§2.  Supervision and direction of commission; meetings

A.  The commission shall have general control, management, supervision, and direction of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission.  The commission is a policy-making and budgetary-control board, with no administrative functions.  The commission shall have sole authority to establish definite management programs and policies and to approve and accept all contracts at its discretion.  It shall make such studies and investigations as it thinks necessary.  It shall formulate the policies and shall determine the wisdom and efficacy of the policies, plans, rules, regulations and proceedings of the commission.

B.  No appointed member of the commission may prescribe or direct the conduct of the commission or the action of the director or any subordinate member thereof in any matter or case unless first authorized by the board in a meeting open to the public.

C.  The commission shall not take any action except by vote in meeting assembled, all actions shall be included in the minutes.

D.(1)  The commission shall hold an open meeting at least once each month.  The commission shall annually, at the first meeting in January, elect one of its members as chairman and one of its members as vice chairman.  It may hold other meetings at its discretion or on call of its chairman.  A majority of the members constitutes a quorum of the commission.

(2)  Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, if the governor declares a state of emergency pursuant to R.S. 29:721 et seq., the chairman may cancel the monthly meeting.  In addition, the secretary may take action through a declaration of emergency on any item scheduled on the agenda of the canceled meeting.  Further, the secretary may take any action by a declaration of emergency, necessary for the protection of the fish and wildlife resources.  Such actions may remain in effect until seven days following the next commission meeting.

Amended by Acts 1974, No. 717, §1; Acts 1975, No. 81, §1; Acts 2004, No. 297, §1; Acts 2006, No. 205, §1, eff. June 2, 2006.