CHAPTER 99.

House Bill No. 182.

ABOLISHMENT OF STATE BOARD OF HORTICULTURE AND AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY BOARD.

AN ACT to abolish the State board of horticulture and the Agricultural Advisory Board, to transfer powers to the Board of Trustees of the University of Wyoming and transfer records, and that Section 3682 Wyoming Compiled Statutes 1920, relating to Horticultural districts be repealed.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Transfer of Duties to Board of Trustees of University.

Section 1. That all powers now vested in the state board of horticulture and the agricultural advisory board are hereby transferred to and imposed, and conferred upon the Board of Trustees of the University of Wyoming, to be exercised by them through the Director of experimental farms as he may determine with the approval of the Board of Trustees, for the purpose of facilitating and encouraging the advancement of experimental work. The offices of the state board of Horticulture and the Agricultural Advisory Board are hereby abolished and the tenure of all employees of said office is hereby terminated, except the director and superintendent and such necessary clerical assistance as may now be employed.

Transfer of Records.

Section 2. The records of said state Horticultural board and ex-officio agricultural advisory board shall be transferred by them to the board of Trustees of the University of Wyoming and the rules and regulations promulgated by them, and in force on the date when this act shall take effect and continue in force until altered or repealed by the said board of Trustees.

Transfer of Pending Proceedings.

Section 3. All proceedings then pending before the state board of horticulture and ex-officio agricultural advisory board shall be transferred to the jurisdiction of the board of Trustees of the University of Wyoming who is hereby vested with full authority to carry the same to completion as the state board of horticulture and the agricultural advisory board might have done, had it not been for the enactment of this statute. In carrying out the provisions of this act no new division or official position shall be created by the Board of Trustees of the University of Wyoming except such additional clerical assistance as may prove necessary in the discharge of the additional duties upon the said Board of Trustees.

Section 4. Section 3682 Wyoming Compiled Statutes 1920, and all acts and parts of acts in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

Section 5. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.

Approved March 3, 1923.

CHAPTER 100.

House Bill No. 230.

STATE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

AN ACT establishing a State Department of Agriculture to have control of regulatory, administrative and police duties pertaining thereto; to provide for membership on the board; to define term of office to provide for salaries; to appoint deputies; to define the duties of the board members and officers elected to serve with the board; to determine the bureaus and divisions that shall be included under the State Department of Agriculture; and to define the duties of the several bureaus and divisions; and abolishing certain State Departments.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Establishment of Department-Commissioner.

Section 1. A State Department of Agriculture is hereby created and established under the management and control of a board of agriculture acting through a public officer to be known as the State Commissioner of Agriculture, to be appointed by the board.

Board-Districts.

Section 2. The board of Agriculture shall consist of seven members, consisting of the Governor, the Director of Experimental Farms and five members who shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate, of which a majority thereof shall constitute a quorum and shall be qualified to transact business, one from each of the following described districts: District No. 1, composed of the counties of Laramie, Albany, Platte and Goshen; District No. 2, composed of the counties of Carbon, Sweetwater, Uinta, and Lincoln, Sublette and Teton; District No. 3, composed of the counties of Niobrara, Converse, Natrona and Fremont; District No. 4, composed of the counties of Hot Springs, Washakie, Big Horn and Park; District No. 5, composed of Sheridan, Johnson, Campbell, Crook and Weston and Governor and the Director of the Wyoming Experiment Station shall be ex-officio members. The five members appointed from the various districts must be men engaged chiefly in agricultural work. Not more than three of whom shall be members of the same political party. Appointment of Board.

Section 3. Immediately upon the passage of this act the Governor shall appoint a Board of Agriculture in accordance with the provisions of Section 2, of this act.

Meetings of Board.

Section 4. There shall be held a meeting of the board of directors the first Monday in March, 1923, and on the first Monday in December, 1923, and annually on the first Monday in December thereafter. Special meetings of the board of directors may be had by a call of the Commissioner of Agriculture, by a call of the president of the board or by a majority of the Members of the Board.

Term of Members Qualifications of Commissioner-Appointment.

