Powers and duties - Definition of bonds - Bylaws - Additional powers, duties and responsibilities - Liability - Compensation. A. 1. Except as provided by this section, the board of directors of the Oklahoma Boll Weevil Eradication Organization shall be composed of five cotton growers from this state who are elected from the five separate districts established by the board. 2. The terms of office of the elected board of directors shall be three (3) years. 3. A director may be removed from office by a majority vote of the board of directors for cause. Causes for removal include the following: a. neglect of duty, b. willful misconduct, c. malpractice in office, d. self-dealing, e. incompetence, f. gross inefficiency, or g. any other unbecoming conduct that can or may affect the ability of the Oklahoma Boll Weevil Eradication Organization to satisfactorily perform its duties or carry out its mission as a public body. All new directors shall take an oath of office before assuming the role as a director on the board. 4. Directors shall hold office until their respective successors are elected and take the oath of office. 5. At each election, the cotton grower with the highest number of votes from each district shall serve on the board of directors. B. The board of directors shall have the power and duty to: 1. Appoint a new director from the appropriate election district to serve the remaining term in the event of a vacancy on the board of directors; 2. Collect assessments pursuant to the Boll Weevil Eradication Act; 3. Conduct programs consistent with the Boll Weevil Eradication Act; 4. Determine and establish the assessment annually for the following crop year pursuant to the Boll Weevil Eradication Act and the program enabling referendum. The assessment shall be determined upon a fair and equitable system that is based on cotton production and infestation factors. The assessment shall be a flexible rate not to exceed Seven Dollars and fifty cents ($7.50) per acre and one cent ($.01) per pound of lint produced. Upon any change in the assessment rate, the board shall immediately notify growers and cotton gins of the new rate; 5. Develop bylaws for the due and orderly administration of the affairs of the board of directors and for its responsibilities specified pursuant to the provisions of the Boll Weevil Eradication Act; 6. Develop, implement and pay for a plan for boll weevil eradication and posteradication maintenance and control in this state; 7. Advise, consult, and cooperate with agencies of this state, political subdivisions, other states, the federal government, and affected groups; 8. Collect and disseminate information relating to boll weevil eradication and posteradication maintenance and control; 9. Recommend the designation of “eradicated areas” to the State Board of Agriculture upon completion of active eradication and the beginning of posteradication maintenance and control; 10. Sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, complain and defend in all courts; 11. Adopt, use, and alter at will a corporate seal; 12. Adopt bylaws for the management and regulation of its affairs and to promulgate and issue rules governing its operations; 13. Appoint officers, agents, and employees and prescribe their duties and fix their compensation, within any limitations prescribed by law; 14. Make contracts of every name and nature and execute all instruments necessary or convenient for the carrying on of the business of the Oklahoma Boll Weevil Eradication Organization; 15. Accept grants from and enter into contracts or other transactions with any federal agency; 16. Issue and sell bonds, or borrow money, in amounts as shall be needed from time to time for the purposes set forth in the Boll Weevil Eradication Act. a. The bonds may: (1) be issued in one or more series, (2) bear the date or dates, (3) mature at time or times not exceeding twenty (20) years from their date, (4) be in denomination or denominations, (5) be in form, either coupon or registered, (6) carry registration and conversion privileges, (7) be executed in a proper manner, (8) be payable in medium of payment at a place or places, (9) be subject to terms of redemption with or without premium, and (10) bear rate or rates of interest, as may be provided by resolution or resolutions to be adopted by the Board within limits provided by law, and be sold in a manner and at a price or prices as may be considered by the Board to be advisable. b. Bonds shall have all the qualities and incidents of negotiable paper, and the interest thereon shall not be subject to taxation by the State of Oklahoma. c. The board of directors may issue bonds pursuant to the Boll Weevil Eradication Act for the purpose of renewing funding of any obligations of the board of directors, or may authorize and deliver a single issue of bonds hereunder for the purpose in part of renewing funding for obligations of the board. d. The bonds issued pursuant to the Boll Weevil Eradication Act shall not be an indebtedness of the State of Oklahoma but shall be special obligations payable solely from the assessments. The board of directors is authorized and directed to pledge all or any part of the assessments to the payment of and interest on the bonds. e. The board of directors may enter into any agreement or contracts with the United States of America or the State of Oklahoma or any agency or instrumentality thereof which it may consider advisable or necessary in order to obtain a grant of funds or other aid to be used in connection with the proceeds of the bonds. f. All bonds issued pursuant to the Boll Weevil Eradication Act shall have on the backs thereof the certificate required by Section 29 of Article 10 of the Constitution of Oklahoma. The bonds shall be submitted to the Attorney General of Oklahoma for examination. The bonds, having been examined and certified as legal obligations by the Attorney General in accordance with the requirements as the Attorney General may make, shall be incontestable in any court in the State of Oklahoma unless suit thereon shall be brought in a court having jurisdiction thereof within thirty (30) days from the date of approval. Bonds so approved by the Attorney General shall be prima facie valid and binding obligations according to their terms. The only defense that may be offered