Powers and duties of the Council; rule-making authority

(a) The Council has the authority to: (1) Receive and disburse funds as prescribed in this article to be used for the purposes of this article; (2) Enter into contracts; (3) Hire and discharge employees, prescribe their duties and fix their compensation; (4) Accept grants, gifts and contributions for expenditure consistent with the purposes of this article; (5) Sue and be sued as a council without individual liability of the members for acts of the Council when the Council is acting within the scope of the powers conferred by this article; (6) Cooperate with other state or federal agencies and organizations engaged in work or activities consistent with the purposes of this article; (7) Conduct public relations and education programs for increasing beef production and improving beef marketing practices; (8) Conduct or contract for scientific research with any accredited college or university which will aid in implementing the purposes of this article; and, (9) Prepare and submit an annual report of its activities and fiscal accounting to the Commissioner no later than January 15, of each year. (b) The Council may propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code designed to implement the provisions of this article.