Section 5. The members of the board shall be appointed for a term of four years, and at their first meeting shall draw lots so that two shall hold office for two years and the other three for four years. Thereafter the appointments shall be for four year periods. The Commissioner of Agriculture, shall be a graduate of a State Land Grant College, either as a separate

institution or as a part of a State University, and shall have had five years practical experience along agricultural lines, shall be appointed by the board and shall hold office for four years, or until a successor is duly appointed and qualified.

Salary of Members Qualification-Election of Officers.

Section 6. The board members, except the Governor and the Director of the State Experiment Station, shall be paid $10.00 per day when on actual official capacity and shall be paid all traveling expenses necessary in the performance of their duties. The board members, within a reasonable. time after their appointment, shall qualify by taking the constitutional oath of office and filing same with the Secretary of State. The members shall then elect from their members a president and vice-president.

Oath and Bond of Commissioner.

Section 7. The Commissioner, before entering upon the duties of the office, must take and subscribe the oath of office prescribed by the Constitution and file it with the Secretary of State, and must enter into bond in the sum of $5,000.00 with a surety company, the expense of such bond being paid by the State. The bond must be approved by the Attorney General and then filed in the office of the Secretary of State.

Salary of Commissioner.

Section 8. The salary of the Commissioner shall be determined by the board and shall be payable in equal monthly installments, but shall not exceed ($4,000.00) four thousand dollars per annum.

Deputies-Appointment.

Section 9. The Commissioner shall appoint, with the approval of the State Board of Agriculture, the necessary expert deputies who shall be chosen because of peculiar fitness due to special training and experience. These shall hold their respective offices under strict rules and regulations and on merit alone, unaffected by a change in State Administration or in the Commissionership.

Deputies in Employ of University.

Section 10. In the several branches of agriculture requiring technical scientific training and expert advice the Commissioner shall choose his deputies from among the qualified members of the University Faculty (Resident or Extension). These shall serve without additional compensation but the University shall be reimbursed by the Department of Agriculture for fifty per cent (50%) of the salary paid by the University to said faculty member during the time he is actually employed by the Commissioner of Agriculture. The appointment of faculty members and the proportion and distribution of the time for which they may be used shall be arrived at through conference between the Commissioner of Agriculture and the President of the University. The provisions of this section shall apply in the branches of horticulture, apiculture, poultry, dairying, food, oils, seeds, marketing farm crops and such other branches as in the judgment of the Commissioner, when approved by the Board of Agriculture, can thus be most efficiently and economically administered. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any branch of agriculture otherwise specifically provided for in this act.

Oath of Deputies-Payment of Expenses.

Section 11. Each deputy before entering upon the duties of his office shall subscribe to the oath of office prescribed by the Constitution. The

deputies shall discharge such duties as may be prescribed by the Commissioner. The expenses necessarily incurred by them in traveling on business of the Department, under the direction of the Commissioner, shall be paid for by the Department of Agriculture and charged against its appropriations.

Duties of Commission.

Section 12. The Commissioner shall have his office in the capitol building of the State of Wyoming and shall act as Secretary of the State Board of Agriculture. He shall be the executive officer of the State Board of Agriculture, and shall under the direction of the State Board of Agriculture enforce and execute all provisions and laws of the State required to be enforced by the said board and also all rules and regulations of said board. He shall encourage and promote the proper development of agriculture in the State in all phases and branches, including horticulture, apiculture, poultry, dairying and the kindred industries, and to this end shall co-operate with other State Institutions and Organizations. For this purpose he shall co-operate with the agricultural departments of other States and with the Secretary of Agriculture of the United States. He shall foster a practicable conservation of all natural resources of the State. He shall collect from the several counties in the state information concerning the extent, condition and prices of farm crops and animal products, the number, condition of health and value of farm animals; prevailing conditions of weather, and such other information as it may deem of practical value to the agricultural interest of the state, and publish from time to time such statements and reports for free distribution among the farmers and other interested parties within the state. He shall cause to be collected and printed in such form as may be best calculated to attract to the state desirable immigrants seeking homes and capital seeking profitable investment, information relating to the advantages and opportunities offered by this state to the farmer, the merchant, the manufacturer, the home seeker and the summer visitor. The publications of the State Board of Agriculture shall be made in form of circulars, folders and pamphlets with or without maps or illustrations and shall contain in concise language, easily comprehended by the general public, statements relating to the soil, climate, water, products, markets, transportation facilities, summer resorts, location of undeveloped lands and relative value of such lands, cause to be inserted in newspapers, magazines and farm papers, appropriate notices of the department shall. determine that the best interests of the state will be advanced thereby. He shall enforce and supervise the administration of all laws relating to agriculture, horticulture, apiculture, poultry, dairying, agricultural products and agricultural interests (except when these laws are especially delegated to some other department.)

