, No. 73, § 2; 1935, No. 97, § 1; Pope's Dig., § 12335; Acts 1953, No. 408, § 1; 1955, No. 239, § 1; 1961, No. 144, § 1; 1967, No. 77, § 1; 1971, No. 276, § 1; 1975, No. 409, § 1; A.S.A. 1947, § 77-103; Acts 1997, No. 250, § 2; 2013, No. 591, §§ 1, 2; 2019, No. 1056, § 1.

Publisher's Notes. Acts 1967, No. 77, § 3; Acts 1971, No. 276, § 2; and Acts 1975, No. 409, § 2, all provided that it was the intent of these acts to add members to the State Plant Board and that the addition of the members would not affect the term of any member then serving on the board. The terms of the members of the board are now arranged so that 16 terms expire every two years.

Acts 1983, No. 691, § 11, provided, in part, that the State Plant Board and its powers, functions, and duties, which had been transferred to the Department of Commerce by Acts 1971, No. 38, § 16, would be separated from the Department of Commerce and would be an independent agency of state government, to function in the same manner it functioned prior to its transfer to the Department of Commerce.

Acts 1993, Nos. 610 and 624, § 1, provided: “The Arkansas Bureau of Standards, created by Act 482 of 1963, as amended, the same being A.C.A. 4-18-201 et seq., and its functions, powers, duties, assets, properties, and appropriations are transferred by a type 2 transfer [see § 25-2-105] to the State Plant Board.”

Amendments. The 2013 amendment substituted “eighteen (18)” for “sixteen (16)” in the introductory language of (a); and added (a)(16) and (a)(17).

The 2019 amendment deleted former (2) and redesignated the remaining subdivisions accordingly; rewrote (1); substituted “Plant Food Association” for “fertilizer and cotton oil mills” in (3); and rewrote (10).

Cross References. Division of Agriculture — Service on boards or commissions, § 6-64-106.