(a) Controlled Plant and Noxious Weed Committee.--

(1) The Controlled Plant and Noxious Weed Committee is established in the department and shall have the powers of a departmental administrative board.

(2) The committee shall be composed of:

(i) the secretary, who shall be the chairperson of the committee;

(ii) the Secretary of Conservation and Natural Resources;

(iii) the Secretary of Environmental Protection;

(iv) the Secretary of Transportation;

(v) the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Game Commission;

(vi) the chairperson and minority chairperson of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee of the Senate and the chairperson and minority chairperson of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives;

(vii) three persons, to be appointed by the secretary, who must represent the interests and concerns of the following groups, organizations or industries:

(A) One member of a Statewide general farm organization.

(B) One member representing the ornamental, turf and horticultural industry.

(C) One member from an institution of higher education within this Commonwealth.

(3) Except for appointed members, who may be represented by designees selected by the secretary, members may be represented by a designee selected by the member.

(4) The appointed members shall serve four-year terms except that the terms shall initially be staggered with one of the three members serving a two-year term.

(5) Successors to fill expired terms of appointed members shall be appointed by the secretary. The secretary may appoint the same member to successive terms.

(6) An appointed member may continue to hold the position after his term has expired and until a successor has been appointed, but in no case may the time period be longer than six months beyond the member's original term of office.

(b) Powers and duties of committee.--

(1) A majority of the committee shall constitute a quorum. A quorum of the committee shall be required to take any action. All actions of the committee shall be by a majority vote.

(2) Prior to taking any action, the committee shall be required to convene a public meeting to elicit comments from the regulated community and other interested parties. The notice and agenda for a meeting of the committee shall contain a list of the plants to be considered for addition to or deletion from the noxious weed list or controlled plant list. The notice and agenda for a meeting shall be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin at least one week prior to the meeting, except in the case of a special meeting or rescheduled meeting as allowed under 65 Pa.C.S. § 709(a) (relating to public notice). All meetings shall be open to the public and shall comply with the requirements of 65 Pa.C.S. Ch. 7 (relating to open meetings).

(3) The committee shall have the following powers and duties:

(i) To establish a noxious weed list inclusive of the list set forth under section 1519 (relating to noxious weed list). The committee may add weeds to or remove weeds from the noxious weed list or move noxious weeds to the controlled plant list in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.

(ii) To establish a controlled plant list and to add plants to or remove plants from the controlled plant list in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. A controlled plant, upon approval of the committee, may be moved from the controlled plant list to the noxious weed list.

(iii) To propose the addition or removal of plants to or from the noxious weed list or controlled plant list. The committee may request that the department perform a study and risk assessment related to any plant the committee may consider for addition to or removal from the noxious weed list or controlled plant list.

(iv) To publish the noxious weed list and the controlled plant list and additions or removals or changes thereto as a notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. Any additions to or removals from the noxious weed list or the controlled plant list shall become effective 60 days from publication.

(c) Noxious weed and controlled plant seeds.--

(1) Upon the determination of the committee that a plant falls within the classification of a noxious weed or controlled plant, the committee, in consultation with the department, shall determine if the weed's seed falls within the category of a prohibited noxious weed seed or a restricted noxious weed seed and the seeds shall be regulated in the manner established in 7 Pa. Code Ch. 111 (relating to seed testing, labeling and standards).

(2) If no regulatory criteria exist for controlled plant seeds, the department may regulate controlled plant seeds through permit, for a period of two years from the effective date of this section, at which time the department shall promulgate regulatory standards.

Cross References. Section 1511 is referred to in sections 1502, 1519 of this title.