§2. Creation, powers, and duties of Department of Agriculture and Forestry and the commissioner of agriculture and forestry

            A. The Department of Agriculture and Forestry is created in accordance with the provisions of Article IV, Section 10 of the Constitution of Louisiana. The commissioner of agriculture shall head the department and shall exercise all functions of the state relating to the promotion, protection, and advancement of agriculture and forestry, except research and educational functions expressly allocated by the constitution or by law to other state agencies. The department shall exercise such functions and the commissioner shall have other powers and perform such duties as authorized by the constitution or provided by law. The Department of Agriculture shall be known as the Department of Agriculture and Forestry. Whenever the phrases "Department of Agriculture" and "Department of Agriculture and Immigration" appear in any statute, rule or regulation, contract, or other document, those phrases shall be deemed to refer to the Department of Agriculture and Forestry.

            B. The Department of Agriculture and Forestry, through the office of forestry, shall develop a timber management plan which shall consist of an inventory of the resource and any silvicultural activities that may be needed to perpetuate the resource and shall manage all timber on all state lands except timber which is on state land under the jurisdiction of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, or the office of state parks, Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism. The management of the timber shall include joint decisions between the Department of Agriculture and Forestry and the agency which has title of the land on harvesting or removing trees, prescribed burning or other management practices, marketing of timber, and reforestation. When good management practices indicate that the land on which the timber is located can be used in more than one way, the agency which has jurisdiction over the land on which the timber is located shall have the final authority concerning the use of that land.

            C. All funds derived from the sale of timber on state lands under this Section shall be deposited in the state treasury. Monies derived from the sale of timber on state lands in the custody of the Louisiana Department of Health shall be deposited into the state general fund. The legislature shall annually appropriate to the Department of Agriculture and Forestry the costs incurred by that department under the provisions of this Section.

            D. The Department of Agriculture and Forestry, through the office of forestry, may participate in cooperative endeavors with the federal government and with local governments in this state relating to the Federal Excess Property Program and the Firefighter Property Program for rural fire defense.

            E. The Department of Agriculture and Forestry, through the office of forestry, may enter into cooperative endeavors with local governments or duly organized and officially recognized fire organizations for the purpose of making available to those organizations any applicable state owned surplus equipment which can be utilized in suppressing or providing protection from fires in rural areas. In order to facilitate these cooperative endeavors, the following provisions shall apply:

            (1) The Louisiana Property Assistance Agency will notify the office of forestry whenever any appropriate surplus property is available.

            (2) The office of forestry shall conduct periodic inspections of surplus property available to the Louisiana Property Assistance Agency.

            (3) When the office of forestry determines that specific property is appropriate for use in a cooperative endeavor, the office of forestry shall give written notice of that determination to the Louisiana Property Assistance Agency. Upon receipt of the notice, the Louisiana Property Assistance Agency shall reserve the described property for the exclusive use of the office of forestry.

            (4) The office of forestry shall assign the equipment to local governments or fire organizations. The office of forestry shall adopt administrative rules to insure that the assignment of property is made in a manner which is fair and equitable.

            (5) The assignment and the cooperative endeavor shall be evidenced by a written agreement between the office of forestry and the local government or the fire organization.

            (6) All equipment assigned as a result of a cooperative endeavor shall remain the property of the state, and the office of forestry shall maintain state inventory information with regard to that property.

            (7) The office of forestry shall inspect all loaned equipment to determine the status of the equipment and the continued use of the equipment for fire protection purposes.

            (8) The local government or the fire organization to which the equipment is loaned shall pay the costs of liability insurance, maintenance, and other expenses related to the equipment.

            (9) When the local government or fire organization has no use for the loaned equipment, for any reason, the local government or fire organization shall return the equipment to the office of forestry. The office of forestry shall loan the equipment to another local government or fire organization or return the equipment to the Louisiana Property Assistance Agency.

            F. The commissioner of agriculture and forestry and any department head for the state of Louisiana may by mutual agreement:

            (1) Enter into a cooperative endeavor for the purpose of implementing any law which relates to the powers and duties of their respective departments.

            (2) Adopt rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of the cooperative endeavor.

            Acts 1987, No. 123, §1; Acts 1987, No. 211, §1; Acts 1988, No. 201, §1; Acts 2007, No. 438, §1, eff. July 11, 2007; Acts 2009, No. 24, §1, eff. June 12, 2009; Acts 2012, No. 808, §1; Acts 2018, No. 612, §2, eff. July 1, 2020; Acts 2019, No. 404, §1, eff. July 1, 2020.