in any suit instituted after a thirty-day period shall have expired shall be a violation of the Constitution. g. Any bank, trust, or insurance company organized under the laws of Oklahoma may invest its capital, surplus, and reserves in bonds issued under the provisions of the Boll Weevil Eradication Act; 17. File an application, at its discretion, with the Supreme Court of Oklahoma for the validation of the Boll Weevil Eradication Act or for the approval of any series of bonds to be issued hereunder or any other actions to be taken by the board of directors. Exclusive original jurisdiction is hereby conferred upon the Supreme Court to hear and determine each application. a. It shall be the duty of the Supreme Court to give applications precedence over the other business of the Supreme Court and to consider and pass upon the applications and any protests that may be filed thereto as speedily as possible. b. Notice of the hearing on each application shall be given by a notice published in a newspaper of general circulation in the state that on a day named, the board of directors will ask the court to hear its application. The notice shall inform all persons interested that they may file protests against the validation or approval and be present at the hearing and contest the same. The notice shall be published one time, not less than ten (10) days prior to the date named for the hearing, and the hearing may be adjourned from time to time at the discretion of the court. c. In any action to approve bonds, if the Supreme Court is satisfied that the bonds have been properly authorized in accordance with the provisions of the Boll Weevil Eradication Act and that when issued they will constitute valid obligations in accordance with their terms, the Supreme Court shall render its written opinion approving the bonds and shall fix the time within which a petition for rehearing may be filed. The decision of the Supreme Court shall be a judicial determination of the validity of the bonds, shall be conclusive as to the board of directors, its officers and agents, and thereafter the bonds so approved and the revenues pledged to their payment shall be incontestable in any court in the State of Oklahoma; 18. Conduct elections, at the discretion of the board of directors, for any lawful purpose, including, but not limited to, any assessment modification policy to deal with natural disasters. Election procedures shall be established by the board of directors. Fifty percent (50%) or more of the cotton growers voting shall approve each ballot issue for its adoption; 19. Reexamine the number and composition of the existing election districts in order to ensure fair and equitable geographic areas based upon cotton production density. If the board of directors determines that the number or composition of the election districts should be reestablished, the board of directors shall: a. fairly and equitably establish the election districts necessary utilizing geographic areas based upon cotton production density as the primary factor, b. conduct the election of the next board of directors consistent with this section, c. hold public hearings regarding the establishment of election districts, d. facilitate the expeditious transfer of authority to the newly elected board of directors, and e. establish terms of office for the new board consistent with this section. Any elected or appointed board member shall have all the powers and duties as granted pursuant to the Boll Weevil Eradication Act; and 20. Take any other actions deemed necessary by the board of directors to implement the provisions of the Boll Weevil Eradication Act. C. As used in this section, "bonds" means bonds, notes, loan agreements, or other forms of indebtedness issued or delivered by the Oklahoma Boll Weevil Eradication Organization. D. The bylaws established by the board of directors relating to boll weevil eradication and the assessment referenda shall be submitted to the State Board of Agriculture for determination as to whether the bylaws will be promulgated as rules of the State Board of Agriculture. The bylaws may be promulgated in whole or in part or may be returned for modification to the board of directors. The State Board of Agriculture shall comply with the Administrative Procedures Act in promulgating any rules adopted pursuant to the provisions of this subsection. E. The board of directors shall: 1. Make available all books, records of account, and minutes of proceedings maintained by the Organization for inspection by the Office of the State Auditor and Inspector for an audit in accordance with the provisions of subsection B of Section 212 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes; 2. Not later than forty-five (45) days after the last day of the fiscal year, submit to the Commissioner a report itemizing all income and expenditures and describing all activities of the Organization during the fiscal year; 3. Provide surety bonds in amounts determined by the Commissioner for employees or agents who handle funds for the Organization; 4. Receive, hold in trust, and disburse all assessments and other funds collected pursuant to the Boll Weevil Eradication Act as trust funds of the Organization; and 5. Make available all books, records of account, and minutes of proceedings of the Organization for inspection or audit by the Commissioner at any reasonable time. F. 1. Pursuant to the authority granted by the Boll Weevil Eradication Act, except for instances of gross negligence, individual criminal actions or acts of dishonesty, the board of directors and employees of the board of directors are not individually liable to a cotton grower or other person for: a. errors in judgment, b. mistakes, or c. omissions. 2. Under no circumstances shall the board of directors, the individual board members, or employees of the board of directors be personally liable for any bonds of the Organization. 3. A member of the board of directors or an employee of the board of directors is not individually liable for an act or omission of another member or employee of the board of directors. G. The board of directors shall serve without compensation but are entitled to reimbursement for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of their duties.
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