(a) The commission shall be composed of:

(1) The Commissioner of Agriculture, ex officio;

(2) The president of the Georgia Farm Bureau, ex officio;

(3) One member elected by the Senate Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee with a quorum present and a majority of those present concurring, who shall be a producer or processor and shall not be a member of the General Assembly;

(4) One member elected by the House Committee on Agriculture and Consumer Affairs who shall be a producer or processor and shall not be a member of the General Assembly; and

(5) Five additional members, all of whom shall be appointed by the members of the commission specified in paragraphs (1) through (4) of this subsection.

(b) The initial two members elected by the agriculture and consumer affairs committees of the General Assembly shall be elected and qualified to take office for a term ending upon the election of their successors during the regular 2016 session of the General Assembly. Their successors shall be elected during the 2016 regular session of the General Assembly; and thereafter future successors shall be elected during each regular session of the General Assembly convening in even-numbered years. Such members shall serve from the date of their election until their successors are elected and qualified. Such members shall be entitled to vote on matters pertaining to the organization of the commission and upon the selection and nomination of the appointed members of the commission, but shall not be entitled to vote upon any matter pertaining to the policy provisions of the commission, nor shall they be entitled to vote upon the expenditure of any funds of the commission.

(c) For purposes of the appointment of additional members of the commission as provided in this Code section, a list of nominees shall be requested from producers and processors. Initial appointments shall be made for three members for a term of three years each from the effective date of their appointment and until their successors are appointed and qualified and two members for a term of two years each from the effective date of their appointment and until their successors are appointed and qualified. Thereafter, successors shall be appointed for a term of three years each from the effective date of their appointment and until their successors are appointed and qualified. Vacancies shall be filled by appointment in like manner, for the unexpired term, except that vacancies in the office of a member elected by a legislative committee shall be filled for the unexpired term by the legislative committee which made the previous appointment. Any appointed member shall be eligible for reappointment.

(d)

(1) The members who are state officers shall be compensated as provided by law. Each such member shall be reimbursed by his or her respective department or from the funds of the commission for actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of his or her duties.

(2) The two members elected by the agriculture and consumer affairs committees of the General Assembly, as provided by subsection (a) of this Code section, shall be entitled to receive, for attending meetings of the commission, the same expenses and travel allowances which members of the General Assembly receive for attending meetings of legislative interim committees. Such expenses and allowances shall be paid from funds appropriated or otherwise available to the legislative branch of state government.

(3) The appointed members of the commission shall receive compensation and reimbursement of expenses as shall be provided by the commission, and such funds shall be payable from the funds of the commission.

(e) Each member of the commission shall be a public officer and shall take an oath of office faithfully to perform his or her duties. The fact of a member's appointment shall be certified to the Secretary of State, who shall issue the appropriate commission under the seal of his or her office.