Immigration Department Discontinued-Transfer of Duties.

Section 13. From and after April 1, 1923, or as soon thereafter as the state department of Agriculture may be organized for business, the officers of Wyoming State Board of Immigration and Commissioner of Immigration are hereby abolished and the tenure of all employees of the said office is hereby terminated, all duties, powers and regulatory measures now imposed or conferred upon the Wyoming State Board of Immigration and the Commissioner of Immigration by and under existing laws are hereby transferred to and imposed and conferred upon the Commissioner of Agriculture to be exercised by him through such chief of division, deputy assistant or other agency, as he may determine with the approval of the State Board of Agriculture. The records of said office shall be transferred by the Commissioner of Immigration to the Commissioner of Agriculture and the rules

and regulations promulgated by the Commissioner of Immigration and then in force on the date when this act shall take effect, shall continue in force until altered or repealed by the Commissioner of Agriculture in accordance, with law. All proceedings then pending before the state board of Immigration or Commissioner thereof shall be transferred to the jurisdiction of the Commissioner of Agriculture who is hereby vested with full authority to carry the same to completion as the State Board of Immigration or Commissioner thereof might have done had it not been for the enactment of the Statute. In carrying out the provisions of this act, no new divisions or official positions not otherwise provided for in this Act shall be created within the department of Agriculture except in the employment of such additional clerical assistance as may prove necessary in the discharge of the additional duties imposed upon the department.

Additional Duties of Commissioner.

Section 14. He shall collect State Agricultural statistics annually and aid in every way possible in the problems connected with the grading, standardizing, marketing and distribution of Agricultural products. That the Commissioner of Agriculture, acting under the direction of the State Board of Agriculture in the collection of information necessary to the performance of his duties as such Commissioner of Agriculture, is hereby authorized to call upon the several state, county, city, town, precinct and school district officers, and the officers of the several state institutions of learning, penal and other state institutions, and it shall be the duty of all such officers to furnish upon written or printed request of the Commissioner, such information as may be required for properly setting forth the resources of the state development, upon blanks furnished by the Board of Agriculture. Each owner, operator or manager of any manufacturing, mining or other business establishment operating in this state, or other person having information necessary for carrying out the purposes of this act, shall upon request of the commissioner furnish the same upon blanks supplied by the State Board of Agriculture. He shall also prepare exhibits of the State's resources, whenever practicable, for National, International and State expositions.

Transfer of Supervision of State Fair.

Section 15. From and after April 1st, 1923, or as soon thereafter as the State Department of Agriculture may be organized for business, the State Board of Charities and Reform shall transfer to the department of Agriculture all that portion of their supervision, authority, control, duty, powers and responsibility pertaining to, or in connection with the Wyoming State Fair, by and under existing laws, and the same is hereby transferred to be imposed and conferred upon the Commissioner of Agriculture to be exercised by him through such manager or chief Division deputy, assistant or other agency as he may determine with the approval of the State Board of Agriculture. The records of said board of Charities and Reform pertaining to State Fair shall be transferred by them to the Commissioner of Agriculture and the rules and regulations promulgated by them and in force on the date when this act shall take effect, shall continue in force until altered or repealed by the Commissioner of Agriculture in accordance with law. All proceedings then pending before the State Board of Charities and Reform shall be transferred to the jurisdiction of the Commissioner of Agriculture, who is hereby vested with full authority to carry the same to completion as the State Board of Charities and Reform might have done had it not have been for the enactment of this statute. In carrying out the provisions of this act, no new divisions or official positions not otherwise